Additional Measures

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To further protect your computer, we recommend disabling auto-login, password protecting your screen saver, and disabling sleep mode.

Disabling auto-login
Password protect your screen saver
Disabling sleep mode

Disabling auto-login

There's little sense in having a password protected computer that has auto-login enabled. To disable it, follow the steps below.

Mac:

Click on the blue apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, and choose System Preferences....
In the Personal section, select Security.
Check the box labeled Disable automatic logins.

Windows XP:

Click the Start menu, and choose Run....
In the Open: field type "control userpasswords2"
Check the box next to Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.
Click OK to save your changes.

In Windows XP, auto-login may still occur if there is only one account on the machine, and that account does not have a password associated with it. For the love of security, make sure that every account on your machine has a password!

Password Protect Your Screen Saver

We recommend setting your screen saver to activate after 15 minutes of inactivity. Make sure your computer is set to require a password upon resume:

Mac:

Click on the blue apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, and choose System Preferences....
In the Personal section, select Desktop & Screen Saver.
On the Screen Saver tab, select a screen saver from the Screen savers box.
Near the bottom, set the "Start screen saver" sliding bar to 15.
Click on the left arrow button at the top to return to System Preferences.
In the Personal section, select Security.
Check the box labeled "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver".

Windows XP:

Right-click on your Desktop, and choose Properties.
Select the Screen Saver tab.
In the Screen saver drop-down box, select a screen saver (make sure it's set to something other than "none").
Check the box labeled On resume, display Welcome screen (alternatively, it may be labeled On resume, password protect).
In the Wait box, enter 15.
Click OK to save your changes.

Disabling Sleep Mode

Your computer may lose its connection to network connections when it goes to sleep. To prevent this from happening, disable sleep mode.

Note: Laptop users may want to enable sleep mode when running on battery power.

Mac:

Click on the blue apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, and choose System Preferences....
In the Hardware section, select Energy Saver.
Make sure the Settings for: drop-down box is set to Power Adapter.
On the Sleep tab, move the sliding bar labeled "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive for:" to Never.

Windows:

Go to Start > Control Panel and click on Power Options.
On the Power Schemes tab, select Home/Office Desk in the Power Schemes drop-down box.
In the box labeled System standby, select Never.
Click OK to save your changes.

For additional questions about keeping your computer safe from attack, contact IT Services.

Reading Area Community College
Ten South Second Street, P.O. Box 1706
Reading, PA 19603-1706, 610-372-4721 or 800-626-1665
Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
3624 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-2680, 215.662.5606