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Work-at-home computer features convenience; requires responsibility by George Spain CCIT Technical Publisher With many options already available and many more on the way, the home-to-work computer commuter's life is getting easier. More work-related information is available more quickly than ever before. It's a blessing, but you have to be vigilant to keep it from turning into a curse. First, let's look at what's available out there. There's Homeroom (also available from the ITToolbox), a secure, backed-up storage site for your personal files; there are “webized” resources like Webapps, where you'll be able to get to Oacis, a clinical information resource, ftp; Silkymail, e-mail via web, Mysite, a way to personalize and organize your MUSC websites, and the Library resource and reference information site.  While many of these are one-way sites (you can read the info, but not write any), you’ll also find many sites where you can write information back. Here lies the challenge. Because uploading files means transferring data from your home system to a site inside the MUSC firewall, it's possible you could transfer viruses that are hiding on your home computer. In order to maintain the integrity of the MUSC computing infrastructure, you have to take some positive steps to 1) make sure you do not pass any virus-contaminated files to any MUSC systems; and 2) protect any sensitive information you may have downloaded from MUSC from those not authorized to access it. In the first case, the best way to keep from sending contaminated files and attachments to a MUSC system is to use a virus protection program (such as McAfee VirusScan, Norton Antivirus, and others).  If you keep your home computer clean of viruses, then you don't have to worry about transmitting a virus to MUSC's systems. Let's face it, anything can happen on a home computer. A child can download an infected game program; a spouse can pick up a virus from an e-mail attachment. It's up to you to keep your exchanges with MUSC systems clear of viruses. It isn't that hard to do and it's cheap—in fact, it’s free.  Jo Wieters, site licensing and purchasing coordinator at CCIT, confirmed that our license with McAfee includes “home use for faculty, staff and students.” This means that all you have to do is download the McAfee virus protection software from the CCIT software site and install it on your home computer. The download site can be found at the CCIT Home Page from the software drop-down menu on the left choose “download.” In the second case, things get a little tricky. While you may have a “need to know” certain MUSC information like financial and clinical information, etc., other members of your family may not have that need to know. Certain information on computers at the MUSC campus is protected by a variety of state and federal laws. It may be legal for you to download that information to your computer, but the information is still protected by law. That is, if someone hacks into your computer and gets this information, you may be legally liable. Even if a child or a spouse can easily get to that information, it is still considered unprotected. Your best bet here is to either encrypt sensitive information (using a program like PGP), or password protect the folder (directory) in which the sensitive information is kept. If you don't take any action on either virus protection or password protection, your computer could become an entry point for hackers trying to get into the MUSC system. If this is the case, your connection could become a liability to the university and your connection privileges would be reviewed and possibly terminated. Spotlight on MUSC Web sites Here's an extensive, but not an exhaustive, list of helpful URLs. The description is followed by the URL  Personalized MUSC homepage:  http://my.musc.edu  File transfers to homeroom:  http://www.musc.edu/ftphomeroom Access institutional databases: http://www.itlab.musc.edu/mysites  Hospital Web Applications: http://webapps.musc.edu  Free Software: http://www.musc.edu/ccit/software  Full Text Journals:  http://www.library.musc.edu/fulltext/fulltext.html  MUSCnetwork Monitor: http://bb.musc.edu Broadcast e-mail:  http://www.musc.edu/broadcast The Catalyst: http://www.musc.edu/catalyst BlueSheet Seminar Notices: http://www.musc.edu/pr/bluesheet/ LDAP Directory lookup: http://www.itlab.musc.edu/mydirectory  Simon Paging: http://www.itlab.musc.edu/mysimon  Web E-mail: http://webmail.musc.edu Emergency Backup E-mail: http://email-backup.musc.edu Create Personal Web Page: http://www.musc.edu/ccit/webspace/personal  IT-related news items: http://www.musc.edu/packet Computer Use Policy: http://www.musc.edu/cup Change your password:  http://www.musc.edu/mna/password Update Phone Directory:  http://www.musc.edu/tdupdate Personal Calendar: http://www.musc.edu/calendar Web Tutorials: http://www.itlab.musc.edu/help IT Lab Tools: http://www.itlab.musc.edu/mytools CCIT Information and News: http://www.musc.edu/ccit/