Posted April 20, 2020 by Academic and Institutional Technology
Tags: Department News
Don’t Let Your Computer Get Sick!
Effective Date: April 20, 2020
No, your computer can’t “catch” COVID-19, but it is still critically important to take active measures to keep your computer “healthy” while it is at home.
Generally, when your Wheaton College device is on campus and connected to our network, AIT regularly updates your computer with software patches from Microsoft or Apple. But with people working from home, this becomes trickier. Since having your device patched is the best way to keep you, your device, and our College data safe, all Wheaton College employees should regularly perform the following two steps when working from home.
- Start your workday by launching GlobalProtect VPN software each day with “Wheaton College Only” and stay connected all day. Note that if you are connecting from an insecure public Wi-Fi, use the “Wheaton College + Internet” VPN gateway.
- Reboot your computer at least weekly. A great habit to start would be to reboot your computer at the end of the day every Friday since monthly software patches are typically released on a Thursday.
Key Benefits and Features
- Enhanced security as all Wheaton College devices will still receive software updates and patches
- Wheaton College data will be protected by having all employees use the Global Protect VPN software from off-campus
And that’s it! AIT will take care of the rest of your software patching behind the scenes.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Academic and Institutional Technology at 630.752.4357 (HELP) or by email at ait.service.desk@wheaton.edu.