Indentity Finder Installation and Use

This document is to be used as an introduction and first-time use guide for Identity Finder.  Please read through before or during your installation of the software.

Identity Finder software can be used to search for and secure (if desired) sensitive information on your computer such as Social Security Numbers (SSNs), Credit Card account numbers, and passwords (including saved web browser passwords). The software will search inside of documents, folders, and compressed archives.For obvious reasons, it cannot inspect the contents of encrypted files.

Identity Finder is licensed for any college-owned computer (any computer with a Colby property tag) and for use by any current faculty or staff member.

Before installing the software, please be aware that Identity Finder will scan your computer and files, and in doing so may find data that is of a personal nature to you, such as a credit card number or a social security number. Identity Finder reports a summary of findings to a central server where ITS administrators are able to track the following:

• Where (what computers) Identity Finder is installed and what scans were run
• The results of scans; the names of file(s), their path, owner name, and the 'Identity Match' data but without any context (no access or 'preview' of documents or contextual data, and no access to the documents or files themselves)
• Any remediation action taken (if data was deleted, ignored, etc) or lack thereof

Colby ITS administers this system under the Code of Ethics for Information Technology as well as other procedures and guidelines that ensure user privacy. The purpose of this software and tracking console is to aid in the discovery and securing of institutional data or personal information under institutional control. It is the user's responsibility to 'ignore' or otherwise remediate (delete/shred or move to another location) any non-essential data.

Installing Identity Finder

1. Obtain the installer from the Software file server (\\files.colby.edu\myfiles\Software\ or \\filer1.colby.edu\Software\).  You'll need to browse to the relevant operating system directory (Windows or Macintosh) and then the Identity Finder directory. It is recommended that you copy the installer to your local computer before running it.
   
2. After accepting the licensing agreement, select 'typical' installation and for only the local user if prompted for these options.
3. You will be prompted for administrator access and may be prompted to enter your computer password.
4. If prompted, do not elect to participate/improve in customer experience.
5. When the program runs for the first time you will be prompted to create a profile password – it is recommended that you use your Colby account password for this.

Configuring Identity Finder

You will be prompted for your profile password each time Identity Finder is run – this is to both protect the data and ensure that only you can run the program.After entering your password, initial options will be presented before a scan is run:

• Windows users should elect to use the 'Wizard' to conduct a 'Standard' search of their computer's documents folder, stored email folders and browsers for SSNs, Credit Cards and Passwords.
• Apple / Mac users should select 'Cancel' at the initial dialog window in order to create a more customized search.In the main Identity Finder window, click the 'Files' icon and then click on (make sure the following are checked):
• • 'Enable File Search'
  • 'Include Compressed Files'
  • Click on 'File Locations' and select 'Custom,' which will display a 'Folders' selection window.To the right of the 'Folder' dialog box click the '….' Icon to select which folders to scan.
    
  • It is recommended that you select your entire 'home' directory.  The easiest way to do this is to locate your account name/home icon in the list presented on the left-hand side of the window:
  • • Double-Click your 'home' directory icon once to select it, and click 'Open' in the bottom-right hand corner.
    • Finally, click the 'Add' button in the 'Folders' window to add your home directory to the list.
    • Once your home directory is shown in the Folder Location list, click on the 'OK' button to complete.

Scan settings can be changed at any time to add or exclude certain data types or file locations, like a USB 'thumb' drive.You can also create customized search properties to locate specific data, such as a specific name or account number.

Once your options have been set, click the green 'Start' button near the top-left of the window to begin a scan. The results will be indexed so that future searches do not take as long.If necessary, a scan can be cancelled at any time.

Reviewing Results

When the scan completes, a summary window will appear asking what you want to do next – we've found that for most users, clicking on the 'Advanced' view is more productive and intuitive than the 'Wizard,' especially if many files are found.  There are several actions that can be taken with the results, including securing and encrypting, however ITS only recommends one of the following choices:

• Shred = securely delete the entire document (this is not recoverable!)
  
• Quarantine = move the file to a different location and shred the original (specify a different location to send files to)
  
• Ignore = this is an acknowledgement that you want Identity Finder to leave the file alone, such as a false positive or a file you intend to keep as-is.
  

Identity Finder is a tool for discovering and securing sensitive data. Just like any tool, it requires the person using it to make it effective. Use the following guidelines for making decisions about each discovery and select the option that best fits the data presented to you:

1. If the data is not sensitive information ('false positives' are common in the initial scan), shred it if it is not needed, or ignore it if you aren't sure what the data is.Note: Ignoring a 'location' refers to the item/file itself in its present location.If the file shows up somewhere else, Identity Finder will discover it again.
2. If the data is sensitive information,
3. 1. If you do not need the file, shred it.
   2. If you do need the file, consider the following:
   3. 1. Could I move this to a more secure place (a file server, or archival storage)?
      2. Does the document retention policy allow me to keep this document in electronic form?
      3. Is the information in this document obtainable through a database so that the source information is not needed?
      4. Consider 'scrubbing' (redacting) the sensitive information from the document – currently only Office 2007 and raw text files support this operation.

When the process is complete, you may be asked to schedule Identity Finder to conduct a new search on a regular basis. A weekly scan is recommended for keeping the results current.

Any remaining identity locations will be displayed in the main summary screen. You can remediate these items now, or close the program. On exit, you will be asked to save your results. Do this only if you wish to return to the document list for further remediation. It is recommended that you not save your results and instead run a new scan the next time the program is run.

The Identity Finder online help contains much more information on how to use the program. Help can be accessed from within the program (the blue question mark) or directly in a web browser (http://www.identityfinder.com/help).

If technical assistance is required, contact the Faculty and Staff Support Center at x4222 or support@colby.edu