Usage Guidelines

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The Metatude software enables you to interact with stakeholders (customers, employees, vendors, etc.) through interactive channels. Using Metatude, you can respond to events and engage an interactive dialogue with your stakeholders.

The Metatude software can easily be integrated into the processes of your company. You can use databases and directory servers as the source of stakeholder information. Also, information acquired from a dialogue (communication between the stakeholder and your company) can be written in real time to any database in your company.

The extensive possibilities of the Metatude software come with potential hazards. Therefore, it is necessary that you use caution and take preventive counter measures when implementing the software in your company, in order to avoid damage to your databases and directory servers, other operational systems or to the Metatude software itself.

Metatude has developed a number of guidelines to ensure a proper operation of the software and to diminish the chances of damage and data loss. It is important for your company to study these guidelines and use them when implementing and using the Metatude software. Metatude cannot be held liable for any damage or data loss caused by not following these guidelines.

The latest version of the guidelines can be found at http://www.metatude.com/support/. If you have any questions, you can contact our support department at: support@metatude.com.

·	Make sure you have an up-to-date and well-tested security policy within your company.

·	Make sure the right people know about the security policy and understand it. Also make sure that there are no deviations from this policy.

·	Use well tested firewalls or packet filters on the machines that run the MDS and MCIC

·	Make sure you do not run unnecessary applications on machines that run the Metatude software

·	Make sure only the right people have access to machines that run the Metatude software (both physically and through a network).

·	Make sure that people only have access to the part of the system that they need. Do not operate the machines that run the Metatude software with administrative / root rights unnecessarily.

·	Never run the MDS with administrative / root rights.

·	Use an up-to-date virus and adware/spyware scanner on all machines that run the Metatude software. Use these scanners regularly.

·	Always have an up-to-date operating system on all machines that run the Metatude software. Make sure that security updates for your operating system and applications are installed regularly.

·	Regularly check machines that run the Metatude software for security breaches and security errors.

·	Check the log files that the MDS generates regularly.

·	Stop all Metatude software as soon as you suspect an attack or security breach. Disconnect the machine concerned from the network directly.

·	Always use IPSEC or other means to secure the connection between different machines running the Metatude software. Make sure connections from the MDS to the MCIC and MPM are secured.

·	Always use IPSEC or other means to secure the connection between the MDS and databases, directory servers and mail servers that the MDS uses.

·	Use an SSL connection from the web server that runs the MCIC to the respondents.

·	For connecting to directory servers or databases containing stakeholder information, always use a user that has read-only rights to these servers. The Metatude software only needs to read stakeholder information, so it is not necessary to be able to write to the directory servers or databases.

·	Always create a new database and database user for the database that is needed by the MDS to store results.

·	Keep the password for logging into the MDS through the MPM a secret. Do not write it down.

·	Always check which target groups you have placed in a project. You do not want to invite the wrong stakeholders.

·	Always check invitations and reminders for errors and omissions.

·	When starting a large project using the MPM, always run a small test project first to check for possible mistakes that you have made.