FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Even though using an Army computer comes with yearly cyber awareness training and a user agreement, Fort Leonard Wood civilians and service members still sometimes find themselves with a warning or quarantine banner due to security concerns on a particular machine.

Experts at Fort Leonard Wood’s Network Enterprise Center – responsible for the installation’s information management resources – provided some tips to avoid being locked out.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to protect and defend the Army network. Like your home computer network, the Fort Leonard Wood network is only as strong as the weakest link. Keep your work computer upgraded and patched. You are the first line of defense in the fight against bad actors,” said Deborah Dowling, Cybersecurity Division chief at Fort Leonard Wood’s NEC.

Dowling said the main cause for users seeing a notification banner at the top of their computer is because their machine is “missing a patch or upgrade, and the remediation date has passed.”

“The easiest way to avoid getting a warning or quarantine banner is to keep your computer turned on and connected to the network,” Dowling said. “If the device is connected and turned on, the patches will be installed during non-duty hours, with little to no impact to the user.”

When new patches or upgrades are available for install, Dowling said they are also advertised in the software center on each individual computer, which can be accessed by searching for “software center” in the search box at the bottom left of the screen.

“At any time, the user can go out and select and install the patch or upgrade on their device, at their convenience,” she said, adding the color of a particular warning or quarantine banner shows which stage of notification the system has identified.

“The first banner is yellow and identities the system is missing a patch and will need to be remediated. It is a warning banner. The orange banner represents the system was not remediated in the required time frame and the system has been isolated from the (Department of Defense) information network until it can be remediated,” Dowling said. “The verbiage on each banner notifies the individual that the system is subject to quarantine actions if their system is not remediated. The verbiage that is published on the banner references the official remediation, quarantine operations order or tasking order that was published.”

Dowling noted it is helpful to include the banner information when assistance is requested because, “it can point the technician to the specific patch or upgrade that needs to be applied to the system.”

Matthew Landers, a Fort Leonard Wood Information System security manager, said it is important to always leave the computer on and make sure it is not using a virtual private network, commonly known as a VPN, when a banner shows up on an individual’s computer.

“If the banner is still on the system within one week of the date listed for quarantine action in the banner, users may submit a work order with (the Army Enterprise Service Desk) for assistance by calling 1.866.335.2769,” Landers said.

He also stressed the importance of not connecting unauthorized devices to government computers.

“Please do not connect personal electronic devices to your government furnished equipment. Also, wireless devices are prohibited from being connected unless an approved exception to policy is granted by the authorizing official. This includes wireless mice, keyboards, presentation remotes, personal and government cell phones,” Landers said, adding any suspicious activity should immediately be reported.

“We all defend and protect the network, to better defend each other,” Landers said.