AVG Anti Virus What is AVG Anti Virus? AVG is one of the three PC antivirus programs supported by Pomona. AVG is free for non commercial use and can be downloaded ...

Why can't I just leave my laptop with you guys so it can get fixed? While we would strongly prefer if you would stay while we worked on your computer, we realize that ...

Accessing your userspace You can access your userspace one of three ways. All of them allow you to add/move/remove files. You want to connect to the following network ...

Accounts for 5C students If you're a student from one of the other five colleges taking a class at Pomona, you can get a Pomona account by sending an e mail to with ...

ActiveX !ActiveX is a system designed to allow web pages to do really nifty things that aren't normally possible with plain ole HTML. For example, some web games ...

Activity Monitor Where to find it: in the Utilities subfolder, inside the main Applications folder. Activity Monitor is a useful utility for Mac OS X that is included ...

Can I print documents on the computer lab printers from my room? Sure! (although you still have to trot down to the lab to actually pick up your printouts ; ) ) ...

Address Bar The address bar is a feature of web browsers and Windows Explorer . The address bar displays your current location, which will be either a website (e ...

I am the instant messaging duck... AdiumX Download it here: http://www.adiumx.com/ What is Adium X? Adium X (also just called Adium) is a free multi protocol instant ...

Adobe Acrobat What is it? Acrobat lets you create, view, and edit .pdf files. The .pdf file format is fairly common, so it's a good idea to have some version of ...

Adobe Illustrator What is it? Illustrator is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. It's one of the best pieces of vector graphics software on the market. Vector graphics ...

Adobe !ImageReady What is it? !ImageReady is a program very similar to Photoshop. However, !ImageReady is used for graphics intended for the web. How do I get ...

Adobe !InDesign What is it? !InDesign is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. !InDesign is a flexible, user friendly program that lets you do page layout, similar to ...

Adobe Photoshop What is it? Photoshop is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. It's a powerful, versatile, and popular image editing program. Pomona even offers a class ...

How to setup an Airport Express for use in your dorm room The first thing to do is reset your Airport Express to its factory default settings. To do this: Use ...

Guides Here are some guides that we've written: Computer buying guide RAM (memory) buying/installation guide Registration Guide E mail setup guide ...

Alphanumeric A string of characters is alphanumeric if it made up of only numbers and letters (either upper or lower case). For example, abc123 and FordF150 ...

What happens to my e mail account when I graduate? Graduating seniors are going to be given accounts on Pomona's new email system. Not only will this allow you ...

My account was disabled and now I can't access my e mail! Senior e mail accounts are officially disabled on the last day of the September after you graduate. Once ...

Alumni Information What happens to my e mail account when I graduate? My password is about to expire but I can no longer access mypassword.pomona.edu

Andrews Computer Lab Location The Andrews computer lab is located on the 2nd floor of Andrews room 257. (Andrews is the small building attached to the east end of ...

Antivirus Program An antivirus program protects your computer from viruses. It runs "in the background" whenever your computer is turned on, and watches to ensure ...

iMovie What is it? iMovie is a video editing program for Macintosh that comes as a part of the iLife suite. It has a simple interface that allows for basic movie ...

General Applications Pick an application to go to its questions page. Security Software Anti Virus AVG Anti Virus McAfee Antivirus Norton AntiVirus ...

What tools exist to remove spyware from my computer? There are dozens, if not hundreds, of tools on the market for removing spyware from your computer. Some of them ...

How do I turn on automatic updates for Windows Vista? 1 Go to Start Control Panel . Click on the Security icon, which is indicated by the multi colored ...

How do I turn on automatic updates for Windows XP? 1 Go to Start Control Panel . Click on the Security Center icon, which is indicated by the multi colored ...

A Handy Guide to Backing Up your Data Why should I back up my files? Let's face it: computers can be temperamental. Files can get corrupted or disappear without ...

Alternatives to Undesirable Programs Some programs don't play nicely with your computer, but does that mean you have to give up instant messaging? Luckily, some nice ...

I think my RAM is bad. What should I do? Contact the student helpdesk at and arrange to bring in your computer (if it's a laptop) or make a Room Service appointment ...

BitTorrent What is !BitTorrent? !BitTorrent is a Peer to Peer information transfer protocol. It distinguishes itself from other P2P clients, such as kazaa and eMule ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short range wireless standard. (It should not be confused with WiFi which is used to connection many computers together in a network.) Bluetooth ...

Browser cache When you're surfing around on the internet, the pages you visit are stored in your browser cache. This means that pages you visit frequently will load ...

How do I put files on a CD? CDs hold a great deal more information (700MB) than your school issued thumb drive (64MB), and DVDs hold more still (a whopping 4.7GB! ...

I can receive e mail, but I can't send it! Why? #OffCampus 1. Are you off campus? There are two common problems that would cause your e mail to stop working when ...

How can I check how large my e mail account is? Unfortunately, most programs don't offer a way to check your folder sizes. Unless you're using Outlook in Exchange ...

How do I check my print quota? 1 Open up your web browser and head over to scribe.pomona.edu . 1 Select Check my balance and login using your Pomona username ...

How do I check my Pomona e mail? There are two ways to access your Pomona e mail (note that these are not mutually exclusive options): 1 Through the webmail interface ...

Command Line Most of the time when you're using your computer, you'll be using the Graphical User Interface (GUI). This just means that you have things like windows ...

Glossary of Computer Terms Quickly jump to a letter in the glossary: : A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : ...

Computer Aided Design (CAD) CAD, which means Computer Assisted Design, Computer Aided Drafting, or Computer Aided Design, depending on who you talk to (it doesn't ...

BIOS Short for Basic Input Output System, your computer's BIOS is the primitive "brain stem" of your computer. It is similar to the part of your brain that controls ...

Bus The paths in a computer that devices use to comunicate are refered to as buses. For example the link between the CPU and RAM is the Front Side Bus (FSB). USB devices ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide For many first year students, coming to college is a great opportunity to buy a computer of their own, or to get a newer, faster one to ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 2: Laptop vs. Desktop, PC vs. Mac If you haven't heard any of these four words before, here are some brief definitions: Laptop ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 3: Individual Platforms Please choose one of the following platform choices. The differences between them are discussed in Step 2 ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 3: Desktop Mac Please note: It is not necessary to read this entire section. The only thing you really have to decide is the family ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 3: Desktop PC Price range: Normal: $450 $1000 Extended: $1100 $1700 Power User: $1800 $4000 Please note: It is ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 3: Laptop Mac Please note: It is not necessary to read all of this section. The only thing you really have to decide is the size ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 3: Laptop PC Price range: Normal: $700 $1400 Extended: $1200 $1700 Power User: $1800 $4000 Please note: It is ...

Speed: The speed of a drive reflects both its read and write speed. Almost all optical drives now read CDs at 52x. CD burners typically top out at 24x write speed ...

Normal: Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Business Extended: Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Business Power User: Windows Vista Home ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 4: After your computer arrives Phew! You're almost done! Just click the appropriate link to go the final step: PC Mac ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 4: After your computer arrives Phew! That's over! You are now a few hundred (or thousand) dollars poorer, but one computer richer. ...

ITS Computer Buying Guide Step 4: After your computer arrives Phew! That's over! You are now a few hundred (or thousand) dollars poorer, but one computer richer ...

Useful tips for you and your new machine How to: How to set up your Pomona e mail account (you need to know your Pomona username and password) Getting the ...

Suggested Desktop (Mac) Configuration Summary This summary refers to the three different user types discussed in Step 1. Normal Extended Power User ...

Suggested Desktop (PC) Configuration Summary This summary refers to the three different user types discussed in Step 1. Normal Extended Power User ...

Suggested Laptop (Mac) Configuration Summary This summary refers to the three different user types discussed in Step 1. Normal Extended Power User ...

Suggested Laptop (PC) Configuration Summary This summary refers to the three different user types discussed in Step 1. Normal Extended Power User ...

Table of Contents Step 1: Types of Use Step 2: Laptop vs. Desktop, PC vs. Mac Step 3: Individual Platforms Laptop PC Laptop Mac ...

CPU CPU stands for "central processing unit." Generally, the CPU itself is a small chip inside your computer's case. It's the thing that processes information ...

Cleaning out your computer Computers are great, but, just like any other machine, if they're not looked after, they tend to break down (although rarely in a physical ...

CPU Cache Your CPU is fast. Blazingly fast. On the order of millions or billions of operations per second (megahertz... gigahertz...). This mind boggingly fast CPU ...

Emulation When programmers write software (programs), they write it with a certain set of hardware (physical parts) in mind, which means it only works on that certain ...

Front Side Bus The front side bus serves as the link between the CPU and RAM. It is part of the motherboard chipset. The speed of a system's FSB used to greatly effect ...

Motherboard A computer is made up of many different parts. The motherboard is the piece of hardware responsible for connecting all those parts together. The critical ...

Parity Parity refers to a simple check of the number of bits that are 1. If the parity information is stored (or transmitted) along with the data it is possible to ...

Peripheral The term "peripheral" refers to a piece of hardware outside your computer's case. This includes things like keyboards, speakers, and mice. PC peripherals ...

Process A process is simply the technical term used to discuss a program that is executing. For instance, if you are running Microsoft Word, the Word process is running ...

RAID RAID (Redundant Array of Independant Drives or Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives depending on who you ask) is a system that makes multiple physical hard drives ...

Is it okay to leave my computer on all the time? Short answer Yes, but in moderation . Restart your machine once every three or four days to avoid problems. Slightly ...

I have a 40GB hard drive, but Windows only says it's 37.7! What gives?! Welcome to the wonderful world of electronic marketing. The problem here is that computer ...

Do I need a screensaver? If you have an older CRT type monitor, then yes. If you have a newer flat panel (a.k.a. TFT or LCD) then no, although you still shouldn't ...

How do I access a network share? In order to connect to a share you need to know the path to it. Paths look like this: Windows \\server name\folder\subfolder ...

Connecting to a network share (Macintosh/OS X) In order to connect to a share you need to know the path to it. Network paths in OS X look something like this: ...

Connecting to a Network Share from a PC In order to connect to a share you need to know the path to it. Network paths in Windows look something like this: ...

Connecting to a network share troubleshooting If you're connected over wireless (CINE), then you must first set up a VPN connection with the Pomona network ...

Important: You must be connected to the Pomona network. If you are connected to CINE (wireless) or are at home, first set up a VPN connection with Pomona.

ITS Helpdesk Contact Info Select a contact method below or just drop by the Helpdesk. Location: Information Technology Building (ITB) (click the link for directions ...

Cool Web Search What is !CoolWebSearch? !CoolWebSearch is the name given to the family of some of the most vicious malware around. Once it has silently infected ...

CoolWebShredder The third tool you should know about is CWShredder . This tool is designed solely to remove variants of the CoolWebSearch series of adware, but it ...

Clock Speed The clock speed of a chip refers to the frequency of its calculations. Usually, this term is used in reference to the CPU in a computer. The clock speed ...

Burning DVD's with iDVD Read this first. iDVD is a program for burning DVD R and DVD RW discs on a Macintosh. A list of DVD players that discs burned in iDVD are ...

Creating folders Folders are a method for organizing your files. Windows users use Explorer to view and edit folders and files, while Macintosh users use Finder. Navigate ...

How do I create a new hard drive partition ? You can only create a partition if you have free, unpartitioned space available. If you don't have this space and ...

How can I save a document as a .PDF file? If you want to create your own .PDFs, you have several different options for how to do it. Print it on a Mac OS X has a ...

Crossover Cable Crossover cables are a special type of Ethernet cable that switch the (1,2) and (3,6) pin pairs as you move from one end of the cable to the other ...

DOS Stands for Disk Operating System . This is what earlier PCs had as operating systems. Earlier Microsoft Windows versions were built on top of DOS and acted ...

Updating Windows 2000 for Daylight Saving Time updates in 2007 This only applies to Windows 2000 users. In the hopes of reducing power consumption, Congress recently ...

DHCP Server The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server automatically assigns your computer an IP address each time you access the network. This means that ...

How do I connect to the network using Dial Up? Although an ethernet card is standard for computers, Pomona College also offers a Dial Up connection if you need it ...

Defragmenting a hard drive What does defragmenting a hard drive do? Imagine that your hard drive is a 25 page spiral notebook. Initially it is completely blank, ...

Do I have enough RAM? Probably not, since most manufacturers like to skimp on how much RAM they put in their machines. Here's the list of minimum RAM requirements ...

Do I need to bring a computer to college? No , Pomona does not require that students bring any form of computer with them to college. In fact, some students prefer ...

Do I need to bring a printer to college? No. While it may be more convenient to have your own personal printer, it is not necessary. Students can print documents ...

How do I download my e mail to my hard drive? If you would like to automatically download your e mail to your hard drive every time you check it, you want to set ...

DVD Drive A DVD drive is a piece of hardware that allows your computer to read DVDs (Digital Video Discs or Digital Versatile Discs depending on who you ask). It ...

What is/when can I get my username/password? Note: This page is for recently matriculated first year students. Currently enrolled students should already know their ...

Your Pomona E mail (The Basics) This page is a quick overview of your e mail account, how to access it, and other useful information. It contains many links to other ...

What will my e mail address be? Mail sent to any of these three addresses will end up in your mailbox: Format Example firstname.lastname@pomona.edu ...

Do you have some tips for reducing the size of my inbox? Yes indeedy. To help you figure out what to delete, you can use SquirrelMail to find out which of your folders ...

Help! My e mail is disappearing as soon as I read it!!! This is an easily fixed problem. It can happen in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. The problem occurs because ...

Can I get my Pomona e mail forwarded to another e mail account? Yes, you can. But be warned, if you choose to set this up, your Pomona e mail account, including any ...

Using the Pomona electronic directory If you don't know a student or professor's e mail address, you can look it up in the Pomona electronic directory (LDAP). Their ...

Pomona E mail Student e mail accounts are provided through the !MyMail system. All students are currently being transferred over to the new system, which will make ...

I just got a spam message from myself! A message I sent was not deliverable, except I didn't send it! Is my computer compromised? Chances are, probably not. The From ...

Advanced E mail Organization People who receive a high volume of e mail typically use two related systems for keeping things organized: folders and rules. Folders ...

Phishing "Phishing" refers to an e mail scam that attempts to trick a person out of confidential information like Social Security and credit card numbers. E mail phishing ...

Does anyone read my e mail? No, your e mail is completely confidential and will never be accessed by another person except during certain extreme circumstances such ...

How much e mail can my Pomona account hold? Students with old Outlook Web Access e mail accounts that can hold worth of messages and students who have migrated ...

How to use e mail safely E mail can be really useful, but it can also be dangerous. The three most common of these dangers are: Viruses Identity theft Both ...

E mail setup instructions Note: If you already graduated or entered the college after Fall 2007, go here for email setup information. Supported protocols: Exchange ...

SPAM Spam is the telemarketer of e mail: messages from people and companies that you have never even heard of before who have somehow discovered your e mail account ...

Is this e mail message I just got legitimate or fake? It has become common to see one's inbox filled with convincingly official e mails requesting the recipient to ...

Storage limit notices Note: These numbers only apply to student accounts; faculty have larger quotas. As you approach the storage limit, you'll start receiving ...

EULA In order to use pretty much any piece of software, the manufacturer requires you to accept the terms of these giant legal documents called End User License Agreements ...

How do I set up Microsoft Entourage to use Exchange? If you want to configure Entourage to use Exchange mode, just follow this step by step guide. 1 Select the ...

How do I set up the Pomona Global Address Book in Microsoft Entourage? 1 After opening Entourage, select Accounts from the Tools menu. In the new window that ...

Accessing !MyMail using Microsoft Entourage Coming soon...

How do I set up Entourage to use POP3? 1 Open Entourage and click on Tools , then Accounts . 1 Make a new account by clicking the button at the top left of ...

Ethernet cable a.k.a. patch cable, network cable, LAN cable... Ethernet cables connect computers to local area networks (LANs) for example, the Pomona Residential ...

Ethernet card In order to connect to the Pomona network, you'll need an ethernet port . While a new computer will almost certainly have one built in, older computers ...

Ethernet port Computers use ethernet ports to connect to networks. If you want to connect to the Pomona network (so you can surf the internet, share files, etc.), ...

External hard drive An external hard drive is a hard drive in an enclosure that connects to a computer through a USB or FireWire connection. The enclosure protects ...

E Mail (Faculty/Staff only) While you are employed by Pomona, you are given a personal e mail account that can store of mail. In general, your e mail address is ...

I tried printing something but nothing happened! How do I get my print quota back? There are a few unfortunant instances, such as a printer breaking down, or cancelling ...

Windows Registration Pre Flight (3 steps) You're going to have to all this stuff anyway, so you might as well get it out of the way in one go. Warning: many "You ...

Filename Extension Quick example: the .doc part of my paper.doc Filename extensions are some operating systems' ways for remembering what program should open ...

Final Cut Pro 4 What is it? Final Cut Pro is a professional grade video editing software. You can use it to capture, edit, and export high quality movies. As ...

IEEE 1394 (!FireWire) A PCMCIA expansion card for laptops that supplies two Firewire ports. IEEE 1394, or, as Apple and other sane people refer to it, FireWire ...

Also see the for print version. Welcome to Pomona! We at the ITS Student Helpdesk welcome you to an exciting four years at Pomona and would just like to say hey ...

Getting Started First of all, welcome to Pomona! We know you're chomping at the bit to get all this tech stuff out of the way, so without further ado... Changing ...

Information for First Year Students This page contains common questions that new students have about computing at Pomona College. If you have any questions beyond ...

Note: Also available electronically (and with helpful links) at http://its.pomona.edu/faq/FirstYearFlier (case sensitive). Welcome to Pomona! We at the ITS Student ...

First Year Information Frequently asked questions (FAQs) Do I need a computer? Do I need a printer? etc. Fliers you received/will receive 1 Welcome (not ...

Save this piece of paper! We're here to bug you one last time, this time with move in details. This is how it's going to work: 1 You show up on campus 1 You ...

First Year Orientation Presentation Coming soon. (hey, it hasn't even happened yet)

Welcome! Welcome and congratulations from the ITS Student Helpdesk! Staffed by students but run by ITS, we are the people to come to if you have any tech issues. We ...

If you have a problem and would like assistance Students have a few options available to them for technical assistance: If you call the ITB Helpdesk (), a student ...

How do I get my USB Flash drive ? If you were abroad or on leave last semester, stop by the ITS Helpdesk. Between 8am and 5pm on weekdays, a full time staffer ...

Viewing your e mail with Gmail Gmail can automatically download e mails from your !MyMail account into your Gmail inbox. 1 Sign into Gmail (if you don't already ...

Graphical User Interface (GUI) At the most basic level, every program, from Notepad to your operating system, is really just a messy jumble of code that is completely ...

Sidebar A sidebar is a type of secondary interface that provides additional options. For example, look directly to the left of this entry: that's the FAQ's own sidebar ...

HTML HTML stands for "HyperText Markup Language" and is the language used to mark up web pages for display, printing, etc. !HTML is currently at version 4.1, where ...

Where is the Hahn Computer Lab? The Hahn Computer Lab is located on the second floor of Hahn in the middle of the building. It is accessible from the main walkway ...

Hard Drive Your hard drive is the part of your computer that stores all your programs and files. This is not to be confused with your computer's memory, which runs ...

Hard Drive Activity Light Whenever you hard drive activity light flashes, it means that your computer is trying to access (read from or write to) one of your hard ...

Hard Drive Partition Each hard drive in your computer can have several partitions. With the popularity of larger hard drives, it is becoming more common to see multiple ...

Hardware The term hardware refers to the physical pieces of machinery that make up your computer, such as the keyboard, monitor, processor, RAM, power supply, hard ...

Hardware Drivers Whenever you install any kind of new hardware in your computer, Windows will probably ask you to locate the appropriate "driver" to install. A driver ...

I'm having a hardware problem. Can you guys help me? Unfortunately, probably not. Student consultants can diagnose hardware problems, but are not certified to open ...

What do I do if I'm having a problem in a computer lab? If you're working in the ITB Lab during staffed hours, you can just come up to the Helpdesk and ask a consultant ...

ITS Helpdesk Location and Contact Information #GettingHelp Legal limitations Due to various legal liabilities, students cannot leave their laptops with ITS. ...

Pomona Student Helpdesk Note: please see http://its.pomona.edu for information about other branches of ITS. The Helpdesk is a student staffed tech center that ...

HijackThis NOTE: !HijackThis is an extremely powerful tool, and can break your computer very badly if used incorrectly! Please use with EXTREME caution! If you ...

How much RAM do I have? PC (Windows XP) Open the Start menu and right click on My Computer . Select Properties from the menu that appears. Alternately, ...

Huntley Bookstore The Huntley Bookstore (where you will probably go to buy some of your books) also sells some computer hardware and software, including ethernet cables ...

IP Quick Reference The table below lists what IP addresses people should be getting on various networks. If someone is having a problem, check to see if they have ...

ITS Auxiliary Lab Location The lab is located in the South Wing of the Seeley Mudd Science Library on College Ave., just North of the Pomona Gates. There is a small ...