As part of Information Security Awareness Day, UA officials stressed the importance of protecting computers against viruses yesterday.

This comes just months after two viruses plagued UA computers, causing networks to shut down.

The Blaster Worm wreaked havoc on computer systems around the country earlier this year. The worm causes computers to shut down moments after booting up. Many students on the UA network were kicked off the network until officials could fix the problem.

In 2002, between 60,000 and 250,000 people broke into UA computers each day.

The Information Security Awareness Day showcased presenters on various topics of technological security. The event served to educate faculty, professors, business people, administrators and students about how to protect personal or confidential information stored on computers.

The UA's version of National Security Day was launched in an attempt to make people more aware so they can protect themselves, said Kelley Bogart, information security coordinator.

As technology continues to advance and the world becomes more computer-driven, there is a need for increased security to protect information, Bogart said.

"Our goal was to get people wanting to increase security, show them how to do it, and what to do continually," said Melissa Guenther, a security consultant. "Today, unfortunately, security is thought of after the fact, which is a lot more expensive."

Last month, a hacker was caught in the ILC using free, Web-based software to collect confidential information.

Because of these techniques, it is vital that people protect themselves and are mindful, especially on a shared network such as the university's, Bogart said.

Yesterday at noon, about 75 people turned out for the keynote speaker, Christopher T. Pierson, J.D., Ph.D., an attorney in Lewis and Roca's Litigation and Intellectual Property and Technology Practice, event coordinators said.

He gave seven simple guidelines that anyone can follow for free.

The first option is to install a firewall software or hardware. A program called Kerio Personal Firewall 4 is free on the university's Web site, but there are others that can be purchased.

This tool allows you to block viruses, worms, and unauthorized programs from entering your operating system, said James Gudeli of Kerio Technologies, Inc.

By using a password, you can also protect your personal information that may be stored on the hard drive, Gudeli said.

Pierson said that people should choose good, long passwords and rotate them regularly. Pierson's advice is to never use any word in a dictionary for a password; instead, people should utilize numbers and letters intermixed and add "wildcards," which are basically all those symbols above the number keys on a keyboard.

"I recently redid my passwords, and it took over four hours to do it all," he said. "The more obscure the password, the better."

Pierson also suggested that people never open e-mails or attachments that they know nothing about.

"It's not enough to say don't talk to strangers anymore," Pierson said.

Another tip is to ignore any e-mail that asks someone to update information or download something right from the e-mail itself.

If you comply with the request, it's like shouting your personal information and passwords out the window for everyone to hear, and legitimate companies won't make you do it, Pierson said.

Pierson said that to maintain security, there is not just one answer to the problem.

"The only thing 100 percent secure is to unplug your computer, throw it in the closet, lock it up, and throw away the key," Guenther said.

People can gain access to your personal information through viruses, worms, and Trojans, which give direct access to your computer.

Internet Security Awareness Day was hosted by the Center for Computing and Information Technology and the University Information Security Office.