Scan your Computer with Identity Finder through Virtual Desktop

Identity Finder is available for download and installation on the Windows operating system. Macintosh users or users who cannot download and install Identity Finder due to administrative permissions or other reasons can use Identity Finder through Virtual Desktop.

Note: Identity Finder through Virtual Desktop does not have Outlook search capability.

Macintosh Users: Identity Finder will not be able to scan your computer if you have DataVault enabled.

To scan your computer using Identity Finder on Virtual Desktop:

  1. On the computer you want to scan, open a web browser and go to http://virtualdesktop.uiowa.edu.

  2. Log in with your Hawk ID and password.

  3. Double-click the Identity Finder application.

  4. Allow the application full access to the local files on your computer.
    Note: If you previously restricted access to your local files in Virtual Desktop, you can remove that preference and prompt it to ask you again by following these instructions.

  5. Once the Identity Finder application has started, choose the Where to Search tab and click the Custom button.

    Where to Scan

  6. On the Identity Finder Personal Information File window, choose Customer Folder List and click the "..." button next to the Add button.

    Add Folder

  7. Choose the C$ on Client drive (typically the V: drive) and click OK. Click Add to add it to the list of drives to search. You can also select your personal network storage drive (H: drive) and add it to the search locations.

  8. Once you have defined the search drive/folder locations, click OK, then click the Main tab.

  9. To being the search, click the Start button.

    Start Search

The Identity Finder scan will search for sensitive personal information, including social security numbers and credit card numbers. For information on what to do with the results of a scan, click here.

Return to the Identity Finder Support Site