Free Intern IT Policy - North Carolina

NC Western District Court Intern IT Policy
Last Updated: 5/13/2009

TECHNOLOGY PROVISIONS COMPUTERS The court cannot provide computers for interns. Therefore we ask interns to provide their own computers during their time with the court. The computer must meet certain hardware specifications for access to the court's network to be achieved. The specifications are: o A laptop or notebook computer o At least a 1.0GHZ processor and at least 512MB of RAM o Wireless network card o Microsoft Windows XP (and up) or Mac OSX INTERNET ACCESS The court will provide wireless (and in some cases wired) internet access. Please see below for the internet usage policy.



PERSONAL COMPUTER SECURITY
CITRIX CLIENT This free software is required to access court files and applications. It should be downloaded and installed before beginning your internship. You can download this free software here: Windows http://www.ncwd.uscourts.gov/downloads/Citrix/WindowsWebClient.msi Mac OSX http://www.ncwd.uscourts.gov/downloads/Citrix/MacOSXClient.dmg.zip VPN SOFTWARE Several browser plugins are required to access the court's network. JAVA software is required for these plugins to work. Please ensure your computer is running the latest version of JAVA before beginning your internship. This free software may be downloaded here: http://java.com/en/download/ OPERATING SYSTEM PATCHES The computer must have all the latest operating system patches. Please ensure your operating system is fully patched before beginning your internship. Windows patches may be obtained here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsupdate. Mac OS patches can be obtained by clicking the Apple icon and selecting "Update Software." ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE The computer must be free from viruses and have antivirus software installed. The antivirus software must be up to date with the latest virus definitions. If user does not have antivirus software or cannot update the definitions, the court IT staff may require antivirus software to be installed before allowing the computer to access the court's network. The free antivirus program, AVG from GRISoft may be downloaded here: http://free.grisoft.com ANTISPYWARE SOFTWARE The computer must be free from all forms of spyware and have antispyware software installed. The antispyware software must be up to date. If user does not have antispyware software or cannot be updated, the court IT staff may require antispyware software to be installed before allowing the computer to access the court's

















network. The free antispyware program, Windows Defender may be downloaded here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsdefender FIREWALL SOFTWARE While, firewall may protect the computer from intrusions, it may interfere with the court's VPN software. The firewall software may need to be disabled or modified to allow the VPN software to function properly. Please be familiar with your firewall software and be prepared to disable it if necessary to allow the court's software to function properly. INSTANT MESSAGING SOFTWARE Instant messaging software such as AIM or MSN Messenger should be disabled before connecting to the court's network. FILE SHARING SOFTWARE File sharing software such as Limewire, BearSare, and BitTorrent cannot be present on the computer if it is to be used on the court's network. The court IT staff may uninstall any file sharing software found on the computer before allowing the user to connect to the court's network. VOICE OVER IP SOFTWARE VOIP or Internet Telephone software (such as Skype) should be disabled before connecting to the court's network.

ACCOUNTS AND PASSWORDS
EMAIL ACCOUNTS Generic email accounts are provided for each intern. These accounts may be used by other interns the future, therefore, users are to refrain from using these accounts for noncourt correspondence and to delete all messages before separating. See below for the internet/email usage policy LAW RESEARCH ACCOUNTS Interns are encouraged to use their own accounts for law research. Usually law schools will provide Westlaw or Lexis Nexis accounts. If the student cannot use the account provided by their school, the court may opt to create a temporary account with Westlaw and/or Lexis Nexis.



INTERNET/EMAIL USAGE POLICY Interns are required to read and abide by the court's internet and email usage policy. This policy is available on the court intranet site and can be downloaded here: http://www.ncwd.uscourts.gov/Downloads/InternetUsagePolicy.pdf

SUPPORT


The court IT staff is available to assist in any technical problem relating to court business. The Help Desk may be reached by calling 7043507426 or by using the Create Help Desk Ticket link from the court's intranet site.