Security Bulletin Summary August 27, 2004

Windows Security Bulletin

Overview
Who is Affected

Recommended Actions

Administrative Users
Academic PC Users
All Home PC Users
Academic Mac Users

Further Assistance

Other Bulletins

ADMINISTRATIVE Staff: You will be contacted directly by Administrative Computing to install this update. You should not take any action regarding your OFFICE computer. If you use a computer at HOME, please read on.

FACULTY, ACADEMIC STAFF AND ALL HOME USERS (including administrative home users and students living off campus) should read the information below.

I. OVERVIEW

Microsoft has just issued a major service pack for Windows XP users, Service Pack 2 (SP2). According to Microsoft, this release provides better protection against viruses, hackers, and worms, and includes Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and the new Windows Security Center. This service pack includes all of the patches that have been issued during the past year, as well as many other enhanced features and security updates.

Microsoft will be distributing SP2 over the next few weeks and you may soon be alerted that your computer is ready to install the SP2 update. Please make sure that you run Service Pack 2 when you get this notification on your computer.

Included in this new release is a Windows Firewall and Internet Explorer Popup Blocker feature. Although these might sound like positive improvements, early tests have shown that there are still problems with some of these enhanced security features and various programs that we run. For example, our campus backup system, Retrospect, will not properly back up unless the Windows Firewall is turned off. Microsoft purports to allow you to create an exception to the firewall so that retrospect will continue to run, however our tests indicate that this exception does not work properly. Similarly, the Popup blocker will interfere with various features of the campus web pages and does not work with certain javascript enabled programs.

As you may have heard, some schools are opting for delaying the installation of this service pack until they have an opportunity to work out a lot of these details. Academic Computing has determined that it would be to your advantage to apply the operating system security patches before the semester gets fully underway. However, we do not want to allow the additional Firewall and Popup security features included in this release to continue running on your computer until we have had more time to test how these new programs interact with our systems. Included below are instructions for turning these features off.

Once we have had an opportunity to fully test these changes, we will forward additional instructions for how to enable some of the new security features without jeopardizing the proper functioning of your computer or campus programs.

II. WHO IS AFFECTED?

Windows XP users must install this Service Pack. It will NOT install on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME or Windows 2000 or a Macintosh computer.

III. RECOMMENDED ACTION - ADMINISTRATIVE USERS ON CAMPUS

The Administrative Computing Center will be contacting those in Administrative offices. Do not attempt to follow the directions below on your office system, but please do so for your home computer(s).

IV. RECOMMENDED ACTION - ACADEMIC WINDOWS USERS and ALL HOME USERS AND STUDENTS LIVING OFF CAMPUS

Students, on campus, are being required to install Windows XP Service Pack 2 as part of the dormnet registration process. Information is being provided at http://connect.haverford.edu available only on the isolated student network. Students living off campus should follow the instructions below for home users.

To ensure that your computer is fully protected and that you can continue to run campus programs, you must:

• Install SP2 as soon as you get a computer alert that you should do so
• Turn off the Windows Firewall (http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/docs/windows/disablingxpfirewall.html) after SP2 installation
• Turn off the Pop-up Blocker (http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/docs/windows/disablingpopupblocker.html) after SP2 installation

Everyone should install all Windows critical updates. The best way to apply critical updates and make sure you get SP2, is to open INTERNET EXPLORER and go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. (Note: You must use Internet Explorer; Netscape will not work.) Follow the instructions for express install and install all **critical** updates identified.

Your Windows computer may already be configured to automatically download software updates. If you received notification on your computer to install this service pack or restart your computer, you may already be configured for automatic Windows updates. If you are not sure if the updates have been applied, go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com with Internet Explorer and scan for updates. If no updates are available, they have already been applied.

If you find by the above methods that your computer is not automatically updating, see http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/docs/general/osupdates.html for instructions on how to set up your computer to automatically notify you and install these updates as they are released.

All Windows users must also make sure that they have installed the latest anti-virus software configured by ACC (Virusscan 7 for XP), and that you have the latest definitions issued August 25 (dat version 4388) or later. For virus software information and downloads see http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/virus/virus.html.

V. RECOMMENDED ACTION - ACADEMIC MAC USERS

Macintosh users must also be sure to get all critical operating system updates and Office updates. Look for the Software Update tool in your Control Panel (OS 9) or in System Preferences (OS X) for operating system updates. For detailed instructions see http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/docs/general/osupdates.html.

For information and downloads of current anti-virus software, go to http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/virus/macantivirus.html

VI. FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE

Students should contact helpdesk@haverford.edu or call the Helpdesk at 610-896-1480, open 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Faculty members and academic staff should contact the Helpdesk at 610-896-1480, open 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday or their liaisons (see http://www2.haverford.edu/acc/about/liaisons.html ).

Administrative users should contact Administrative Computing (610-896-1044).