FHC Internet

someone knows if is allowed to delete cookies and temporary Internet files in family history center computers?

where can i find some letter or document about it?

Thanks.

RetamalesDA wrote:someone knows if is allowed to delete cookies and temporary Internet files in family history center computers?

where can i find some letter or document about it?

Thanks.

The last section of the Family History Center Internet Use Policies (which are attached to this post) specifically states:

Patrons may not alter or customize the browser software (toolbars, "favorites," and so on) without the approval of the family history center director.

Cookies and temporary Internet files are essentially part of the browser software, so I would think they fall into this category. Besides, the section on "Monitoring Internet Usage" requires the FHC director and the Stake Technology Specialist to periodically review temporary Internet files, and if people are deleting these, it makes that job harder. Of course, any deletion of temporary files or cookies is a big red flag that someone is trying to cover their tracks after inappropriate Internet use.

RetamalesDA wrote:someone knows if is allowed to delete cookies and temporary Internet files in family history center computers?

Why do you ask? There must be more to this situation.

RussellHltn wrote:Why do you ask? There must be more to this situation.

i am asking this question because i am the Stake Technology Specialist and one of the
volunteers in the stake family history center asked to the support missionary in the Chile Area about it and she told to her that all the cookies and temporaly files should be erased, and i believe thas was wrong that is the reason of my question.

(sorry for my bad english)

I would have a small problem with a patron clearing cookies or deleting the temporary files - I'd think they are hiding something.

But if you wish to clear them, I would consider that good house cleaning.

I'm not sure how it works where you are, but in the US, the access to special websites is though certificates. I don't think clearing cookies would cause you to loose access to those sites.

Temporary internet files and cookies should not be deleted except by the responsible person for maintaining the computers. This is either the Family History Center Computer Specialist or the Stake Technology Specialist. Deleting the temporary internet files and cookies is part of the routine maintenance of the computers. The period of the maintenance should be every 30 to 60 days. Part of the maintenance of the computers is to check for inappropriate use before deleting these files.

For Windows XP:
Deleting temporary internet files and cookies is quite simple provided the access to the Internet Options applet, or the 'General' tab of the Internet Options applet, has not been blocked through group policy changes or security options for the "Inetcpl.cpl" file. In the "Control Panel" of the "Start" menu on the taskbar find and double click the "Internet Options" icon. Or you can start Windows Explorer and navigate to \%systemroot%\system32 (e.g., c:\windows\system32) and double click on the file inetcpl.cpl. In the "General" tab about half way down there is a section titled "Browsing history". Click the "Delete" button in this section. A "Delete Browsing History" window will pop-up. There are five parts of the browsing history that can be deleted. The first two are temporary internet files and cookies. Click the appropriate delete button to delete those files.

This Microsoft knowledge base article, kb260897, gives more detail about deleting the temporary internet files.

If access to the Internet Options control panel applet has not been restricted for patron use then I strongly suggest it be done so that the browsing habits of patrons and other users can be better monitored.

jdlessley wrote:Temporary internet files and cookies should not be deleted except by the responsible person for maintaining the computers. This is either the Family History Center Computer Specialist or the Stake Technology Specialist. Deleting the temporary internet files and cookies is part of the routine maintenance of the computers. The period of the maintenance should be every 30 to 60 days. Part of the maintenance of the computers is to check for inappropriate use before deleting these files.

For Windows XP:
Deleting temporary internet files and cookies is quite simple provided the access to the Internet Options applet, or the 'General' tab of the Internet Options applet, has not been blocked through group policy changes or security options for the "Inetcpl.cpl" file. In the "Control Panel" of the "Start" menu on the taskbar find and double click the "Internet Options" icon. Or you can start Windows Explorer and navigate to \%systemroot%\system32 (e.g., c:\windows\system32) and double click on the file inetcpl.cpl. In the "General" tab about half way down there is a section titled "Browsing history". Click the "Delete" button in this section. A "Delete Browsing History" window will pop-up. There are five parts of the browsing history that can be deleted. The first two are temporary internet files and cookies. Click the appropriate delete button to delete those files.

This Microsoft knowledge base article, kb260897, gives more detail about deleting the temporary internet files.

If access to the Internet Options control panel applet has not been restricted for patron use then I strongly suggest it be done so that the browsing habits of patrons and other users can be better monitored.

"Temporary internet files and cookies should not be deleted except by the responsible person for maintaining the computers. This is either the Family History Center Computer Specialist or the Stake Technology Specialist. Deleting the temporary internet files and cookies is part of the routine maintenance of the computers. The period of the maintenance should be every 30 to 60 days. Part of the maintenance of the computers is to check for inappropriate use before deleting these files".

that was my answer to the volunteer, but she ask me (a little upset) where i can read that? i can not tell her "some member of this forum give me the answer".

(sorry if my english is wrong) (google translator is helping me)

RetamalesDA wrote:"Temporary internet files and cookies should not be deleted except by the responsible person for maintaining the computers. This is either the Family History Center Computer Specialist or the Stake Technology Specialist. Deleting the temporary internet files and cookies is part of the routine maintenance of the computers. The period of the maintenance should be every 30 to 60 days. Part of the maintenance of the computers is to check for inappropriate use before deleting these files".

that was my answer to the volunteer, but she ask me (a little upset) where i can read that? i can not tell her "some member of this forum give me the answer".

It's true that the above quote is from a forum member, but it's pretty close to the official policy. If that volunteer wants to see the official policy, you can get it from the Family History Center Internet Use Policies I provided a link to earlier. To see it,

Follow this link and open the attachment.

In that document you will see the following paragraph, under the heading "Monitoring Internet Use":

Family history center directors should monitor computers with Internet connections to ensure appropriate use. With the help of the assistant stake clerk responsible for computers, directors should periodically review the history, "favorites," cache, and temporary Internet files and remove any unnecessary or inappropriate material.

For FHC directors to be able to accomplish this responsibility, those files they are to review cannot be deleted.

The last section of the document also states:

Patrons may not alter or customize the browser software (toolbars, "favorites," and so on) without the approval of the family history center director.

Cookies and temporary Internet files are essentially part of the browser software, so that is another part of the policy that would prohibit modification or deletion of these files by patrons.

I think I should explain where I got the 30 to 60 day maintenance interval. This is not policy. The Family History Internet Use Policies only states that

Family history center directors should monitor computers with Internet connections to ensure appropriate use. With the help of the assistant stake clerk responsible for computers, directors should periodically review the history, "favorites," cache, and temporary Internet files and remove any unnecessary or inappropriate material.

The default setting for the number of days to keep the browsing history for a computer configured from a Church provided Windows XP image is 20 days. To comply with the Church policy to review the history would require the computers to be reviewed every 20 days. A more reasonable time period lies somewhere between once a month to at least quarterly. To store browser history files for more than 60 days would require a significant amount of hard drive space. Memos to family history center directors and stake technology specialists from FamilySearch Support mention a maintenance interval of 30 to 60 days as being a reasonable period ("Deep Freeze Availability" memo dated May 17, 2007, is an example).

I have balanced the policy to review browser history with hard drive storage requirements, frequency and time necessary to do a review, and recommendations from Family Search Support in memos to arrive at a maintenance interval of 30 days. Our FHC computers have the number of days to keep browser pages in history set to 30.

Please do not take this as policy. You must determine your own maintenance interval considering your own situation and resources. Just keep in mind that a periodic review is required.

I hope this helps.

Family history center policies and documents can be found at the "Family History Online Guide." Access to this site is for family history center directors, consultants, and others identified by FamilySearch Support. It requires a user name and password to gain access. For those people granted access to this site their usual FamilySearch.org user name and password is all that is needed.

thanks for all your support, today i will talk about this topic in our stake presidency meeting.

Family History Support Missionary must often delete cookies and sometimes temp internet files when they are having problems accessing the support tools and websites. These are the exact same missionaries that you will be talking to when you call the local toll free number. All support missionaries have been interviewed by both the bishop and stake president.

Deleting cookies and temporary internet files will happen as they fulfill their calling. Usually these missionaries work from their home computer, but not everyone has their own machine. Hence the need for this support missionary to work out of the center. If you still feel uncomfortable about letting them do this, I would suggest calling the support toll free to find out who the Area Manager is for your particular area.

Josh