Link to An Academic Technologist’s Toolbox
ITS Fall 2008 Newletter
Available at http://www.swarthmore.edu/its_summer08.xml Contents Internet Bandwidth, Increased from 60 Mb/s to 100 Mb/s Media Services Equipment Loans Computers in the Classrooms: next up are Hicks 211, Kohlberg 226 & 328, Trotter 301 & 303, SC 199 New Improved Office Computer Backups, Coming Soon Media Center Now Open Sundays, 1 – 9 p.m. New Software Versions 16TB in New Storage Dial-Up Services to be Discontinued 1/1/09 ITS Presentations New ITS Email Subject Line Format Did You Know? Percentage of 2012 applicants who applied online: 89% (34% in 2003) Number of students who brought desktop computers this fall (instead of laptops): only … Continue reading ITS Fall 2008 Newletter
Don’t Ignore the Windows Update Shield!!
If you’re a Windows user, did you ever wonder what the periodic appearance of a yellow shield on your task bar means? When you have Windows Automatic Update enabled (and you definitely should!), your PC will regularly check with Microsoft to see if any new software fixes or patches are available to download and install. Generally, Microsoft releases patches for Windows systems on every second Tuesday of the month (affectionately known, by some, as “patch Tuesday”). Your PC should detect the availability of patches on patch Tuesday and download/install them to your computer. Oftentimes, your PC will need to be … Continue reading Don’t Ignore the Windows Update Shield!!
Beware Free Videos from Friends on Facebook
According to security experts and anti-virus software vendor F-Secure, a new malware attack is currently being spread via Facebook pages. The attacks are propagated by a malicious worm which steals victims Facebook information. Users receive a message from infected friends with links to a YouTube video. If Windows users click on the link to view the video, they are prompted to first download an updated version of Flash. If the rogue Flash program is installed, the worm scans the newly infected users system for Facebook cookies and, in turn, sends new attack messages to the victims friend list. Since the … Continue reading Beware Free Videos from Friends on Facebook
ITS Announcement 10/14/08: Network & Telephone Service Interruptions This Week
Taking advantage of the break, ITS will be performing maintenance work on network equipment and telephone servers. Some of this work will require interruptions in service. Below is a list of planned outages: Wed, Noon – 1 PM: There will be a 15-20 minute period when access to saved voicemail messages will be interrupted. New voicemail messages will continue to be accepted during this time. Thur, 6 PM – Midnight: Campus network and Internet access during this period will be interrupted 3-4 times for periods up to 20-30 minutes while we upgrade software and reconfigure network equipment. Telephone service will … Continue reading ITS Announcement 10/14/08: Network & Telephone Service Interruptions This Week
Network Update – Fix for Remaining Problems
The restart of the Beardsley core at 12:50 PM today did fix a number of problems including wireless access in the academic/administrative buildings. The wireless network should be working normally except for Guest Wireless which we expect to have operational shortly. Computers directly connected to a network jack were also fixed at that time. However, we have another residual problem with computers connected to a Cisco phone. In many cases, these computers are still not able to obtain network access. In those cases, a simple procedure will correct this problem. If your computer is connected to your phone you can … Continue reading Network Update – Fix for Remaining Problems
Password Requests via Email = Bogus!
On a regular basis, the Swarthmore community receives emails from malicious individuals requesting their passwords and sometimes other personally sensitive information. These emails are often cleverly disguised to look like they originated from an official source such as ITS. These attacks on the community are known as “phishing”. {For more info, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing} Unfortunately, when community members respond to these bogus password requests, it results in their email accounts being used (almost instantaneously) to send massive quantities of spam to the Internet. {See a blog entry from this summer: Email, Spam & Undeliverable Messages } Further, this can result in … Continue reading Password Requests via Email = Bogus!