Protecting your privacy on MyUI
If you access MyUI on your own computer and don't lend your computer to untrustworthy persons, you probably don't need to worry very much about protecting the privacy of your account. If you use public computers in an Internet cafe, or if you access the Internet on a friend's computer, you need to take some precautions to protect your privacy and you should read carefully the following and make sure you understand the nature of the cache used by Internet browsers.
Flushing the Browser Cache
As a convenience, Internet browsers have a cache to store in memory and/or on the hard disk the most recent pages you have viewed on the Internet. You should establish the habit of first logging out, then flushing or purging the cache after using your MyUI account, and finally closing the browser.
The gist of the problem is that private information from your MyUI account could be viewed by someone who knows how to reconstruct pages from cached data. While there is no way someone can use these reconstructed pages to enter your account, their viewing them violates the privacy of your records.
Unfortunately, all browsers are slightly different in the manner in which cache data is accessed, but in general look for "Tools" on the main browser menu, and then "Options" or "Internet Options." Then look for "Temporary Internet Files" or "Cache" or a "Privacy" tag to purge the cache.
If you are working in a network environment, such as a UI ITC (Instructional Technology Center), privacy settings will most likely be controlled by the administrator and the cache will mostly likely be purged when the browser is closed, but while this is a best practices standard, there is no guarantee that the browser is configured in this way. Check with the administrator.
If you are going to be working on a friend's computer, deleting cached information does not change your friend's bookmarks or other personal selections. If it's not OK to delete cached information, we recommend you not use that computer.
Optimizing Your Cookie Settings
In addition to Internet access and a browser, you will need to enable your browser, in some limited fashion at least, to accept cookies.
Cookies are often tainted by their association with web sites that use them to learn things about the sites you visit, which allows commercial entities to tailor their advertisements more closely to your apparent interests. Modern browsers allow the user to disable this capability while at the same time allowing sites like MyUI to use a temporary, per-session data string to maintain your session information. The cookie we use is a small string of random characters that is stored on the machine you use only so long as your browser is open and you are logged in. The data stored on your machine has no significance in itself other than that it matches the same string of data on the server. This matching lets the server know that it is still talking to you and gives the various impulses coming from you a continuous identity, so to speak.
This limited, per-session use of cookies is part of our security strategy, since placing the session-holding data string temporarily in the browser rather than as part of the page locator makes it impossible to restore an MyUI session by copying the URL/locator information.
You have several options as to how your browser will accept cookies, though the browsers work differently (with Internet Explorer and Opera having somewhat more refined options). However restrictive you want to be about cookies, you must enable the browser to receive our cookie in order to use MyUI on the web.
Even if you like security to be set very high in your browser, you should still be able set up "myui.uiowa.edu" as a trusted site in the "Tools > Options" menu.
If you select a setting to warn you before accepting a cookie, you will see an intervening screen before every transaction with the MyUI web server, which most people will find unacceptable.
Since our use of cookies is a component of our comprehensive security system, we recommend that you read the following information to understand our approach to security: