On PCs, the process is not much different. From the Internet software group, run the program WS FTP. Provide the same information as that described for Macintoshes. Once connected, you will be presented with two panes. In the left is your local PC; in the right is your fas home directory.

Just find your file on the left, and click the arrow between panes to transfer it.

Your file cannot become infected in this space, and the odds of your data being lost or corrupted in any other way are even smaller. Your fas home directory is probably the safest place to store your files.

When you want to work on the file in the future, just transfer it out of your fas account onto the local computer.

Some final thoughts: first, keeping files in your home directory solves more than just the problem of virus transfer. If you have ever had to use a file on both Mac and PC hardware, you know the nightmare of moving diskettes between machines. Using the network avoids this because disk format is not an issue.

Second, be sure to delete files from your home directory every so often so as not to go over your disk quota.

Third, although people cannot simply look into your home directory, networks are inherently less secure than isolated disks. You always run a risk, if very minute, that your files could be accessed. So, if you have some private document (say plans to take over the world), you should just avoid network storage for those files altogether.

Baratunde R. Thurston '99 is a user assistant for Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Service (HASCS) and a Crimson On-line director and News Executive. He has not used a floppy disk since 1995.