Computer Use Policy¶
General Computer Use Guidelines¶
For most positions within the lab, you will be given a lab-owned laptop or desktop machine to use during your time as a lab member. Certain rules apply to the use of these machines for your work at MItHRIL.
- Computers are considered the property of MItHRIL and are loaned to members. Do not intentionally deface, vandalize, or apply permanent markings (including stickers) to your computer unless it is with the explicit permission of the director.
- MItHRIL computers should not be used as personal devices. MItHRIL is not liable for any personal data loss due to theft or loss of use.
- Computers are not allowed to leave the country unless permission is exclusively sought from your supervisor, to comply with Canada's export control laws. Much of the work that we do can fall within the domain of export controls, which restricts the movement of controlled goods across borders.
- All research data, code, and documents must not only be stored locally on the machine, but must be backed up using university-approved methods; i.e., code must be pushed using git to code.smithengineering.queensu.ca, documents must be stored in Microsoft OneDrive, and research data must also be backed up on MItHRIL's SharePoint. These measures must be taken to minimize the loss of research progress in the case of damage or theft of your assigned computer. Remember: losing your laptop is bad, losing your research is much worse.
- The theft or loss of your assigned computer must be reported to the director immediately.
The use of MItHRIL-owned machines is governed by Queen's Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources Policy.
Data Policies¶
There are two types of hard drives: those that are dead, and those that will die.
Your research data is the fruit of your endeavours and the currency of our trade. It is a resource that must be guarded diligently. Research data on computers must be backed up to university-approved cloud storage solutions (SharePoint and OneDrive). Research data that is only stored locally is always at risk of irreparable loss. Data loss is especially serious and devastating if you happen to lose all the data and analysis that you've collected throughout your program. Always back up the data and analysis that you collect in several places. University data security policies and project research data management policies apply to data on your machines.
Computer Security¶
While computer and operational security are often overlooked in the academic research environment, robotics and artificial intelligence research are classified as Sensitive Technology Research Areas by the Government of Canada. Additionally, some members' work could be bound under non-disclosure agreements with third parties. As such, you must safeguard sensitive data on your machine and practice good data hygiene. There are some basic steps you should take to secure your machine from potential attackers.
- For Windows machines, ensure BitLocker drive encryption is enabled. Instructions for doing this can be found through Microsoft. Once BitLocker is enabled, ensure that the recovery key is stored somewhere safe. BitLocker offers three ways of storing the recovery key: 1) saving the key to your Microsoft account, 2) saving the key within a text file which you can store on a USB flash drive, or 3) printing out the key. Be sure to use two of these storage methods and ensure your data is backed up.
- Always secure your computer with a password or biometric authentication sign-in.
- Have unique passwords for all accounts; use a password manager such as BitWarden or 1Password to manage your passwords.
- Take the Queen's IT Cybersecurity Education and Awareness course.
Computer Assignment and Setup¶
Name your computer. Computers within MItHRIL are customarily named after characters from the Lord of the Rings universe. Below is a list of names from Middle-earth, along with whether the name has been taken by a computer already in service.
Migration note: this table was reconstructed from the SharePoint page's underlying structure and cross-checked against two independent extractions, so the name list and "Taken?" flags below should be reliable, but please do a quick visual spot-check against the live SharePoint table before retiring it, given how easy it is for a table this size to have a stray error.
Register your computer here in MItHRIL's Equipment Database.
When setting up users for your computer, you should create an account with the following details, in addition to your personal account:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Username | MItHRIL |
| Password | (ask the Lab Director) |
This allows anyone to help diagnose issues with your machine without needing your personal account details.
Note: the shared local-account password is redacted in this public copy of the handbook. Current members can get it from the Lab Director; it also appears in plaintext on the lab's internal GitLab wiki.
Computer Return¶
When you have finished your degree program or your time with the lab ends, you must:
- Back up all of your essential work data, documents, and files into a folder on the MItHRIL server, named using your Last-First naming convention (e.g.,
Pan-Matthew/). This is the lab's primary archival location for a departing member's files and takes priority over the SharePoint backup below; ask the Director if you're unsure what counts as "essential" or where exactly on the server this folder should go. - Also back up your work data, documents, and files to MItHRIL's SharePoint site, per the standing university-approved backup practice described earlier on this page. Ask the Director for a plan and instructions for how to do this. Do not archive your work product in OneDrive; your Queen's University OneDrive account is tied to your NetID, so once you leave the University, your account will be deleted and files will be lost.
- Wipe the machine: back up first, then fully reformat the drive and reinstall a clean operating system, rather than simply deleting your personal account or files. A reformat is the only reliable way to ensure no personal or sensitive research data remains recoverable on lab-owned hardware, consistent with the Computer Security practices described above.
- Remove any personal data from the device (covered by the reformat above, but also check for anything stored outside the main drive, e.g., on an SD card or external drive left with the machine).
- Remove any decals or markings that were applied to the laptop, and any residue that may have been left behind after peeling them off.
- Sanitize the keyboard, palm rest, mouse, screen, and body of the computer using sanitizing wipes.
- Return the computer to the Director, then update the status of the equipment in the Equipment Database.
See Exit Procedures and Documentation for what's expected beyond the computer itself: documentation and handoff of your code, CAD files, and any hardware you built or maintained.
Migration note: the Last-First server folder convention and the explicit reformat/wipe instruction above are newly added as part of a wiki update; the prior text only said to "remove personal data" without specifying a reformat. Please confirm the exact server path for the Last-First folders (and whether IT or the Director provisions it) before treating this as final.
