This document outlines our computing facilities, security policy information, some do’s and don’ts, sources of information and how to obtain help and support. Apart from a number of specialised systems, the majority of our desktop computers run Microsoft Windows. We aim to ensure every member of staff and postgraduate student has their own computer. Your DIDE username and password can be used to login to any computer within the department.

New Starters

All new starters are assigned two computer user accounts; a departmental DIDE account and an Imperial College (IC) account. The DIDE account is used to log on to computers within the department and to access shared files, folders and printers that are located within the department. It is created by a member of DIDE IT, and uses the same username as your Imperial College account (see below).

The IC account is used when logging on to computers outside of the department (for example, in lecture theatres, the library, and at other campuses). It is also used to access College e-mail and some of the web pages on the College website. The IC account is created automatically by ICT when a person is added on to the HR database as an employee. You must activate your IC account before it can be used, this can be done via the ICT activation website.

Once you have obtained your DIDE and IC accounts, please read the rest of this page to help familiarise yourself with the systems and procedures we have in place.

Email

The Imperial College email service is hosted by ICT at South Kensington and Microsoft Outlook, which is installed on all desktop computers in DIDE, is used to access your inbox. If you are prompted by Outlook for a username and password, you must enter "IC\username" for your username and your IC password.

Reading Your Email from Outside Imperial College

If you have a personal laptop or home computer, you can install Microsoft Office (including Outlook) provided you sign a “Work at Home License Agreement” and are a full time member of staff (excluding postgraduate students). Instructions on how to configure Outlook to access your Imperial inbox can be found here for Outlook 2003 and here for Outlook 2007/2010.

Web Access

You can also access your Imperial College email over the web with an Outlook-style interface via Outlook Web Access. Login with your IC username and password (there is no need to use IC\username).

Quotas

Mail quotas are set at 1000Mb for staff and 500Mb for postgraduates. You can request more space but will have to pay for it.

It may be worth creating a .pst file to manage older mail items because this is not counted as part of your email quota. If you do this on your departmental computer, make sure it is stored on U: drive (see later) otherwise it will not be backed up. The main disadvantage of using a .pst file is it can only be accessed from your PC.

Mailing Lists

We have four main mailing lists within DIDE. All new starters are automatically added to all four mailing lists:

This mailing list contains members of DIDE, as well as some other members of Imperial College. The non DIDE members primarily consist of people from the Divisional Admin team within the School of Public Health, although membership could widen to others in the future. This mailing list has optional membership - members are free to remove themselves from it at any time. Thus, any messages you send to this mailing list may not be seen by everyone in DIDE and may also be seen by other people within the College. Future membership may also be extended to other College members at any time if requested.

This mailing list only contains members of DIDE. Non-DIDE College members are not permitted to join this list. This mailing list has mandatory membership - members are not allowed to leave this list unless they leave the department. Thus, any messages you send to this mailing list will be seen by everyone in DIDE, but not be seen by anyone outside of DIDE (unless it is forwarded on by someone).

This mailing list contains members of DIDE, as well as some other members of Imperial College and also other educational institutions. This mailing list has optional membership - members are free to remove themselves from it at any time. Thus, any messages you send to this mailing list may not be seen by everyone in DIDE and may also be seen by other people within the College and other educational institutions. Future membership may also be extended to other College and non-College members at any time if requested. Seminar related messages should be sent to this mailing list.

This mailing list contains members of DIDE, as well as some other members of Imperial College past and present. This mailing list has optional membership - members are free to remove themselves from it at any time. Thus, any messages you send to this mailing list may not be seen by everyone in DIDE and may also be seen by other people within the College past and present. Future membership may also be extended to other College members past and present at any time if requested.

Further Information

Refer to the ICT website section on email. 

DIDE Resources

Filestore

Depending on which research group you are a member of, you will see a number of network drives mapped in “My Computer”:

U:     Your personal home directory and your My Documents folder.

The default storage limit on the U: drive is 5 GB, which has proven sufficient for most members of staff. However, more space may be available upon request.

Changed files are backed up every week night and a full backup of everyone’s home directory is done over the weekend. Tapes are retained for two weeks.

Please use U: drive for work related files only. Do not store personal images, music, movies or other multimedia files in this location. Use your local hard disk (C: drive) instead.

T:     A shared drive for everyone in the department. Use this space to exchange files with other members of staff. The T: drive is not backed up, so do not store any important documents or data here.

M:     Shared drive - Molgen group only.

P:     Shared drive - Partnership for Child Development only.

S:     Shared drive - Schistosomiasis Control Initiative only.

Printing

Black & White Output

In the South Wharf Road Wing photocopier area, there is a black and white multi-function laser printer available for general use and this is the default printer if your office is in this area. This device can be used to scan and copy as well as normal printing. Refer to the Digital Sender section of the Printing FAQs for instructions on using the extra functionality.

At the far end Praed Street Wing there is a black and white laser printer and everyone based in Praed Street, apart from members of the PCD, has this as their default printer.

There are office based printers in Variety B and C wings. Staff based in these locations may have set them to be their default printers.

Colour Output

There is a high-speed A3 capable colour laser printer in the photocopier area on South Wharf Road wing and an A4 colour multi-function printer at the far end of Praed Street Wing. Specific groups i.e. the PCD or SCI may have their own colour laser printers.

Posters

We use ServicePoint, Mayfair branch for printing our posters for conferences or display boards. They will take Adobe .PDF or Microsoft PowerPoint files and their contact details are:

Address (London - Mayfair):
28 North Audley Street
Mayfair
W1Y 2JH
Tel: 020 7499 6216
E-mail: mayfair@servicepointuk.com

Digital Sender

A digital scanning device is available in the photocopier area, South Wharf Road Wing. This can be used to scan documents or images as PDF or JPEG files that can be emailed or sent to a shared network folder. Refer to the Digital Sender section of the Printing FAQs for instructions on using the extra functionality.

Software

The College holds a site license for the following software, which can be installed on any College owned computer:

• Microsoft Office 2007/2010 Professional^*
• Microsoft Visual Studio .net 2008/2010^*
• Endnote X4
• Symantec Endpoint Protection^*
• WinZip 14.

* The software is also available for home use by College employees upon signing a usage agreement form.

In addition, the department has licenses for the following:

• MathType v6.7
• ArcGIS 10
• SAS 9.1.3

Other products are available for a one-off or annual fee. More information can be found on the Softwarepage. 

Software Installation

New computers (or reformatted systems) will be joined to the DIDE domain and supplied with a fully patched installation of Windows, Office and Symantec Antivirus software.

You are responsible for obtaining software licenses from ICT and installing the software. Once proof of a valid license has been provided e.g. email or paper certificate from the ICT Software Shop, IT staff will grant access to the appropriate products on the DIDE software server.

You are responsible for keeping your computer(s) fully up to date with the latest Microsoft critical updates and antivirus definitions, especially laptops that are not joined to the DIDE domain.

Resolution of system faults resulting from installation of unapproved software will receive a low priority. Ask if you have any doubts whether a particular package is safe.

Security

Screen Locking

The screen on your desktop will lock automatically after a set period of time. This is to prevent malicious use of your computer and to reduce the risk of data theft. To unlock you screen you must press Ctrl & Alt & Del simultaneously and re-enter your DIDE username and password.

Passwords:

If you forget your password, it can be reset by the following members of staff:

• Dipen Mandalia
• David Aanensen
• Wes Hinsley
• Ruth Tipples
• Jo Westmacott

Remote Access to the DIDE Network

It is possible to access the DIDE network via a broadband connection at home by setting up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection. This creates a point to point encrypted link between your PC and the department. There are a number of conditions of use:

• Your home computer must have Antivirus software installed and the virus definition must be kept up to date. Symantec Antivirus is available for home use via the College site license.
• You must enable automatic Windows updates and ensure your PC has the latest critical updates installed.

Failure to comply with these conditions represents a security risk to our network and is likely to result in your access being disabled. More information on setting up the VPN connection can be obtained here.

Backups

We undertake regular backups of the Home servers, with certain exceptions e.g. T: drive. Tapes are normally retained for two weeks after which they are overwritten. If you do accidentally delete a file or folder, contact a member of DIDE IT as soon as possible and specify the precise folder location and filename to be restored. Please be aware that backups are only snapshots. If you create a file and delete it between backups it will never be stored on a tape.

Help and Support

If you have a technical problem, it really helps to identify a solution if you provide as much information as possible. When an application generates an error message make a note of it. If you are experiencing network problems, check if other users are experiencing the same thing. Once you have gathered as much information as you can you should then email Mr Dipen Mandalia in the first instance.

Home Personal Computers and Laptops

We are unable to support computers that are not owned by Imperial College. You may be able to get advice and support from ICT; contact the ICT helpdesk on extension 49000 or email service.desk@imperial.ac.uk.