Impulse Policy Key Requirements

Setup: Firewall

If you have a firewall on your computer, you will need to add the Impulse software as an exception to connect to the Internet. To see if your connection has Windows Firewall enabled, go to the Control Panel. If you do not see a "Windows Firewall" option, click "Switch to Classic View" on the left-hand side of the window. If the Windows Firewall is turned on, click on the "Exceptions" tab. Click "Add Program". Click "Browse". Select your "C" drive, then "Program Files" and then the "Impulse" folder. Choose the smiley face program "policykey.exe". Click "open". Click "Ok" on the Firewall window. Impulse key should now function properly.

WARNING: If your computer has a firewall besides Windows Firewall, you will need to add policykey.exe as an exception. Common firewalls include the Norton and McAfee packages. To add policykey.exe as an exception for these firewalls, consult your program documentation or call the Help Desk.

Setup: Antivirus

You must have antivirus software installed, running, and currently updated. Acceptable antivirus includes:

Sophos
Trend Micro
McAfee
EZ Antivirus
Symantec/Norton
Panda
AVG

If you do not have approved antivirus software that has recently been updated on your machine, you will need to install the free, Earlham-provided Sophos Antivirus.

Setup: Antispyware Tools

If you do not have an approved antispyware tool installed on your machine (Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware, or Spybot), Impulse will prompt you to install one. Check our list of links to download an approved anti-spyware program. If this is not possible, you may come to the Help Desk and we will install this free software for you.

Set Up: Automatic Updates

If you are on Windows XP, you can set up Automatic Updates by opening the Control Panel. If you do not see an icon for Automatic Updates, click "Switch to Classic View" on the left-hand side of the window. Open Automatic Updates. Make sure to select the first option, "Automatically update my machine at the specified time." If you on an operating system other than Windows XP then you may have to right-click on "My Computer" and click on the tab "Automatic Updates."

For Impulse to recognize your Automatic Updates settings, you must choose the option "Automatically update every day at such and such time."

Frequently Asked Questions

I installed Sophos antivirus, and everything worked fine for awhile, but now it tells me Sophos is no longer installed. What's the problem?

As Sophos updates, it removes itself from the system and immediately re-installs itself. Sometimes, however, Impulse misidentifies this updating as a lack of an antivirus program. If you receive this message and you know you have antivirus installed, simply wait one minute and then proceed with work as normal. It is safe to ignore this message.

I have been quarantined from the Internet. To get back on, I need to download an antispyware tool. How can I download the program when I am not able to connect to the Internet?

If you are not able to find a friend who can download one for you, you will have to come to the Help Desk and ask for assistance.