General Network and Computer FAQ

What is MyIWU? MyIWU is the name for Illinois Wesleyan's web portal software.  MyIWU provides a way to organize various information services available to you on campus. These services include email, campus news, course tools, calendars, course registration and more. What do I need to do to get a MyIWU account?All Illinois Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff are automatically set up with accounts to use MyIWU services. 

How can I read my email if I'm off campus? The easiest way to read your email off campus is to use the Gmail interface to access your mail. You may access email through your MyIWU account. You can also use email programs (e.g., Outlook or Thunderbird) to read your email from off campus. 

Can you please open a port for me on the firewall? I want to run a game. The campus firewall is different from a firewall on your personal computer, or a firewall on a home router. Almost all outgoing ports on the campus firewall are already open. Although your game maker may tell you to open a port (or ports) on the firewall, in the vast majority of cases those ports are already open on the campus firewall (note: if you are running a firewall on your personal computer, you will still need to enable those ports on your personal firewall). However, computers from outside the campus network cannot initiate a connection to your computer. Your computer does not use an IP address that is directly accessible to other computers on the Internet. This means that while you should be able to play most games on the Internet, you won't be able to host a game on your computer for other players on the Internet.  My game runs fine at home, but on campus it's much slower. Can you help? Game performance can be the result of several factors, including: off-campus servers, Internet resources, the campus internet connection speed, and internet bandwidth shaping. Game performance may also suffer if you run peer-to-peer file sharing applications. ITS staff will help troubleshoot game performance problems as time allows. Call 309-556-3900 for assistance, or use the on-line help request form.

What is FTP? FTP stands for file transfer protocol. It is a way to get files from your personal computer to a server and back. There are a number of programs that make FTP easier such as Fetch for the Macintosh. How do I use FTP to update my web-site from off-campus? FTP from off-campus to university servers is not allowed through the firewall. You will need to use SFTP (which stands for secure file transfer protocal; it encrypts the files as they are being transferred and better protects the data you are moving).  You can also use a secure file transfer client such as WinSCP for Windows, or Fetch for Mac OSX.

What is a listserv? How do I subscribe to a listserv? A listserv is the common name used for an automated mailing list. By joining a listserv you can receive and send e-mail with others interested in the topic of that mailing list. There are thousands of listservs on various topics available on the internet. IWU also provides a listserv service to support its academic program and promote University communications. What are the IWU listservs? You see a current list of IWU listservs by pointing your browser to lists.iwu.edu What do I need to do to start a new listserv? Before you request a new listerv, you may want to investigate the bulletin boards and groups offered in MyIWU. If you still think you need a listserv, faculty, staff and student organizations that want to start a new listserv should call the ITS Hotline 309-556-3900 for additional information.

forgot my password, what should I do? Call the ITS Hotline 306-556-3900 for assistance.

My printer isn't working, help! Here are a few tips to check before you call 3900. First, check and make sure the printer is turned on and plugged in. Then check to make sure that all cable connections are secure. If you have power, and your printer is feeding paper, check you toner cartridge. My printer is out of toner -- what now? For University printers, please contact IT Services with the make and model of your printer and the departmental billing code.  We will be happy to place an order for a replacement toner cartridge. 

What is the proxy server? If you view Illinois Wesleyan web pages from on campus, you have access to the full range of University intranet services. These services include the Information Technology Hotline, the LIbrary's Lexis/Nexis and FirstSearch services, and vaiorus other campus-only information services. If you are off campus, and want to use these services, you will be prompted to enter your username and password which will allow you access through the University's proxy server.

Does Illinois Wesleyan do anything to block spam (unsolicited commercial e-mail)? Since the University has moved to Google as our educational email provider, our mail is filtered through Google's spam monitoring devices. I received a harrassing e-mail message. What should I do? Please forward the message, including full header information, to
spam-abuse@iwu.edu. What else can I do to prevent receiving junk e-mail? The Federal Trade Commission provides more tips and guidelines for dealing with spam and junk e-mail at http://www.ftc.gov/spam/.

Does Illinois Wesleyan have virus protection software I can put on my computer? Yes. Illinois Wesleyan has site licenses for anti-virus software for Windows computers. Please call the IT Help Desk at 309-556-3900 for information about installing anti-virus software on your computer, or see this web page for do it yourself anti-virus installation instructions. Please call the IT Help Desk at 309-556-3900 for information about removing viruses and spyware from your computer, or see this web page for do it yourself instructions for removing viruses and spyware.

Does the University offer secure wireless networking on campus? Yes, the University provides access to secure wireless networking in selected locations on campus. How do I connect my computer to the campus wireless network? If you have a wireless network card in your computer, you can connect to the campus wireless network by following these instructions.