Securing Your Computer

This section provides information about all the software and instruction necessary to comply with the Desktop and Portable Computer Standard. The software on this page is intended for use by students, faculty, and staff at RIT. Inexperienced/non-technical users may want to check out our Digital Self Defense 101 Workshop, which explains the dangers of the Internet and RIT security requirements in greater detail.

Note: You do not have to use the specific software listed on this page. However, you should meet the requirements of the Desktop and Portable Computer Standard for your computer

Anti-Virus

RIT recommends that you choose a vendor-supported anti-virus product. You may find that Sophos is a good choice.

It is not necessary to use this particular anti-virus; if you prefer, you may use vendor-supported anti-virus product. You might consider the following:

Product	License	Company
Sophos Home (PC and Mac), Sophos Mobile Security (Android and iOS)	Free and paid versions available for personal use.	Sophos
ClamAV (Linux)	Free for personal use	Open Source
ClamXAV2 (Mac)	Free for personal use	Open Source
Norton Anti-Virus	One year paid subscription	Symantec
Trend Micro Anti-Virus	One year paid subscription	Trend Micro
Avast! Anti-Virus	Free for personal use	ALWIL Software
AVG Anti-Virus	Free for personal use	Grisoft

Anti-Spyware

This should already be built into current anti-virus software. A separate program is not needed.

Firewalls

Windows 7, 8, 10 and Mac OS X all come with built-in firewalls; Resnet provides instructions on how to configure these built-in firewalls. Other firewall options may be provided by your Internet Service Provider.

Patching/Updating

Regardless of what operating system you run, it should be up-to-date on all security patches; the easiest way to do this is to turn on the automatic update feature. Learn how to enable automatic updates for Windows and keep your Mac up-to-date automatically.

Users of other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, etc., are also required to keep their operating systems up-to-date on security patches.

Software Applications should also be kept up-to-date. This can usually be done from within the program itself or through the vendor's website; some programs have an automatic update feature. Use the links below to find updates for Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe software.