Just when I thought Microsoft may have some redeeming qualities I encounter a virus. I lecture in “smart classrooms” (now think about this phrase for a moment) that make use of machines running Windows. I bring in my materials on a flash drive. For the second time this semester, my flash drive has been infected with a virus. I get back to my office, plug the drive into my Mac, and the files are just sitting there. Not a problem. However, what if I would have decided to take my flash into another lab or launched VM Fusion on my Mac so I could work on SPSS (the U is too cheap to purchase SPSS for the Mac).
The Univ. combats viruses in the student labs by using Deep Freeze. Each time a computer boots it reverts to a specified set of files and settings. Supposedly no problem as long as you restart the machine before you do your work. There are certain machines that the Univ. reserves for faculty. The machines in the smart classrooms are a case in point. Instead of protecting these machines the Univ. leaves them wide open. I assume this is because faculty like to mess with the machines – add plugins and such – and it is too much work to set up the “image” each time something new needs to be added. How am I to protect myself in this environment? I have to work on Windows machines from time to time and I have to use machines that are open to others.
