Workstation Security Index


Workstation Security Monica King Ouachita Parish Public Library moniking@hotmail.com
	Originally presented at LLA Conference, Shreveport, LA 3/4/98 Updated for the Institute for Networked Access in Libraries, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 8/11/98
	I N T R O D U C T I O N With the nation focused on the many benefits of information and entertainment accessible through the Internet, many people are coming to their community library for access to this new world of electronic knowledge. As a result, public libraries are increasing access to meet this demand. In 1994, only 20.9 percent of public libraries provided Internet access, but by May 1998 nearly all public library systems will have an Internet connection according to the 1997 National Survey of U.S Public Libraries and the Internet. To keep pace with this demand, many libraries are upgrading connections, increasing the number of computers available, and migrating many former resources to their electronic counterparts. With so much money and human resources dedicated to the acquisition of these resources an often under-addressed and overlooked issue has been the maintenance and security of Internet computers in a public environment. Countless valuable hours are spent reviewing and acquiring the best online resources for patrons, yet often librarians must spend additional time maintaining the integrity of the workstations on which the programs reside. Today, there are many commercially available products, as well as some free products and tools, that librarians can use to provide a secure user-friendly workstation for the public. The suggestions included here are in use by our library system; however, since there are a wide variety of operating systems, networking environments, and programs available in publicly-accessed libraries, not all of these solutions may work for your particular setting. Other suggestions for different library settings can be found in the bibliography/resources section B A C K G R O U N D Our library system serves a population of over 140,000 in the northeastern part of Louisiana. All the branches have public Internet computers although the Main branch has the largest number with six public workstations. Currently all our public PCs run Windows 95 on a peer-to-peer network. In addition to subscribing to many web-based databases through our Louisiana Library Network consortium, we also have many CD products on these workstations that are both Windows and DOS based applications. The introduction of these computers with such a large number of online products and access to the Internet resulted in a dramatic increase in usage. In 1997 an average of 500 patrons per month were signed up to use these computers, but by 1998 that monthly average had increased to over 2500 on these same six workstations. Thanks to a grant from the Gates Library Foundation to all Louisiana libraries, our branch is scheduled to receive another 14 public workstations at Main, and another 20 for our branches. It is expected that public use will rise accordingly. While we are glad to provide such a valuable and highly utilized resource for our patrons, we greatly underestimated the staff resources required to maintain the security of the new computers. Countless hours were spent instructing patrons in the use of our new resources and even more hours were spent correcting problems that came with increased public use. S E C U R I T Y ddI S S U E S The problems we identified that needed to be immediately addressed focused on five broad areas. Physical protection of the hardware Basic protection of the operating system & software on the network Application specific dilemmas such as e-mail options, changing bookmarks, etc.. Presentation of a multitude of online products in a clear intuitive interface for our users Development of a quantitative method for tracking usage and administering a fair use policy for online resources. A variety of security measures were implemented to address these issues. S E C U R I T Y N S O L U T I O N S Hardware Security Drive locks CMOS Settings Internet Policy Ensuring fair and equal access to library resources Software Security and Menus Fortres Everybody's Menu Builder Browser Selection Netscape Navigator Standalone Version 4 Page setup - print all text and lines in black color Program Specific Issues- IKiosk/WinSelect Ikiosk/Winselect - to secure Netscape Batch file to clear disk cache from Internet Main Menu and Security System Software-WinU WinU Menu Security Settings Desk Access WinU Buttons Time Control Input Control Remote Administration S U M M A R Y After several trial and error attempts with various software programs and settings, our library system is currently using the following programs with success. While sometimes for unexplainable reasons, the computers do lock up and need to be re-booted, a vast majority of the time they run smoothly. And, more importantly, our desktop and icons have not been changed by patrons (this is by no means a challenge however!). Staff members appreciate the ability to administer our time limits and policy remotely and our system is perceived as fair by our patrons. A list of the programs is as follows: Drive locks CMOS settings Electronic Access Policy Netscape Navigator version 4.05 (Stand Alone) note: This latest version has greater versatility with various file formats such as .pdf files. note: Remember to fix the default page setup for printouts to appear correctly. WinU for Windows 95 note: We currently use EasyTime for time limit remote administration rather than the remote adminstration Time Manager that was originally included with the program. I-Kiosk note: The latest version of I-Kiosk is called WinSelect Batch file in autoexec bat to clear cache note: There are many commerically available products that accomplish this function. B I B L I O G R A P H Y Anonymous. "Keeping Libraries Alive." The Economist. Aug 27, 1994. Vol. 332. no. 7878. UMI-ProQuest Direct. Online. Jul 28, 1998. Association for Library Automation Research Communications. "How Many Libraries Are on the Internet?" LARC Fact Sheet Number 26. American Library Association. Feb 1998. Available from http://www.ala.org/library/fact26.html. Balas, Janet. "Protecting the Network." Computers in Libraries. Nov/Dec 1997. Vol. 17. no. 10. UMI-ProQuest Direct. Online. Jul 28, 1998. Bellovin, Steven M. "Security and Uses of the Internet." Serials Librarian, Vol. 28. no. 1-2, (1996): 105-113. Bertot, John Carlo and Charles R. McClure. "Measuring Electronic Services in Public Libraries." Public Libraries, May/Jun 1998, 176-180. Bertot, John Carlo, Charles R. McClure, and Patricia Diamond Fletcher. The 1997 National Survey of U.S. Public Libraries and the Internet: Final Report. (Washington, D.C.: American Library Association Office for Information, 1997). Available from http://research.umbc.edu/~bertot/ala97.html. Ives, David. "Maximizing Security on Public-Access WWW Computers." Ellis Library, University of Missouri. Feb 10, 1998. Available from http://www.missouri.edu/~eldjives/cil98.html. Kambitsch, Tim. "Exploiting and Abusing Netscape Navigator." Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library. May 3, 1998. Available from http://www.dayton.lib.oh.us/~kambitsch/netscape-hacks.html. Leita, Carole. "How to Edit Netscape for Public Access Computers." Berkeley Public Library. May 4, 1998. Available from http://infopeople.berkeley.edu:8000/NS/. Magpantay, Andrew. "Public Internet Access at Nation's Library Systems Increases Sharply; Library Branches Lag." American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy. 18, Nov 1997. Available from http://www.ala.org/oitp/research/plcon97pr.html. Moseley, Bill. "Public Access Computer Security: How to setup Windows and Netscape." July 31, 1998. Available from http://infopeople.berkeley.edu:8000/Security Marmion, Dan. "A Commercial Software Approach to Workstation Security." Library Hi Tech, no. 57-58 -- 15:1-2 (1997): 21-23. Schneider, Karen G. "Notes From a Forty-Percenter." American Libraries. May 1998. Sullivan, Robert. "Setting Up a Public Access Computer Using Windows NT." July 31, 1998. Available from http://www.scpl.org/publicnt.html R E S O U R C E S Bardon Data Systems Products- WinU and Full Control http://www.bardon.com CARL Corporation Products- Everybody's Menu Builder http://www.carl.org Fortres Grand Corporation Products- Fortres 101, Fortres Central Control, Historian, and Cooler http://www.fortres.com Hypertechnology Inc. Products- Integrity Boot System, I-Kiosk, WINSelect Kiosk and Policy http://www.hypertec.com Netscape Products- Netscape Navigator 4 Stand Alone version http://www.netscape.com Privacy Software Corporation Products- NSClean, IEClean, and MacClean http://www.nsclean.com Web4Lib Listserv Archive. For subscription information and access to searchable archive go to http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib.