Yes. Barnard has made arrangements with Dell and Apple to provide educational discounts to Barnard students. We also have a contact with e-Academy for software discounts.

You should bring all software, hardware, information related to your computer with you to Barnard. This includes manuals, install disks, cables, etc. If something should happen to your computer, you might need to re-install some of your programs and therefore need the original disks and license number for them. It is particularly important to bring the main manual for your computer. If an ACE needs to assist you with your connection, she might need it to figure out how to open a difficult computer case or for a variety of other reasons.

Barnard strongly recommends 3Com brand Ethernet cards for PC computers, though you are free to buy any brand that you choose. Any card purchased must be 10 or 10/100base-T and use an RJ-45 twisted pair connection. All students will also need a category 5 RJ-45 twisted pair cable (a.k.a patch cable, or Ethernet cable) to connect their card to their wall jack. We recommend that you purchase a long cable, in case your desk is far away from your jack. Patch cables will be available at the Barnard Student Store during First-Year move-in day. You can also find these supplies are also availabe at the Columbia bookstore and at Columbia Hardware (2905 Broadway).

Most computers now come with ethernet cards already installed! Make sure your purchase is not redundant. Ethernet cards can be purchased at any computer store. Make sure to get a 10 or 10/100base-T that uses an RJ-45 twisted pair connection, as well as the appropriate cable to connect the card to the wall jack.

Barnard is a "PC campus". Nearly all of the computers in the computer labs are Dell PCs, as well as all faculty and staff computers. We do not mandate that all students purchase PCs, but your personal computer applications will be more compatible with the applications in the labs if you bring a PC. This is particularly important if you are relying on the labs for printouts.  Nevertheless, our student staff is trained to troubleshoot both PC and Macintosh computers.

Owning your own printer is not absolutely necessary. However, while there are laser printers available in the every computer lab, many students choose to purchase their own inkjet or laser printers for the convenience of printing in their rooms. Having your own printer alleviates any difficulties in printing from software or versions not available in the labs. Also, during rush times (i.e., midterms and finals), there can be long waits for a computer while many students try to complete and print out papers. In such situations, having a personal printer can be much more convenient. There are many inexpensive inkjet printers currently available.

There are two public access 24-hour computing labs in the Sulzberger basement. There are also additional 24-hour labs in the Plimpton and 616 residence halls. Lehman Computer Center is a staffed lab in the library with Intel and Macintosh computers. All of the computer labs have laser printing available.

Popups are most commonly caused by spyware, which are malicious programs infecting your computer. A common solution many users take to mask spyware is installing a popup blocker, which prevents you from seeing the popups. Please note that while having a popup blocker installed erases this type of spyware symptom, it does not remove the spyware. Spybot and Adaware are two programs that can help remove much of the spyware on your computer causing the popups you see. You can download Spybot and Adaware from our Downloads page. A third program, PestPatrol, will also help you remove spyware and adware. See Step 5 of the Mandatory Computer Setup Instructions to install and run PestPatrol.

The MAC Capture system is a measure Barnard AT takes to ensure the integrity of its network. Because networks are especially vulnerable to viruses, worms, trojans, spamming, and other illicit trafficking activity, we have employed the Capture system as a method of policing the network by monitoring its activity. Illicit activity is traced to the source computer, and that computer's internet access is suspended until it is successfully reformatted. The three most common trafficking violations users are captured for include:

1. Particularly malicious viruses
2. Spamming
3. Illegal filesharing

See our MAC Capture/Compromise Information page for instructions on what to do if you have been captured.

To help diagnose the problem and the damages the virus may have caused:

1. Google the symptom. This may be anything from "disappearing desktop icons" to "disabled firewall" to any error messages that might pop up.
2. The google search will most likely return message board threads. These are long conversations with multiple participants who experienced the same problem. Some are more helpful than others; you may need to read a few of the posts before you even understand what the discussion topic is. This topic may refer to a different problem, but it may still contain information that pertains to your problem. If you find something relevant and/or helpful, be sure to read the remainder of the posts to see how this method worked out for other people and whether there were any more recent corrections. If you have the time (responses can take up to a few days), you can leave your own post, but be sure to follow that particular board’s etiquette.
3. Test out different methods of solving the problem and removing the virus. If you download a scan or a fix, make sure it is legitimate. If you find the id of the virus, check it out at Symantec’s website or even McAfee, Trend Micro, or any kind of internet security database.

See our Viruses, Spyware, and Scams Tutorial for more information.

This procedure is commonly requested among Barnard students, and is easily performed. See our Email Forwarding page.

There is information on types of spam, spam prevention, and spam reporting on the AT Spam and Annoying Email page. In addition, there are instructions on how to filter spam into a spam folder. If you receive a particularly horrible spam email, you can forward it as an attachment to with your comments. The email team will not reply but reviews these messages periodically and adjusts the College spam filters accordingly.

You must be at a location on the Barnard or Columbia campus where wireless access is facilitated in order to pick up a signal strong enough for your wireless card to work.

See our Wireless Networking page.

If you are having trouble at verified wireless locations, you can bring your card and computer into laptop hours to have an ACE troubleshoot it. Always make sure to firewall your connection and never give out credit information or your social security number over wireless.

If you have any type of hub, router, wireless access point, or LAN gaming system, you must fill out the Network Device Approval Form, located here.

The ACEs need to inspect each jack before it gets called in for repair. Contact Resnet, fill out the Jack Report Form, or visit the Lehman Computer Center to make an appointment.

The Columbia Student Store, in the basement of Lerner Hall, sells ethernet cables. Vendors on the Lehman Lawn during New Student Orientation generally have ethernet cables available.

Yes! Not only can you print from Barnard lab printers, but you can also print from virtually any public printer on the Columbia campus, including those at Butler. See our Printing Policy page and scroll down to "How to Print From Your Room."

Unfortunately, Barnard does not have a license with Microsoft enabling the college to dispense Office to its students. However, we are licensed to provide you with Symantec Anti-Virus clients, various free email and FTP clients, and other useful software.

Columbia University does, however, offer highly discounted versions of software such as MS Office for students and faculty on their e-Academy webpage.

See our Downloads page at:
http://www.barnard.edu/resnet/downloads.html

You can also download a free, alternative version of Office called Open Office.

Go to our Download page and get the Office 2007 Convert Pack at the bottom of the page. 

ACEs do not fix hardware, including keyboards, for legal reasons. We can advise you to the best of our abilities, but your best source for hardware repair is always your manufacturer.

Keyboard keys often pop off of laptop keyboards and can easily be popped back on. See Dell's article on replacing keyboard keys for more information.

We make our best efforts to reach all students who request help in as timely a manner as possible. General policy is that an ACE will attempt to reach a student 3 times within two weeks via email and/or ROLM extension before a ticket is closed. If you feel you have not been contacted soon enough, you may always bring your laptop (if you have one) into office hours, which are held daily in various labs.

Contact an ACE if you have questions.

You can find answers to common alumna questions in the Alumnae FAQ.

See our Personal Security page for tips on preventing identity theft and credit card fraud, as well as what to do if you've been victimized.

We have compiled Computing Tips for Students Going Abroad or Traveling. You should familiarize yourself with the content of this page before going abroad.

You can find those handy tidbits on Email and Networking on our website.