PrintableInstalling Software
Software installation is something employees may do on the computers at which they work with some caveats and cautions.
The foremost caution can be summarized by There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. There are a great many programs available online which purport to provide some entertainment (games, screensavers, etc.) or useful function (time synchronizing, weather reports, web form filling, etc.) but are really "spyware" or "adware", that is, software designed to collection information about the individual and their habits or to display advertisements above and beyond those commonly found on web sites. In addition to these intended functions, many such programs are not very stable and can impair the proper functioning of other programs of the computer in general.
In some cases, there is no need to install such programs because the functionality can already be found on the School computer.
- There is no need for time synchronizing software, our computers are configured to keep synchronized automatically (if you find that a clock is off, please let us know).
- Installing software to block web pop-up ads is not necessary. On Macs, we recommend web browsing with Safari or Firefox, which have a built-in pop-up blocking feature. On Windows, we recommend web browsing with Mozilla Firefox which is installed on every school computer and also has a built-in pop-up blocking features (found in the Tools menu). We do not enable these features by default because some legitimate sites depend on pop-up functionality (notably the University's Outlook Web Access) and it is difficult to surmise that pop-up blocking is the problem in those cases. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 adds pop-up blocking functionality to Internet Explorer but because of its continued security problems we do not recommend using Internet Explorer except when necessary.
The School recognizes that the computer is not only a tool for work but also a tool for personal and professional development and a tool for communications. It is assumed that all employees will use their time and resources in a reasonable and professional manner and this assumption extends to the use of the computers. For staff, managers are primarily responsible for determining what constitutes "reasonable and professional" for a position. ECS staff are not concerned with the use of software they are asked to install, only with its affect on computer security and stability, and will not typically ask for a manager's approval before installing a program. Faculty are naturally expected to be more mindful of their own conduct but ECS staff concern for security and stability do not differ when it comes to faculty operated computers.
Possessing software licenses for commercial software is the responsibility of the employee when it is not for departmental or school business. Typically this means a copy must be purchased for each computer but in some cases certain software publishers allow it to be installed in two places when both installations cannot be used at the same time (i.e. home & office).
Software Installation in Windows
A goal of the security settings on the standard login account is to prevent malicious or buggy software from doing harm to the functioning of the computer, not to prevent the installation of software. Employee accounts have read/write access to C:\Program Files\ and to their own Profile directory (found in C:\Documents and Settings\) and this is all that most programs should require for installation (as a rule, student worker accounts are more limited and students should not install software on School computers). Some programs, particularly ones that involve operating external hardware, such as scanners, require access to system directories such as C:\Windows and for these an account with Administrator level access is required. Unfortunately, too many programs are written as if everyone still used Windows 95/98 with no consideration for security settings. These programs do not follow Microsoft's guidelines and unnecessarily make use of system directories. For these programs, an account with Administrator level access is also required.Computing Services staff is available to install software requiring Administrator access and it is preferred that they install all software.