SUNY Cobleskill : ITS : Campus Software

Software

Faculty/Staff:

A variety of software is licensed to SUNY Cobleskill. ITS maintains the software (upgrades/patches) on campus equipment and the campus-standard software image. ITS adheres to software and copyright compliance to insure the legalities of software usage. The following are the software levels on campus.

Level 1: Campus-standard software, Microsoft Office 2003 Professional(Access/Excel/Outlook/PowerPoint/Publisher/Word), Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system (O/S), McAfee Antivirus Software
Level 2: Academic software
Level 3: Department, Office or specialized lab software
Level 4: Temporary and demo software
Level 5: Non-standard software

Software Purchasing: Helpful forms are available to assist faculty/staff contemplating software purchases in ITS forms (under General Templates in Microsoft Word), including a Software Data Sheet (to assist users dealing with vendors and to help insure that software is compatible with SUNY Cobleskill’s network) and a Software Installation Request. For ITS assistance with software ordering, see the Procurement of Computer Equipment/Peripherals/Software policy.

Students:

Campus Standard Software includes Microsoft Office 2003 Professional (Access/Excel/Outlook/PowerPoint/Publisher/Word), Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system (O/S), McAfee Antivirus Software.

Under the terms of the Microsoft Campus Agreement, Student Option, each student is entitled to one set of MS Windows and Office CD’s. To receive your copy, you must read and sign a user acceptance form, available in the Computing@Cobleskill Help Center.

Do-it-yourself: Installation is a straight forward process and most users can do it themselves with no difficulty. Simply insert the CD in your computer's CD-Rom drive and carefully follow instructions during the automated installation process. You will be prompted to activate your software. You must do this or the software will only work for a limited time.
If you need assistance installing this software, call the Computing@Cobleskill Help Center to make an appointment to bring your computer to the Help Center.

See also: Microsoft Campus Agreement (MSCA) FAQ's

Microsoft Windows Updates is a critical computer maintenance task that must be repeated regularly to protect your computer and the campus network. Windows requires regular security updates to properly function and to protect your computer from bugs. If your computer uses a version of the Microsoft Windows operating system (XP Home/Professional or 2000), then apply all of the critical Windows updates that are available from Microsoft. To apply these updates you must connect to the Internet, simply open Internet Explorer, select Tools/Windows Update, and follow the instructions from there. You will be presented with a list of available Windows software updates customized to your computer’s current status.

Anti-virus Software is mandatory for all users connecting to the campus network. If students have their own anti-virus software installed, it must have a current subscription and be regularly updated. Be aware that many new computers come with a free trial subscription service to an anti-virus software. After the trial expires, the anti-virus software is no longer viable because the updates cannot be downloaded. Any antivirus software must be updated with current 'definitions' files on a weekly basis. These 'definition' files provide a dictionary of known viruses that the software can then identify and eliminate. If your definition files are out-of-date, your anti-virus software cannot protect your computer from new viruses.

If you do not have current anti-virus protection, the Student Technology Fee covers the cost of McAfee Anti-Virus. With the installation of this software, updates are automatically downloaded, usually on a weekly basis. Call the Help Center at 5800 to obtain your free virus protection. If you need assistance installing this software, call the Computing@Cobleskill Help Center to make an appointment to bring your computer to the Help Center.