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Security: Identity Finder

Identity Finder, available to university users from IT Services, is security software designed to prevent identity theft. Follow the instructions below for installing and using Identity Finder in Windows or Mac OS X.

Tips for Using Identity Finder

  • By default, Identity Finder will only scan your Documents folder. From the Locations menu, you can configure Identity Finder to scan your entire computer or a custom location.

  • Scans can take several hours if you have a large number of documents.

  • If you will leave your computer unattended during the scan, you might have to change your power settings so your computer will not go to sleep.

Windows

  1. Download Identity Finder at https://downloads.uark.edu/identityfinder/IdentityFinderSetup-UAF.msi. Double-click the file to run the installation.

  2. Connect or insert any external storage devices (e.g., external hard drives, thumb drives, CDs, or DVDs) or file server shares to search in addition to your computer's hard drive. Disconnect from any file server shares or storage devices that you do not want Identity Finder to search.

  3. Open Identity Finder Enterprise Edition from All Programs in the Start menu.

  4. Click "Continue in Wizard Mode." Click Next.

  5. Under AnyFind Searching, make sure the Credit Card Numbers, Bank Account Numbers, Social Security Numbers, and Passwords boxes are checked.

  6. Under AnyFind Worldwide Searching, select Yes if you are likely to have personal information from specific countries stored on your computer. Click Next.
    Note: If you choose to search for non-US identification numbers, the "Automatic Searching Using AnyFind Worldwide" window will appear. Select the additional countries and identity types you want to search.

  7. If you want Identity Finder to search for your personal information in addition to the generic automatic searching rules, click Yes and Next. Otherwise, click No, Next, and skip to step nine.

  8. Enter personal information. Click Add to move it to the Unique Identity Include List.

  9. Ensure the options All Files, Hidden Web Data, E-Mails and Attachments, and Windows Registry are selected.

  10. Under File Locations, select the places to search. Choose from My Documents and Settings, My Computer, or Custom Location.

  11. Review your selections. If necessary, click Back to make changes. Click Finish.

  12. From the "Search Summary" window, click Wizard to view your results and choose the best actions to protect your personal information.

Mac OS X

  1. Download the Mac OS X edition of Identity Finder located at
    https://downloads.uark.edu/identityfinder/identityfinder.pkg.zip.

  2. Open the Setup. Click Agree.

  3. Drag the Identity Finder icon to the Applications folder and close the installer window.

Scan a Custom Location

  1. From the Locations menu, click Custom.

  2. To select a location to scan, click the ellipsis (...) and browse to the location, or enter the location's path next to Folder.

  3. To exclude a location from the scan, check the "Add as Exclusion" box.

  4. Select a location. Click Add.

Shred Sensitive Data

If Identity Finder finds a file that might contain sensitive data after running a scan, it can be permanently deleted. Click the file in the result list and click Shred.

Save Results

  1. From the File menu, click Save or Save As.

  2. Name the file and select a location from the dropdown menu next to Where.

  3. Enter and confirm a password for the file. Click Save.

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