Early Bird

Digital spring cleaning

Some tips from ITS to tidy up your digital workspace.

By Corey Oxenbury

May 23, 2019

With the spring semester coming to a close, Information Technology Services suggests taking some time to secure and clean up your digital workspace. Here are a few tips to help with your digital spring cleaning.

• Lock down your login: At home and at work, security is critical to protecting your accounts. If your password is due for a change, try setting a passphrase to improve your account security. Also remember to have different passwords for different systems, and make sure you never write your password down.
• Update your system and software: Having the latest updates to your computer’s security software, web browsers and operating system is one of the easiest ways to keep devices secure and running smoothly. If you see that your computer is ready to install updates, set aside some time to let them run. Don’t procrastinate!
• Back it up: Protect your personal and workplace data by making electronic copies or backups of your most important files. You can back up data from your personal devices to an external hard drive or to cloud-storage solutions. In the office, use your Office 365 OneDrive app to sync work files between your computer and the cloud. Remember to protect FERPA, HIPAA and other sensitive data according to the University’s Data Classification Policy.
• Clean up your downloads: Downloaded documents can pile up over time, making it hard to find the files you need. If you have a lot of files on your desktop, it can even slow the whole computer down. Consider moving or deleting any downloaded files you don’t need or have never used. If you’re not sure, you can always back them up first.
• Update your contact information: Whether it’s a personal or a professional account, keeping your contact information up to date ensures that account managers and service providers can get in touch with you if they need to. In particular, keeping your RAVE Mobile Safety contacts up to date ensures you’ll get timely notice whenever there’s a campus emergency or closure.

For assistance with any of the above or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at 303-352-7548 or support.msudenver.edu.