Identity Finder Settings For Workstations

Social Security Number (SSN) scanning protects the privacy of the Texas A&M community. All Texas A&M information systems and departmental computers should be examined to reduce the risk of SSN exposure.

In order to comply with University System and State policy all Staff and Faculty computers connected to the TAMUG network (either via LAN or Wireless) need to be scanned to ensure they do not contain any Social Security Numbers (SSN).

These requirements are being developed into a Standard Administrative Procedure (SAP).

SSN Scanning Resources:
SAP 29.01.99.M1.29 Draft - Data Classification and Protection - Read the SSN scanning policy

Note: you are allowed to have your own and immediate family members SSN's on your computer.

Download Software - Click Here Download the application and save to your Desktop
Note: you will need to get the license file (identityfinder.lic) and configuration file (id47.xml) from T:Bara\Common\IdentityFinder4_7
and place them on your Desktop also. 

Installing Identity Finder
Double Click on the Identity Finder Setup Icon on your Desktop



If a User Access Control box appears click "OK" to continue

 

Click Next

 

Click "Accept the terms in the License Agreement" then click Next

Make sure "anyone who uses this computer" is selected and click "Typical"

 

Click "Install".

 

You will see the above install screen.

 

Uncheck the "Launch Identity Finder" and click "Finish"

Now from your Desktop right click on the "identityfinder.lic" file and select copy

Next  navigate to your C: drive (My Computer or Computer) and open the Program Files Folder. Note: If you also see “ Program Files(x86)” folder, open this folder instead.

Then open the program folder " Identity Finder 4"

 

Right click and Paste the license file into the "Identity Finder 4" folder. You can now run the application.

Identity Finder is now installed.

Running Identity Finder
1. Open Identity Finder from the icon on your desktop

 

If you are asked to enter registration information select "Skip"
If you are asked to participate in the customer experience program, uncheck the box and select "Skip"
If you are asked to enter a password enter "ssn" (without the quotes) and then "OK" at the Guest Profile box.

Select "Open Advanced Interface" and in the "Advanced Interface" pop up box select "No"

If asked to do an Identity Finder Update select "Yes" and "OK" after the update is done.


2. Install the Preconfigured Setup File
The preconfigured file (id47.xml) that has all of the settings needed to complete the search for Social Security Numbers.
Click on the "Configuration" tab
Click on "Settings"
Under the "Profile" heading click on "Import File"

 

Look in your "Desktop" and click on the "id47.xml" file. Click "Open".

Click "OK"
If you get a message saying the configuration settings won't take effect until you exit and restart
Identity Finder, Click "Ok" and close and then reopen the application.

3. Your  Are Now Ready To Go.
From the "Main" tab click on the Start button. Your scan will start and depending on how many files
you have it can take an hour or two to complete.

 

4. When the Scan Completes
When the scan completes you will get the following message:



Click on "Advanced" and click on one of the results as shown below.
On the right side of the screen is a Preview Pane that will show you where the SSN is in the file. You can then make a decision
to keep it (ignore it) or Secure it (password Protect) or Shred it (Delete) by checking the box and then clicking on the relevant button.



In this example the number detected as an SSN is a false positive. So you would check the box and click "Ignore" and
then "This Identity Match". The scan will find any SSN's as well as any other numbers that are the same length, so you
may have a lot of "False positives". (A False Positive is a number detected as a SSN but isn't).

You can select multiple files by checking their boxes and "Ignore", "Secure" or "Shred".

What To Do If Social Security Numbers Are Found
If you find a positive SSN match you have the following options:
1. If it is your or your immediate family members you can choose to "Ignore" it.
2. If it isn't yours or immediate family members you should "Shred" it.
3. If you decide you need to keep it for business reasons you must report this to your
    Department Head and have them notify CIS along with a business reason for needing to retain it.

REPORT RETAINED SSN INFORMATON TO CIS quiggt@tamug.edu ALONG WITH THE BUSINESS REASON.

Often keeping the SSN's will mean utilizing an encryption program to secure the files containing SSN's. If possible you can
archive the files to a CD / DVD and keep it in a secure location.

Please contact CIS if you have any questions.

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