Computers Are Not Toasters
Computers are not toasters. Even a child the age of five
can tell the difference. Oh sure, they both have slots that
can hold Hot Wheels and Finding Nemo trading cards, and they
both make excellent drums, but that's where the similarities
end. To a child, a computer has pictures and sounds and
pretty lights and lots of buttons, whereas a toaster will
only spit out a waffle now and then. So, it's easy for a kid
to tell the difference. We adults apparently have a lot to
learn.
There isn’t much to buying and maintaining a toaster.
Pick a color, number of slots, and bring it home and plug it
in. Drop in some bread, push the lever down, and grab the
jelly. The only maintenance is cleaning the crumb tray
periodically.
Computers are very different. Choices in buying a
computer include processor speed, memory size, hard drive
size, monitor size, operating system, and games. You then
have to decide how you’re going to connect to the Internet
-- phone modem, cable modem, DSL. Once these details are
worked out, you’re ready to power it up, get on-line, and
start surfing the net, right? Well…not just yet…
Operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux) and applications
(Internet Explorer, Firefox, email, Tony Hawk, etc.) that
are installed on your computer are extremely complex, often
containing millions of lines of software instructions. Since
humans are responsible for creating this software, and since
humans make mistakes, software contains programming errors
(software bugs). These bugs can cause problems
actually using the application, but they can also introduce
hidden security-related vulnerabilities. These hidden bugs
can be exploited by crackers (referred to as
hackers in the media) to take control of your computer,
steal your personal stuff (credit card numbers, bank PIN,
passwords), determine what web sites you like, and attempt
to gain control over other computers on the network. When
discovered, software companies release updates (patches)
in order to repair these bugs.
To protect your information and information on computers
connected to the network around you, it is extremely
important that you apply these patches immediately after
they are made available. To make this easier, some software
companies have provided utilities to automate this process.
For example, Apple has
Software Update for Mac OS X. Similarly, Microsoft
provides
Automatic Updates for the Windows 2000 and XP operating
systems, as well as
Office Update
for Microsoft Office applications. You need to consult the
documentation for every program that you install so that you
know how the company distributes its own software updates.
Updating your software is only one piece of the computer
security puzzle. You must also ensure anti-virus software is
installed and updated regularly so that it can detect new
viruses. Using a firewall for your computer, such as the
Windows Firewall, is also a necessity so that “hackers”
can’t even see your computer on the network. And –- you knew
this was coming -- NEVER share your passwords with anyone!
So, there you are. Computers are not toasters. You can’t
just plug a computer in and forget about it; if you do, you
will likely end up saying, “My computer is toast!”
– courtesy of Indiana University
Users can contact the IT Help Desk at 766-4357 (6-HELP), option 1, if they
have any computer security questions or concerns. Alternatively, send an email message to
userhelp@uwyo.edu and a Help Desk representative will
respond.