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Your UO Security Package
Dan Albrich
dalbrich@oregon.uoregon.edu
'Secure,' in computer terminology, means encrypted. Not all electronic
communication needs to be encrypted, but anything that requires private information
(like a username and password, credit card, or ID numbers) should be encrypted
to ensure that eavesdroppers can't monitor your communication or grab your passwords.
This fall we included two security features on the 2000 Duckware CD-ROM: a link
to our secure web email programs, and a 'Secure Shell' program called
ssh. Ssh, secure web email, and SSL encryption for POP and IMAP are all available
on Gladstone, Darkwing and Oregon. (Web browsing is not generally encrypted,
but a lock icon in the lower corner of your browser indicates when encryption
is active.)
Outlook, Entourage, and Netscape email also support encryption
(see 'How to Use Encryption Tools' below for
instructions). But unfortunately, even the most current version of Eudora lacks
this option.
New! Secure File Transfer for Windows
WS_FTP, the Secure Shell program issued on the Windows version of Duckware 2000,
lacks encryption for file transfers. However, there is now an alternative: a
new graphical secure file transfer program called SFTP, or Secure File Transfer
Protocol. This program is free, and includes a new Secure Shell program as well
as a secure file transfer program. (Oregon users: note that SFTP relies on version
2 of ssh, which has historically not been compatible with Oregon.)
Go to ftp://public.uoregon.edu/ to
download SFTP. Open the folders 'Software,' 'Network Software,'
and 'Secure,' and select 'SSH240.exe'. Then double-click
the downloaded program to activate it.
If you're happy with Duckware 2000's ssh program, we recommend you continue
to use it because it has good terminal emulation. However, we do recommend using
the SFTP component of the new ssh program for file transfers, since this represents
new functionality not provided on Duckware 2000.
With time, we hope to provide secure programs for all common computing activities.
No SFTP for Mac. Unfortunately, there's currently no SFTP program for
the Macintosh platform. While Duckware 2000 includes Secure Shell for the Mac
and a secure copy tool called 'SCP,' these are unfortunately rather
cumbersome to use. Mac SCP requires specific path information and is far from
being a drag-and-drop kind of program.
If you know of better encryption options for Mac users, please drop us a line
at microhelp@oregon.uoregon.edu.
Need More Information?
For information on security programs, see http://micro.uoregon.edu/security/
How to Use Encryption Tools |
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