The Kenyon computer network is a critical tool for learning, teaching, communications, recreation, and the business of the College. Student-owned computers are welcome on the Kenyon network, but we expect students to keep those computers up-to-date and virus-free for the common safety of all computer users. LBIS will disconnect any computer or other device from the network which poses a hazard to other users. The most common hazards are rapidly-spreading viruses or "spyware", although there are legitimate software and hardware tools which, when incorrectly configured, can result in network problems for other users.

If a student computer or other device is disconnected because of its behavior on the network, it is the student's responsibility to demonstrate to LBIS that the virus has been removed or other situation has been fixed. Fixing virus or other problems on personally-owned computers is not a service which LBIS staff, including HelpLine, can provide. In cases where the problem can not be easily remedied, we will refer students to computer repair businesses outside the college (including warranty support from the computer manufacturer).

To help students, we provide -- at no cost -- Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Windows computers to assist students in keeping their machines clean and their data safe. We recommend that students install this version of antivirus protection, in part because of the added protection available with a centrally managed product, and in part to avoid worrying about the annual subscription renewals necessary for most retail antivirus products. The LBIS HelpLine is familiar with its installation and basic operations, and that support is another reason we recommend it. However, students are free to choose another antivirus product. The most important thing to remember about any antivirus product is that it must be installed, it must be running at all times, and its virus definitions must be kept current. Most anti-virus software can be set to get updates automatically, and to be current, the virus definitions are updated once or twice a week.

Students are also expected to install all security patches and service packs for their operating system. The majority of virus infestations we have seen on student computers have exploited security holes for which patches were available, but the users had simply not installed them yet. We strongly encourage all students with Windows computers to turn on Automatic Updates.  Automatic Updates in Windows will regularly download and install security patches from Microsoft. For Apple users, the Software Update for Mac OS should be configured to run at least weekly. We strongly encourage the use of automatic update features for other applications, such as Microsoft Office, Firefox, and Thunderbird.