Information Technology
BIOTA IT Support Staff
Ryan MacDonald • Earth Sciences Centre 3041 • 416-978-4938
Stephen Smith • Ramsey Wright 336 • 416-978-5303
Please direct support requests to: it-help@biota.utoronto.ca
Visit the BIOTA IT web site for the latest on computing in EEB: www.biota.utoronto.ca
Getting online in Ramsay Wright and Earth Sciences Centre
There are two ways to access campus Internet service: wired and wireless. The departments of CSB and EEB provide wired networking for staff, students, and faculty in the RW and ESC buildings. Contact BIOTA support if you need to connect your computer to the building network.
Wireless Internet service is provided by U of T Information + Technology Services. A UTORid is required to use the campus wireless network. For instructions on how to connect, please see: http://wireless.utoronto.ca/ Note that because of building structure and antenna placement, wireless signals are not available in all areas or rooms.
Windows computers absolutely need anti-virus software.
Viruses and malware can steal personal information, destroy data, and turn your computer into a criminal Internet zombie. Install an anti-virus program and keep it up to date. Don’t install multiple anti-virus programs - they fight. It is also important to routinely install Windows updates and Mac OS updates.
For Windows XP, Vista, and 7, we recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (free for personal computers). Macs are also under increasing threat from malware. We recommend using the free Sophos Anti-Virus for Macs.
Be smart about Phishing attacks.
Fraudsters will try to trick you into giving up your UTORid and password. Beware any email you get threatening that your account will be disabled or needs to be upgraded or similar. These are not from the University. Do not enter your UTORid anywhere but the official UTORid login page: https://weblogin.utoronto.ca
More information about phishing is available here: www.its.utoronto.ca/security/phishing.htm
Hard drives and USB memory sticks fail. Protect your files.
The disk inside your computer will fail. It is simply a question of when. Your Windows or Mac computer has built-in backup software. Use it.
Keep your entire hard drive backed up so you can recover from a catastrophe.
Your trusty flash drive will fail. And you may not have any warning.
Save your important documents on at least two devices at all times.
Store your important documents online with a service such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Stuff gets lost/stolen.
If you work with sensitive files such as research, student, or administrative data - and particularly if you use a laptop - we recommend encrypting your hard drive, external drives, and USB sticks.
Encryption makes it practically impossible for anyone to access the data without your password. It’s easy to do with the built-in FileVault on Macs, and on Windows with a free program called TrueCrypt.