Computer Network Policy
This policy applies to anyone that has an account on one of the servers of the Department of Anesthesiology. These guidelines are designed to protect the department's computer/network infrastructure, to ensure availability to its users, and to comply with federal and state laws and UF policies.
Accounts
- All full-time paid department personnel are eligible to receive an e-mail account and a "log-in" account on one of our departmental servers.
- Part-time paid personnel can have an account established when it is necessary for their work. Volunteers for the department can get an account if necessary for their work after volunteer appointment paperwork has been done, HIPAA and Compliance training have been completed, and a request has been made by the supervisor. It is the supervisor's responsibility to notify the department's personnel office immediately of the volunteer's termination.
- A department e-mail account is created for all department personnel with Novell accounts. E-mail is the primary means of written communication in the department and college. Each member of the department is responsible for reading and responding to his/her department e-mail in a timely manner. A faculty member may choose to assign that responsibility to his/her secretary, but he/she is still held accountable for the information distributed. E-mail is considered a public record (http://www.pr.ufl.edu/email.htm) and as such, users are reminded to follow the appropriate laws and regulations. Please note that HSC HIPAA rules do not allow the auto-forwarding of email from our system to an address outside ufl.edu.
- Once an account has been established, the
users have the following responsibilities:
- Use a secure password. A secure password is defined as a combination of letters and numbers of at least 6 characters, not representing a dictionary word, or something that can be tied to you personally.
- Keep your password private. Do not share your password with anybody else. If access to your files is required, consult with the computer support group for a better solution.
- Log out when you are done using the computer.
- Upon termination log in and email accounts are deleted immediately. By request, the user can provide a new email address that will be automatically sent to anyone sending email to the now defunct departmental address of the user. It will be the user's responsibility to delete information from his computer and server account before departure. Any remaining information will be destroyed.
Computers
Each full-time department-paid employee with an assigned office space will be entitled to use a department-provided desktop computer. Capabilities of the computer hardware and software will be decided based upon needs and availability of funds.
- Only computers that are setup by the computer support group (CSG) can be fully supported. Non-standard configurations limit our ability to service other computers. CSG will attempt to help with standard software like MS Word and Groupwise, but cannot guarantee those programs will work as well as they would with the standard configuration.
- If a computer is needed for a research project, funds for this computer should be budgeted when the grant is submitted. The CSG should be consulted to ensure compatibility with the department's systems.
- In lieu of a computer provided for by the department, an employee can provide a computer bought from his/her own funds or from research funds. In that case the CSG will need to be consulted on the proposed purchase to ensure compatibility with the department's systems. The CSG will fix and maintain these computers, but the user will give up the right to receive a computer from the department. Support for these computers will be limited if they are in a non-standard configuration.
- All computers are subject to the minimum configuration requirement (see below). Home use of a departmental computer is not allowed (except for a laptop computer after the appropriate paperwork is done).
Minimum Configuration
Any computer that is used in the department and that is connected to the UF/Shands/VA Anesthesiology computer network, will have to be configured as a minimum:
- Network address configuration (ip number) - This can only be done by the CSG
- Virus scanner. The McAffee virus scanner is available for free for use in the department. The virus scanner must be set up to update the virus data file at least once per week. This needs to be setup by the CSG
Computer Use
- State and federal laws need to be obeyed.
- HSC HIPAA policy must be followed ( http://privacy.health.ufl.edu/).
- University policies need to be followed (http://www.it.ufl.edu/policies/aupolicy.html).
- Department computer equipment may be used by employees for personal business as long as work is not done on department time, and personal use of the equipment is budget neutral or the department is reimbursed for its usage. Outside employment forms must be completed if any equipment is used for business reasons other than University work.
- No additional software or Instant Messaging may be installed on departmental computers without approval from the CSG. A copy of the software license for these additional software packages is required. Even when free software is installed the CSG must be consulted because many free packages contain adware or spyware which collects information on your computer use which in some cases is transmitted to third parties. In addition, many free software packages impact the proper operation of the departmental computers. Please do not ask the CSG to install software that is unrelated to departmental business.
- All software on departmental computers must have a license; illegal duplication and/or installation of such on departmental computers will be removed when found. Continued illegal duplication and/or installation could result in dismissal.
- Home use of software licensed by the department is not allowed unless used on a departmental laptop after the appropriate paperwork has been done. Many of our software license agreements do not allow home use. Software with educational discount can be obtained online and via the university book store.
- No server software is allowed on departmental computers without approval (including ftp servers, web servers, etc). The department already maintains a wide variety of servers and will be happy to try to accommodate your needs.
- No Operating System changes (upgrades, downgrades, new installs) are to be performed by the user without permission from CSG. Changes to the OS will make the computer non-standard, and CSG will only be able to provide limited support.
- The departmental email system may not be used to send Self Promotional Advertising Messages (SPAM) or Unsolicited Commercial Emails (UCE). Do not use departmental email lists for selling football tickets, kittens, etc.
- The CSG is responsible for the distribution, maintenance, and inventory of department computers and printers. Computer equipment bears a departmental decal in addition to the institutional decal to facilitate inventory. No computer should be moved from its current location without the involvement of the CSG .
- Generally accepted moral and ethical conduct also applies to the information stored on computer hard drives. Please refrain from storing inappropriate materials.
- The CSG does not provide support for Macintosh computer systems or any nonstandard or nondepartment-issue software.
Monitoring
All users should be aware that the CSG and
other organizations within the university record and monitor
certain information as required by the University computer
security policy (http://www.it.ufl.edu/policies/security)
to assure that the rules in this policy are followed. This
information includes: login username/date/time/computer for all
logins to our fileservers, security scanning, virus scanner
status, installed computer packages, etc.
This recording and monitoring is done for all users and all
departmental computers on a non-discriminatory basis. We may
perform additional monitoring of a specific user or computer as
required by law, necessary for an emergency situation, or when a
computer is suspected to be hacked into.
When you suspect your computer is hacked into, or if your computer was infected by a computer virus, please contact CSG immediately to ensure appropriate action is taken.
Other guidelines
Gatorlink
All users are encouraged to sign up for a Gatorlink account. Depending on University affiliation a range of services may be available (for example, printing your paycheck).
The department will use Gatorlink login accounts for some of its services in the future. To sign up for a Gatorlink account or for more information, go to http://www.gatorlink.ufl.edu/.
Please contact if you have any questions.
