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MedSIS: Frequently Asked Questions
The following FAQ's, terms, conditions, and agreements apply to all MedSIS users.
Please read each of these components carefully:
MedSIS FAQ's:
What is MedSIS?
MedSIS is an Internet based Registration service for Undergraduate
Medical Education (UME) Trainees enrolled or enrolling for training
through the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine and its
associated training hospitals.
Is MedSIS Mac compatible?
MedSIS is Mac compatible with Firefox. Please go to:
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox to download.
Kindly do not use other types of browsers (Netscape, Opera, Safari, MS Internet Explorer, etc.).
Who uses MedSIS?
MedSIS is an online application for use by University of Toronto undergraduate medical (MD) students,
teachers in the Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) program, and administrative staff associated
with the program directly or indirectly. Each user's access is determined and maintained centrally by UME.
Please contact the MedSIS & Evaluations Administrative Coordinator at the UME office
at medsis@knowledge4you.com or 905-947-9924 x253 if you have questions about your account.
Who provides MedSIS service?
MedSIS, an Internet service, is offered by the Undergraduate Medical
Education Office of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto,
Canada.
Where is MedSIS
service available?
As an online application, MedSIS can be accessed around the globe; however,
MedSIS service is restricted to legitimate users as identified by Undergraduate
Medical Education. Click here if you are a legitimate user who
is having difficulty logging on to MedSIS.
Who owns copyright to the material found in the MedSIS pages?
Undergraduate Medical Education at the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine owns the
copyright to all text, graphics, and multimedia content in the MedSIS pages of this
World Wide Web site. No material may be reproduced on any medium or in any location,
without the express written permission of the UME office. Please direct all enquiries to
the MedSIS & Evaluations Administrative Coordinator at medsis@knowledge4you.com or 905-947-9924 x253.
Who
owns trademarks found in the MedSIS pages?
Unless otherwise indicated, all trademarks found in the MedSIS
pages are trademarks of UME Office. Visa is a registered trademark
of Visa International Incorporated. MasterCard is a trademark
of MasterCard International Incorporated. Microsoft Windows, Windows
95, Windows 98, Internet Explorer are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the USA and other countries.
What claims does UME Office make about the reliability of MedSIS?
The UME Office will make every reasonable effort to provide uninterrupted
MedSIS service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
- but cannot guarantee that MedSIS service will be available at
all times. In most cases, if a MedSIS service function is unavailable,
users will receive on-screen notification of the temporary unavailability
of the service.
If you have problems getting connected to MedSIS,
please contact the MedSIS & Evaluations Administrative Coordinator in the UME
Office at medsis@knowledge4you.com or 905-947-9924 x253 as an alternative.
For which aspects of security is the MedSIS customer responsible?
Security is critical to your use of MedSIS. Interestingly, security
is a shared responsibility. Here is a breakdown of these responsibilities.
You are responsible for the following:
Protecting your access information
Login PIN MedSIS password Knowing your browser - gain a
basic understanding of how the security features in your browser
function. Use this "Test
browser" link to review the security features
of your browser software. Checking your secure site identifiers
(padlocks, keys, etc.) each time you access a secure site to
ensure all the security features are working for you Logging off properly
Internet service provider
You choose who to use as your access provider to the Internet.
Care should be exercised in selecting a service provider with
integrity and a good, solid reputation. In other words, know who
you are trusting.
Taking precautions to ensure the security features available within
your browser are properly employed is the surest way to have confidence
in using the Internet for financial and other confidential transactions.
UME Office
The UME Office is wholly responsible for protection of customers'
personal and financial information within the server that houses
the MedSIS service. The server is owned, operated and maintained
by the UME Office; it is protected behind a high-security firewall.
The UME Office systems ensures that only encrypted transmissions
(including account/personal information) are allowed to communicate
transaction requests within MedSIS. The UME Office does NOT warrant
the security of E-mail.
Does UME warrant the security of e-mail correspondence related to MedSIS or sent to or from a MedSIS address?
No. Until such time as UME is satisfied with the security of Internet e-mail,
it will not provide confidential information such as PINs and passwords over e-mail.
Similarly, MedSIS users are expressly discouraged from sending confidential or
personal information via Internet e-mail messages; MedSIS users who choose to send Internet
e-mail messages that contain personal or confidential information to the UME Office do so
entirely at their own risk.
However, general product or service questions and inquiries are always welcome.
Know your browser
The frequently asked questions below will help answer some of
the questions you might have about the security features available
within your browser. For more information, please refer to your
browser's 'Help' files.
•
What is a browser?
•
What
is the browser's cache?
•
How
do I know I'm at a secure site?
•
What
is encryption?
•
What
is an SSL (Secure Socket Layer)?
What is a browser?
A browser is the software on your computer that allows you to
view information from the Internet. Information is written in
a coded language, 'HTTP' (HyperText Transfer Protocol), which
your browser receives and translates into the images and text
on your computer's monitor so you can see it and read it. There
are many different browser software packages available; the two
most common are Netscape Navigator® and Microsoft Internet Explorer®.
Back to browser FAQ's
What is
the browser's cache?
Your browser requires time to translate the information from the
Internet to display it as text and images on your computer's monitor.
To reduce this time requirement, your browser is equipped with
a 'cache'. The cache allows your browser to store the text and
images of sites you have visited in a 'cache memory'. The next
time you visit the same site, your browser will check to see if
it has a stored copy of the page in its cache. If it finds one,
your browser will display the stored copy because it can load
it much faster.
The benefit of using cached pages is the speed with which previously
visited pages are displayed on your computer.
Some disadvantages of using cached pages are:
- the information may not be current depending on how long ago
you visited the page
- pages may be stored in your computer's cache that you don't
want anyone else to see
You can set your browser's cache settings so pages are stored
based on your requirements. Your browser can be set to treat secure
pages differently from insecure pages; for more information about
your browser's cache and how to select and set the cache settings,
please see the 'Help' file within your browser.
To maintain optimal security on your computer for your financial
information, the UME Office recommends that you clear your cache
each time you complete a MedSIS session.
Back to browser FAQ's
How do I know I'm at a secure site?
Depending on what browser you are using, Netscape Navigator� or
Microsoft Internet Explorer�, you will see evidence of whether
you are at a secure or unsecured site.
Lock displayed on screen:
Netscape Navigator displays
a padlock in the lower left corner of your screen. If you are
at a secure site the padlock will be in a locked position; if
you are at an unsecured site the padlock will be open.
Microsoft Internet Explorer displays a padlock at the bottom of
your screen just right of center if you are on a secure site;
if you are at an unsecured site, nothing is displayed.
Warning messages
Your browser provides a warning message system that will tell
you when you are moving to or from a secure page. We have found
that a lot of Internet users find these messages irritating and
tend to turn them off. We strongly recommend that you do not turn
the messages off. They are there to assist you with understanding
and maintaining security within your browser.
Site certificates
Site certificates are issued to the secure site owners by a Certificate
Authority. VeriSign® is the Certificate Authority that issues
the UME Office site certificate (The certificate may also be
labeled RSA Data Security, Inc.). The UME Office provides detailed
corporate information to VeriSign to prove their authenticity,
then VeriSign® issues a site certificate to the UME Office. By
clicking on the padlock in either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Internet Explorer, information about the site certificate is displayed.
This allows you to verify that you have connected to the site
to which you intended to connect.
Back
to browser FAQ's
What is encryption?
Encryption is the process of scrambling information using
a secret code so it cannot be understood by anyone other than
those who have the key for decoding the information. For encryption
to work, both the sender and receiver must be able to encode
and decode the information. The site certificate provides
the private key for encoding the information.
There are different levels of encryption commonly available
within web browsers: 40 or 56-bit and 128-bit. The main difference
between 40 or 56-bit encryption and 128-bit encryption is
that 128-bit encryption provides a significantly greater amount
of cryptographic protection than 40 or 56-bit encryption.
The 128-bit encryption level is the strongest generally available
encryption level at this time the UME Office requires the
use of 128-bit encryption for MedSIS service.
When you talk about encryption levels, what do the '40', '56',
and '128' stand for?
The '40' , '56', and '128' refers to the size of the key used
to encrypt the message. Encryption strength is therefore measured
by the length of its key, which is expressed in bits. The
larger the key, the more digits involved, resulting in a greater
variety of number combinations. Simply stated, the larger
the key, the harder it is for someone to guess it.
Back to browser FAQ's
What is SSL (Secure Socket Layers)?
Information on the World Wide Web is transmitted using 'HTTP'
(HyperText Transfer Protocol). Secure data on the Web is distributed
by using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL). This is a layer of
security over top of HTTP information. (The location addresses
for secure sites use 'https:' at the beginning instead of
the regular insecure 'http:'). Your browser would have been
shipped to you with SSL enabled. Please see your browser's
'Help' files for more information about SSL.
Back
to browser FAQ's
How do I logoff
properly?
When you have completed your MedSIS session, click the 'Logout'
button at the left side of the page. This expires your session
and prevents further access to your accounts until you log
into MedSIS again.
Shutting down your browser is another way to ensure that your
information is not available for anyone else who shares your
computer to view.
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