Policies: Identity Finder

UT Dallas is required to monitor and verify that all staff and faculty are handing confidential information in a manner consistent with the UT System Information Resources Use and Security Policy, UTS165. All UT Dallas faculty and staff must ensure that their computers do not contain confidential information. The Information Security team has selected the Identity Finder application to assist faculty and staff with this task. Identity Finder is software that searches for personally identifiable information (PII) such as Social Security Numbers, credit cards, bank accounts and passwords.

Please install and run Identity Finder on all University owned Windows computers. This program can run in the background while you continue to work. Once the scan has completed, please review the scan results. Using the Shred feature in Identity Finder, shred any files that contain confidential or sensitive information that are no longer needed. If the scan identities files that are essential to your business function, please complete the following online form: https://servman.utdallas.edu/Forms/Exception_form.cfm The Information Security Office will contact you to discuss encryption options to protect your essential files.

Identity Finder Support Document revised 7-09.pdf

Identity Finder Home Edition.pdf

Identity Finder FAQ.pdf

The installation file for Identity Finder is located on the P drive. You must be on campus or connected the campus network via VPN to install Identity Finder on your work computer. You must also have administrative rights to your machine to install Identity Finder. If you are not able to install software on your machine, please contact your department techs to install Identity Finder on your machine for you.

1. Open My Computer either by double clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop or by clicking the Start button and then My Computer.
2. Highlight and copy this path name: P:\Installs\Misc\Identity Finder\Version 354
3. In the My Computer window, click in the Address bar at the top of the window and paste the path you copied in the previous step.
4. Click the green Go button or press the Enter key.
5. Double click on the IdentityFinder_354.msi file. This will launch the Identity Finder Setup Wizard.
6. Follow the instructions in the Wizard to finish installing Identity Finder.

1. Double click in the Identity Finder icon on your desktop. It looks like a blue dog’s head.
2. Click the Where to Search tab.
3. Click the My Computer file location. This will scan your local hard drive as well as removable drives you have connected to your computer. If you need to scan remote machines or servers, follow the instructions for performing custom scans, see "Running Custom Scans"
4. Click the Main tab.
5. Click the green Scan button. The first scan of each machine or removable media device will take much longer to complete than subsequent scans. You may still work on your computer while the scan is running.

Once the scan is complete, Identity Finder will list all files it found that contain sensitive data. You are responsible for determining if these files are essential to your business needs. If they are, you must fill out the following form: https://servman.utdallas.edu/Forms/Exception_form.cfm. The Information Security Office will contact you to discuss encryption options to protect your essential files. If the files are not essential to your business, you must shred them using the steps below.

1. Click on each file listed. On the right side of the screen, you will see a snapshot of the information contained in that file.
2. Determine if the file is essential to your business.
3. Shred non-essential files by clicking on the Shred button on the Main tab. IMPORTANT! Once you Shred a file, it CANNOT be recovered!
4. Click Yes.
5. Click OK.

The Custom Scan feature allows you to scan servers and remote computers.

1. Click on the Where to Search tab.
2. Click on the Custom file location.
3. Click on Remote Computer List.
4. Click in the Add remote computer names box.
5. Type the name of the server or machine you want to scan.
6. Click the Search all physical drives check box.
7. Click the Specify authentication credentials check box
8. Enter the appropriate username and password for the server or remote machine you entered above.
9. Click the Add button.
10. Click the Apply button.
11. Click Ok.
12. Click on the Main tab.
13. Click the green Scan button.

Identity Finder Home Edition is for use at home on a personal computer.

Identity Finder How it Works.pdf
Identity Finder Quick Guide.pdf

Faculty & Staff (Click here) for more information. NetID and password required to access. Do NOT enter "campus\'your netid'" as part of the User Name, just your NetID.

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