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Using and Installing Cornell University's Spider

  1. Before You Begin
  2. Installing Spider for Windows
  3. Running Spider for Windows
  4. How it Works
  5. Technical Information Regarding What Spider Will and Won't Do
  6. Spider for Windows Requirements

Back to the Locate SSN and credit Card Numbers Page

Caution: Spider is not recommended for non-technical users. If you choose to continue, please read all of the information below and enlist the support of your local technical support or 8help at:

IT Service Desk
Phone: 614-688-HELP (4357)
Web: 8help.osu.edu
E-mail: 8help@osu.edu

Print the Complete Directions:

Using and Installing Cornell University's Spider

Before You Begin

  1. Consult your local technical support. If you have local technical support in your department or college, it is best to request their assistance when using Spider. Your support staff ensures local procedures are followed and provide valuable guidance.
  2. Clear your web browser’s cache. Clearing the cache before running Spider usually eliminates many of the files that will be flagged, and should be done on a regular basis because of the data placed on your computer by certain web sites.
  3. Verify each file that Spider finds. Be aware that Spider produces many false alarms. You must verify each file to ensure the data contained in it is truly a Social Security number (SSN) or credit card number before deciding what to do with the file.
  4. Promptly remove the Spider log file. Spider logs are often a direct road map to your files containing sensitive information. Whenever possible, remove the log files after you have protected or removed the files that contain restricted data, such as SSN.
  5. If you run into problems, contact 8help (688-4357) or your local IT support staff.

Installing Spider for Windows

  1. Download Spider 2.9 for Windows
  2. Run the downloaded file, Setup.exe
  3. Setup will begin. Select Next> in each window until you reach the License window.
  4. Click Yes to indicate you accept the license agreement.
  5. Click Close to end the installation.

Running Spider for Windows

  1. From the Start Menu, Choose All Programs.
  2. Select the Run Spider button
  3. Spider reads and analyzes each file on your computer. Depending on the number and size of the files on your system, Spider may take a significant amount of time to complete.
  4. When the search is complete, the Spider window will change back to its initial state as shown below.
  5. View the log file to investigate the files Spider found. The Log file is located in C:\Spider.log by default.
  6. Verify the file contains SSN or a credit card number.
  7. Remove the Social Security numbers and/or credit card numbers it detected.
  8. Protect files you want to keep that contained the SSN and/or credit card numbers.

IMAGE:Spider 2.9 options to run

How it Works

Spider executes a search of designated data locations and returns the results that it believes might contain SSN or credit card information to a log file. You must open and read the log file to determine whether it contains valid information. You can specify the location Spider will search, which is a good way to narrow your search and break the process into manageable chunks of time.

Technical Information Regarding What Spider Will and Won't Do

Spider starts by building a list of files that meet the scan selection criteria, then begins its work. Files Spider WILL scan:

  • any file marked by Windows as Archive, Normal, Compressed, or Temporary
  • any of the above file types that are not open and locked by another application
  • any unencrypted file stored within a readable ZIP archive

Files Spider WILL NOT scan:

  • files open and locked by another process (i.e., an Excel spreadsheet currently opened by Excel)
  • system files (executables, DLLs, the pagefile, the hibernation file, etc.)
  • encrypted files (on the assumption they are inaccessible)
  • sparse files (generally weird databases that Spider couldn't reliably parse anyway)
  • graphics files like RPM, TIFF, JPG and truetype fonts.

Note: Spider will misidentify certain types of files as containing SSN or credit card numbers. Common files that Spider misidentifies are RPM, TIFF, and TrueType fonts.

[Return to Top] Spider for Windows Requirements

  1. Spider for Windows requires Windows 2000, XP, or 2003
  2. Spider requires the user running the tool to be a Windows Administrator on the machine it is running. Make sure your account has administrative access to the computer you are scanning.
  3. Spider for Windows requires the .Net Framework version 1.1 or newer to be installed. If you do not have the software installed you can follow the following process to install it.

Warning: Check with your IT staff to ensure installing the .Net Framework will not cause your other applications to cease working.

Installing the .Net Framework

  1. Go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
  2. Windows Update will verify you have the latest version of Windows Update and may ask you to update or verify your Windows installation.
  3. Select the Custom button.
  4. After your system has been analyzed, select the "Software, Optional(n) area" on the left of the browser and check "Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1"
  5. Select "Review and Install updates"
  6. Select "Install Updates"
  7. If you did not have .NET 1.1 installed you will have to go back to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com to get .NET 1.1 Service Pack 1
  8. Select the Express button
  9. After your system has been analyzed, select the "Install Updates" button
  10. When the download and installation is complete you will have to restart your computer

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