New Students!
Welcome to Imperial College and thank you for visiting the ICT FAQ, you should find answers to your questions here to help you get all setup. To make things even easier for you, here are some quick links to the info you’re most likely to need, if there’s anything else, simply use the ‘Search’ box on the top right to find an answer.
Wireless
Connecting your laptop the Imperial Wireless Network – first things first, It’s called Imperial-WPA and you connect using your College username and password, click on the appropriate instructions below for your laptop:
Windows Vista or 7 - Windows XP - Apple Mac
If you didn’t know already, by joining Imperial College you automatically have an Imperial email account and an address which will be:<yourusername>@imperial.ac.uk and you can access this account from anywhere on the planet by using the College web mail here: http://exchange.imperial.ac.uk as well as on College PCs and your own laptop.
In Halls
You can use your laptop or desktop in your halls and take advantage of the super-fast network provided by the College. You will need to register you machine – simply connect it via an ethernet (network) cable and try browsing to a website such as the BBC or Google and you’ll be redirected to a registration page. Read the instructions carefully and once complete it can take up to 15minutes for your machine to be registered.
NOTE: Usage is limited to a maximum of 5gb of data in a rolling 24hr period, exceeding this limit can result in you being banned from the network for period of time – for more information read about banning here
Halls WiFi: Wireless access is not available across all halls of residence. Most common room areas have it and if your room happens to be next to or near the common room then you may have WiFi in your room too.
AntiVirus
As an Imperial student, you are entitled to use Norton AntiVirus on your Mac or PC. You can download it from the Software Shop website. As an alternative, both ‘Avast!’ and AVG are good and free options.
Laptop Surgery
The Service Desk offers a ‘laptop surgery’ service where we can book in your laptop and clean it from viruses or resolve other software issues. If you have a problem with your machine, give us a call or come and see us in the Sherfield buidling.
Elsewhere on the ICTFAQ
Here you can answer the majority of common IT issues yourself, save time and learn something new. Use the Search Box on the right hand side to ask a question such as “connect to the Imperial WiFi” and browse the results to find an answer.
- Answers are in plain English
- Answers have useful web links
- Or handy jargon-free guides to download
If you can’t find an answer then you can always call the friendly, helpful ICT Service Desk on the number below or log a request online.
If you have already logged a request online you can track the progress of your request:
Contact the Service Desk via phone on extension 49000 or 020 7594 9000
(Imperial College London staff and students only)
