Best Practices
Passwords
Drexel University Password Policy.
- All system-level passwords (e.g., root, enable, NT admin, application administration accounts, etc.) must be changed every 30 days.
- All user-level passwords (e.g., email, web, desktop computer, etc.) must be changed at least every 63 days.
- User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships or programs such as "sudo" must have a unique password from all other accounts held by that user.
- Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication.
Guidelines for secure passwords.
Weak passwords have the following characteristics
- The password contains fewer than six characters
- The password is a word found in a dictionary (English or foreign)
- The password is a common usage word such as: names of people, things, pets; computer terms and names; organization, place or event names; birthdays and personal information and word or number patterns.
Strong passwords have the following characteristics
- Contain both upper and lower case characters (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
- Have digits and punctuation characters as well as letters e.g.,
0-9, !@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:;'><?,./) - Are at least seven alphanumeric characters long.
- Are not a word in any language, slang, dialect, jargon, etc.
- Are not based on personal information, names of family, etc.
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Accounts
You are the first line of defense against account compromise.
- Practice strong password management.
- Never share your password.
- Log out of public workstations before departing.
- Beware of "Phishing" scams. Drexel will never request your account information via email.
- Change your password immediately and contact accounts@drexel.edu if you suspect your account has been compromised.
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Operating System Updates
Protect your computer from remote compromise by regularly applying critical OS patches.
Microsoft XP Windows Update
Critical Updates: Manual Windows XP
- Open up Internet Explorer.
- Click on Tools and go to Windows Update or go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
- Click on Scan for updates. If a box comes up asking you to trust Microsoft, then click Yes.
- Click on Review and install updates.
- Click Install Now to install the selected updates.
- Click Accept to any windows that come up.
- When they are finished, click OK to restart the computer.
- After the machine reboots, repeat steps 1 through 6 until there are no more critical updates left.
Critical Updates: Automatic Windows XP
- Right-click on My Computer and go to Properties OR go to Control Panel and double-click on System.
- In the System Properties window click on the Automatic Updates tab.
- Put a check mark in the box next to Keep my computer up to date.
- Set them to automatically download and install updates everyday.
Software Updates - Manual Mac OS X
- Click the Apple menu, then Software Update…
- Wait for the list of available updates to appear
- Anything that said “Security Update” or “Mac OS X Update” should be selected; if it isn’t, then click the checkbox to select it
- Click the Install button near the bottom right corner
- You’ll be prompted to enter your password (this is the one you set when you first set up your Mac or installed OS X)
- If prompted, restart your computer after the updates install
Software Updates - Automatic Mac OS X
- Click the Apple menu, then System Preferences…
- Under System, click Software Update
- Click the checkbox in front of “Check for Updates” and select “Daily” from the drop-down list
- Click the checkbox to “Download important updates in the background”
- Click the System Preferences menu, then Quit
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Antivirus
Drexel University provides Symantec Antivirus at no charge to all University students, faculty and staff. Please visit the Computer Marketplace to download a copy of Symantec Antivirus.
https://software.drexel.edu/
Please see below for instructions on updating your A/V software
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – Automatic Updates Windows
- Locate the yellow shield at the bottom right-hand side of your screen.
- Double-click on the shield or right-click on the shield and go to Open Symantec Antivirus.
- Click on File and go to Schedule.
- Click on Schedule and change it to update Daily.
- Click OK.
- Click OK.
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – LiveUpdate Windows
- Locate the yellow shield at the bottom right-hand side of your screen.
- Double-click on the shield or right-click on the shield and go to Open Symantec Antivirus.
- Click on LiveUpdate.
- Click on Next to find all available updates.
- Click on Next to install all available updates.
- Click on Finish after updates are installed or if there were no updates.
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – Manual Updates Windows
- Open a web browser and go to http://www.symantec.com.
- Click on Download virus definitions.
- Click on Download Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater Only).
- Make sure that the language selected is English.
- Select Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition from the list.
- Click Download Updates.
- Click on the link for the .exe file.
- Click Save and save the file to your Desktop.
- After the file is downloaded, close the browser and double-click on the .exe file.
- Click Yes to update your virus definitions. (This will take some time so please be patient)
- When it is complete, click OK.
- Delete the .exe file that you downloaded from your Desktop.
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – Automatic Updates Mac OS X
- Click the Go menu, then Applications
- Double-click the Norton Solutions folder
- Double-click Norton Scheduler
- Click LiveUpdate
- Under “Enter name…” type “Daily Update”
- Under “Choose a product…” select All Products
- Next to “Set a frequency:” select Daily
- Next to “Set the time:” enter a time that your computer is normally on
- Click the File menu, then Close/Save, then Save
- Click the Norton Schedule menu, then Quit
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – LiveUpdate Mac OS X
- Click the Go menu, then Applications
- Double-click the Norton Solutions folder
- Double-click LiveUpdate
- Click Update Everything Now
- Click the LiveUpdate menu, then Quit
Symantec (Norton) Antivirus – Manual Updates Mac OS X
- Open a web browser and go to http://www.symantec.com.
- Click on Download virus definitions.
- Click on Download Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater Only).
- Make sure that the language selected is English.
- Select Norton Antivirus for Macintosh from the list.
- Click Download Updates.
- Click on the link under NAV 8.0 for Mac OS X Updates.
- After the file is downloaded and expanded, double-click on the Installer.
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Firewall
Students, Faculty and Staff
DrexelNet users are strongly encouraged to enable their built-in operating system firewall. Firewalls help protect computers by restricting remote access to critical system services.
Windows XP
- Open up your Network Connections by either:
- Right-clicking on My Network Places and going to Properties
- Click on Start and going to Settings then Network Connections.
- Right-click on the network connection that you want to protect and go to Properties.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- In the Internet Connection Firewall area put a check in the box next to Protect my computer
- Click OK to save the settings.
Mac OS X
- Click Apple Menu and then System Preferences...
- Under Internet & Network, click Sharing
- Click Firewall
- Click Start
- Click the System Preferences menu and then Quit
IT Professionals
Windows Systems Administrators are expected to implement Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) policy within their server environment. IPSEC should be deployed in addition to host based firewalls for an added layer of protection. The IRTSG provides stock IPSEC policies for Windows File, Web, FTP, MSSQL and MYSQL servers. The stock policies restrict access to Drexel subnets and provide limited inbound and outbound access to the Internet.
IPSEC Policy Downloads
See an example of how to import an IPSEC policy in Windows 2003 Server.
Need help? Contact the IRTSG for assistance with customizing and deploying IPSEC.
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