Windows - Spirion Installation and Recommended Configuration

Overview

Spirion, formerly known as Identity Finder, is a commercial software product designed to search a computer for sensitive information such as social security numbers, credit cards numbers, birthdates, driver's license numbers, etc.  University of Hawaii Information Technology Services (ITS) has acquired Spirion licenses to search for sensitive information on University-owned computers. Download a copy of Spirion for your desktop, laptop, or server at: https://www.hawaii.edu/software 
The following are instructions on how to install and set up Spirion, as well as the recommended configuration settings.

System Requirements

Download and Installation

  1. Download the latest version of Spirion at https://www.hawaii.edu/software. You will need to log in with your UH Username and Password.
  2. Ensure that all other applications are closed, then double click on the *.msi file that you just downloaded.
  3. If prompted with a warning, click Run.
  4. The setup wizard will open, click Next.
  5. Select "I accept the terms of the License Agreement" and click Next.
  6. Click on Typical, then click Install and wait until the files are installed.
  7. When prompted, enter your administrator password then click Yes.
  8. Ensure that "Launch Spirion" is checked then click Finish.

Running Spirion for the First Time

  1. Check or uncheck "Yes, I an willing to anonymously participate in Customer Experience." Click OK.
  2. You will be asked to create a password for your Spirion profile. Your profile allows you to save Spirion settings and automatically uses your profile password when securing results or saving reports. You will be asked for your profile password when Spirion starts and when opening secure results and reports.
  3. After creating a strong password, click Next.
  4. Click OK at the profile password set window.
  5. The Spirion Search Wizard window will open. Click Continue Search Wizard button, then click Configure Search.
  6. The recommended search criteria should include Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Numbers, Bank Account Numbers, and Driver Licenses. Click Search, then click Next.
  7. For Locations, take the defaults (or modify, as needed). Click Next, then click Finish.
  8. Spirion will begin searching for all identity matches. A Status Windows will appear to show your current status.
  9. If identity information is found, you will need to decide what action to take for each identity information data file found (options include shred, scrub or redact, secure, and quarantine).
  10. When the search is done, a summary report will be displayed. Click Exit.

Recommended Configuration Settings

  1. Open Spirion and enter your password.
  2. If prompted, open the Advanced Interface.
  3. Click on the Configuration tab on the top bar then Settings.
  4. On the left side column, click on AnyFind.
  5. Uncheck Only when location contains keyword.
  6. On the left side column, click on File Types.
  7. Next to "Search these file types" click the dropdown box and select All.
    NOTE: If you encounter problematic filetypes, you could select Custom instead. You will see a Manage button where you can deselect problematic file types.
  8. Under "Options for searching Files", ensure that the following boxes are checked:
    Include mapped network drives when searching 'My Computer'
    Allow searching of file systems not fully supported by Windows
    Display a warning when unsupported file systems are detected
  9. This step is optional - On the left side column, click on Custom Folders. To the right of the "Folder:" text box, click on the "..." button.
    In the "Browse for Folder" window, select the location or directory you would like to include, then click OK and the directory path should appear under the folder location.
  10. Once the changes are applied, you can close the settings window. In the Spirion window, click on Data Types near the top of the window.
  11. You can select or deselect specific data types by clicking on them. Selected data types are highlighted in blue. The recommended selected data types are:
    Social Security
    Credit Card
    Bank Account
    Driver Licence
    ​​​​​​​
  12. Click on Locations near the top of the window and select My Computer or any other file location you would need to scan within the "File Locations" category.
    NOTE: Spirion will only scan one location at a time within the "File Locations" category. You need to start another scan if you would like to scan another location. If you don't set the recommended settings below, Spirion will not scan mapped/network drives.
    ​​​​​​​

Getting Started

The following is a simple getting started to help you get going using Spirion. For complete vendor supported documentation on running Spirion please visit the following link.

  1. To get started, go to the Windows Start Menu, choose Programs, then the Spirion group, then Spirion. Alternatively, click on the Spirion shortcut on your desktop.
  2. Enter the password for your Spirion Profile. Click Next.
  3. Click Start Search Now to use the default search settings or the previous search settings.
  4. To modify search settings, click Continue Search Wizard,
    Click Configure Search,
    Check the identities you wish to search for. Uncheck any unwanted categories. The recommended search criteria should include Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Numbers, Bank Account Numbers, and Driver Licenses. Click Next.
    For Locations, select the desired locations. Click Next.
  5. Spirion will begin searching for all identity matches. A Status Window will appear to show your current status.
  6. You may interact with results as they appear or wait for the results wizard after the scan is complete. Click Wizard, selected by default, and Spirion will begin walking you through the Results Wizard.

NOTE: We recommend that you rescan your system once remediation is completed.

Print Article