FRESHERS – Welcome to the Queen’s College!
RETURNERS – Welcome back!
The start of a new academic year is a busy time for students, academics and College staff.
So before you finally pack the car please read through our IT tips and reminders below…
“COMING UP” SUMMARY
1) ANTI-VIRUS
2) SECURITY UPDATES AND PATCHES
3) P2P
4) BACKUPS
5) DISASTER MAY STRIKE AT ANY TIME
6) PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES
7) NETWORKING
8) POWER
9) TAKE NOTE
10) IT’S GOOD TO TALK
THE DETAIL
1) ANTI-VIRUS – Make sure your Anti-Virus software is up-to-date. FRESHERS – you can get Sophos Anti-Virus software FREE whilst you are a member of the University. Get Sophos Anti-Virus here: https://register.oucs.ox.ac.uk/self/software
2) SECURITY UPDATES AND PATCHES – Make sure your computer has all the latest software and security updates – ie “Microsoft Windows Updates” and “Apple Software Updates”
3) PEER TO PEER FILE SHARING – Save yourself over £100 in fines by making sure your Peer to Peer (P2P) and File Sharing software is uninstalled! Don’t run P2P on the University or College network because you will get caught … sooner or later …
4) BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP – Make sure you have backed up all your work during the Vacation and also have a backup plan for your term work. Remember – a backup is AT LEAST a second copy of your work – the more the merrier! Places to save your work could include – CD-R / DVD-R, USB Sticks, External Hard Disks, College G: Drive and you can even email your documents to yourself and save them in your NEXUS Email account. [ But be sure not to exceed your 2GB NEXUS email quota! ]
There are also several Online Backup Services available now including Mozy (2GB free), Carbonite and CrashPlan. Graduates can use the University HFS service whilst in Oxford [ unfortunately you can not backup to HFS via OWL or over the OUCS VPN service ]. Also DropBox.com offers 2GB free and by referring some friends you can get this up to 10GB! Other useful storage places are Gmail (7GB) and Microsoft SkyDrive (25GB free). Now there is no excuse for losing your work!
5) DISASTER MAY STRIKE AT ANY TIME – Make sure you have packed your computer’s Backup and Recovery disks.
Viruses are getting very sophisticated and very nasty. If you get a virus or malware infection the only guaranteed method of “cleaning” your system is to format the hard disk and re-install EVERYTHING. This is why your computer’s Recovery disks and regular backups are so important.
The IT Office can offer advice on creating backup and recovery disks – so come and talk to us – preferably BEFORE you start having problems.
So please take note – If you get a virus and Sophos Anti-Virus can not remove it, you will be expected to reinstall your system.
6) PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES – Pack all your computer equipment in a good strong box so things don’t get lost, forgotten or broken in transit. [ Remember your computer’s Backup and Recovery disks! ] 😉
7) NETWORKING RETURNERS – Don’t forget your Ethernet cable otherwise you won’t be able to get to FaceBook FRESHERS – You can purchase a network cable at Registration in Hall on Monday (at a fantastic discount to high street prices).
8) POWER – Don’t forget all your power supplies – laptop, mobile phone, MP3 player, assorted cables, chargers and adapters. Put them in your box mentioned above.
9) TAKE NOTE – Don’t forget to bring a pen and notepad – there is a lot to remember and it’s best to write it down! Recent research has shown that people remember and learn stuff far better when they have written it down on a piece of paper. You can of course then transcribe your written notes onto your computer – which gives another opportunity for you to learn and remember stuff! 🙂
10) IT’S GOOD TO TALK – The IT Office is here to help – but please don’t leave your problems to the very last minute because like you we are all very busy! 🙂
Marc and I hope you all have a very successful Michaelmas Term 2011.