Making The 'Net Work For You

Welcome to the University of Washington! We are glad that you are here and we want to help you get connected to all the computing resources that the University provides to you. This guide is designed to help make connecting your computer to the UW network as painless as possible.

Your UW Residence Hall room is equipped with access to the high-speed campus Ethernet network. This gives you fast access to email, UW Libraries, the MyUW web site, UW class pages, and information on the Web anywhere in the world. To connect your computer to the campus network, you need (1) your computer with a 10/100bT Ethernet port and (2) a connecting cable. Further, (3) a UWICK CD-COM (available at the University Book Store) will make some steps easier and faster.

• Note: If you are living in triples in McCarty, Terry, Lander, Haggett, and Mercer the room will not have enough wall jacks to provide one connection per person. For these rooms, you can check out hubs from the Residence Hall desk.

It is important that you recognize that the Internet is not always a safe place. Having high-speed access to the 'Net is an important advantage for you in your studies. However, it also means that others have high-speed access to YOUR computer, YOUR files, and YOUR data! You need to take extra safeguards to protect yourself against viruses and other "bad" software being installed in your computer.

Step 1 - BEFORE you connect!

You'll want to be sure your computer has:

• Working, and up-to-date, anti-virus software installed
• All the available operating system updates installed
• Is configured to automatically KEEP these up to date

Some of this may be done before you have a working network connection. Regardless of whether you are running a Macintosh or Windows computer, you should use the UW Internet Connectivity Kit (UWICK) CD-ROM,  ($1 at University Book Stores) for the initial installation of anti-virus software. To update your Windows operating system, Microsoft has made Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD-ROM widely available. These are important steps that you should do BEFORE you've got a working network connection.

Microsoft Windows XP: If using Microsoft Windows XP be SURE that you have turned on the "Internet Connection Firewall" (ICF) BEFORE making any connection to the network!  If you have already installed Windows XP Service Pack 2, then the ICF should be "on" by default, but take a second to check it anyway. Failure to do so could result in your computer being "infected" with a worm within just a few minutes of being connected, regardless of the state of anti-virus software!

How to check your Windows XP 'Internet Connection Firewall':

Details may vary slightly, depending on how up-to-date you've kept Windows XP.

1. Open Network Connections
   Use Start -> Control Panel -> (double click) Network Connections

Or if your Control Panel is set to "category view", then

1. Use Start -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet Connections -> Network Connections
2. Click on the network you want to protect, usually "Local Area Network"
3. In the pane at the left
   • click on "Change settings of this connection"
   • ..or..
   • Right-click on the connection and select Properties
4. Click the Advanced tab. You should see something similar to the image at the right. Be sure the option to "Protect my computer..." is ON!

If you have difficulty, then use the MS Windows Help function (e.g., Start -> Help and Support) and search for "Internet Connection Firewall".  You should find a section on "find out if your computer has a firewall" tailored to your installation of Windows.

Users with older MS Windows Systems - If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows NT or older Windows operating systems, then these systems DO have potential vulnerabilities, but do NOT have a built-in firewall! Upgrading to Windows XP is probably the best course, though there are "add-in" software firewalls and external hardware firewall options available.

Macintosh users - If you are using Mac OS X 10.2 or higher, then you will also find a built-in firewall (at System Preferences -> Sharing -> Firewall). The Firewall function will be "on" by default, but take a second to check it anyway.

Users with older Macintosh Systems . If you are using a Mac pre OS X operating system, then there just aren't "services" running on your Mac to exploit, so generally there isn't anything going on that a firewall would help.

Step 2 - MAKING the connection.

Plug the Ethernet cable into the ORANGE wall jack!

If you are running Apple Macintosh OS X or Microsoft Windows XP then this is almost certainly going to be a plug and play operation.

1. You DO need an Ethernet (aka 'cat5' or 'category 5' or '10bT/100bT') drop cable long enough to reach from your computer to the Ethernet wall jack. It will look like a "fat" phone cable. Cables can be purchased at the University Book Stores.
2. Your computer DOES need a functional Ethernet (10bT/100bT) port.
3. With your computer powered OFF, plug in one end of the drop cable to the ORANGE colored wall jack (see right) and the other to your computer's Ethernet port. Be careful here, it is probably your one big chance for a mistake. The OTHER wall jack is for your telephone, and won't work for Ethernet, though the cable might fit.
4. Turn on your computer, and start browsing the Web!

If this did not work, then

• Check to make certain that you have plugged your drop cable into the ORANGE wall jack.
• Check to make certain that you have plugged your drop cable into the Ethernet port on your computer and not into your modem port.
• Check that your Ethernet port is configured properly. If you've previously configured your computer's Ethernet port to use something other than the usual defaults, you may have to set it back to the defaults. The most important setting is to "use DHCP" or "Obtain IP address automatically". You should NOT use a network IP address that you have previously typed in from some other network (like AOL or Comcast) nor should you guess at an IP address.
• If you are living in triple resident room, you won't have enough wall jacks to provide one per resident. In this case a "hub" may be used and should be available at your Residence Hall desk.
• If you are using an older operating system, making the connection may be a little more difficult. The UWICK CD-ROM contains instructions that should help you.

If you are still having problems, then

• Check to make certain that your drop cable is not defective. Try using a different drop cable.
• Very rarely, but it happens, you might have a bad Ethernet port on your computer. You should check your warranty and have your computer serviced.
• If you get stuck, don't hesitate to telephone the UW Technology Service Center at 206-221-5000.

For some "answers to frequently asked questions" about Residence Hall networks see http://www.washington.edu/networking/noc/reshall.html

Step 3 - USING the connection.

You should now have very fast access to the entire Web, but one of the first things you may want to do, if you happen to be looking at a paper version of this document, is look at the online version instead. It may have been updated since your copy was printed, and the "links" in it will actually WORK instead of forcing you to type them into your browser. See the online version of this document at http://www.washington.edu/computing/reshall/making.html

Confirm that you have completed STEP 1 and that you have anti-virus software installed, active, up-to-date, and configured to automatically update.  The UWICK can help with this, either by using the CD-ROM (again, $1 at University Book Stores) or by downloading components as needed starting at http://www.washington.edu/computing/software/uwick

You should also confirm that you have configured your computer itself to perform automatic updates of the operating system:

• For MS Windows; see http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx
• For Macintosh OS use the "Software Update" under "System Preferences"; see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106704

If running MS Windows then you may also want to scan for "Spyware"; see

http://www.washington.edu/computing/security/spyware/

More information aimed at computing from the Residence Halls starts at

http://www.washington.edu/computing/reshall/restech.html

Following the rules

There are special policies for Residence Hall networks. See http://www.washington.edu/networking/noc/reshall.html#130

These rules are important and you need to read them. Of particular importance is that you can not run a "server" on your personal machine that would be accessible from off-campus. Other common-sense rules apply as well (don't attack other systems, don't use a disproportionate amount of network bandwidth). Please spend a few minutes in acquainting yourself with these rules.

And, if your computer does get "infected"

If you've followed the above suggestions your system should be fairly well protected against viruses and worms. However, no protection is ever perfect; your system could STILL be infected. The UW network is constantly monitored for signs of compromised systems. When a compromised system is detected the most likely response is to limit network access from this system so that the compromised system can't be used as a "launching pad" for further attacks. You would typically see this as a sudden inability to reach Web pages OUTSIDE the UW. If you suspect your network access has been restricted you can confirm this and start the process to get cleaned up and back "on the 'Net" at http://www.washington.edu/computing/security/unblock/

To get more help

Start with the UW Computing and Networking Web page at http://www.washington.edu/computing

Write to us at "help@u.washington.edu", call us at 206-221-50000.

We're here to help with problems using UW computing resources.

UW Technology
help@u.washington.edu
Modified: January 25, 2008