December 10th, 2009

From the IT Group: Normally, when you want to close a pop-up that has opened on your computer screen, you simply click on the red X located in the upper right-hand corner and the pop-up goes away. In most cases this does not harm your computer.
 
However, as viruses and spyware/malware become more sophisticated, clicking the red X may infect your computer. You know that McAfee is the Anti-virus/Spyware tool used by the college to keep your computer free from problems. As virus programmers get craftier and craftier, they’ve devised a way to make certain pop-ups look convincingly like anti-virus programs intended to help you. What you don’t know is by clicking on the red X, you’re asking for trouble.
 
A good rule of thumb: if you ever receive a suspicious pop-up, do not click on the red X to close it. The best way is to end the task. Simply press control-alt-delete to bring up the Task Manager. Click on the Applications Tab, find the name you see in the title bar of the pop-up, click on that application to highlight it and click the End Task button on the bottom. That will close the pop-up without infecting your computer. If this box continues to reappear, your computer begins to run very slowly, or you have pop-ups that are continuous and annoying, contact the HelpDesk and we will be happy to help you get your computer back in good condition.

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From the IT Group: It’s the time of year for final presentations, when the need for media equipment increases dramatically. Did you know that if you teach in a classroom that will require additional media equipment, you can request what you need through the IT Group HelpDesk? Simply complete this media equipment request form. It is important to do it early, because there is a limited supply available.
 
You may be in a building that has a media equipment closet where the piece of equipment you need is already housed. Those closets are located in the Arts Center, Butterfield Hall, Huntress Hall, Joslin Hall, Media Arts Center, Morrison Hall, and Parker Hall. You can view the equipment located in these closets by clicking on the “Media Equipment Closet Schedules” link in Outlook Public Folders. You can reserve the equipment you need right there and then pick it up when you need it. If you don’t have a key to that closet, contact the HelpDesk, and we’ll be happy to provide you with one. Remember to reserve your equipment early to be sure it is available and ready to go when you need it!
 
Please contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532. Email or stop by our office on the second floor

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From the IT Group: It is almost the end of the semester, and students are busy working on presentations to share with the class. Please remind them before the big day that they should test their presentation in advance, using the technology in the classroom. This will give them an opportunity to catch any issues or incompatibilities ahead of time.

Also, if you or your students have a Macintosh computer and would like to use it in the classroom, the HelpDesk has adaptors available. Simply complete a Media Equipment Request form 48 hours in advance. As always, if needed, the HelpDesk will respond immediately to any classroom emergency, and we are always available to provide you with additional training. Feel free to contact us at 8-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Elliot Hall.

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From the IT Group: If you haven’t already upgraded to Office 2007, this is the semester to do it - official support for Office 2003 ends on January 1, 2010, so don’t delay! Catch up with your colleagues and use the new features that Office 2007 has to offer.
 
Upgrading is easy. Fill out an Office 2007 or Office 2008 (Mac) request form, and you will receive email instructions for downloading and installing the software on your PC at your convenience. Mac users: Fill out the form and a staff technician will make an appointment to install it for you. Don’t be left behind! Upgrade now!
 
If you have questions regarding this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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From IT Group: In the spirit of October Security Awareness Month, the IT Group would like to remind campus how to identify a phishing email.
Here is a message received on campus just last week. Is it phishing or is it real?

—–Original Message—–
From: motoxrox@clear.net.nz [mailto:motoxrox@clear.net.nz] On Behalf Of abuse@keene.edu
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 5:42 PM
To: email@keene.edu
Subject: keene.edu Report
keene.edu Report

Your email account has been reported for numerous spam activities from a foreign ip recently. As a result, keene.edu has received advice to suspend your account. However, you might not be the one promoting this Spam, as your email account might have been compromised. To protect your account from sending spam mails, you are to confirm your true ownership of this account by providing your Username (*******) and Password (*******) as a reply to this message. On receipt of the requested information, the keene.edu email support shall block your account from spam. Failure to do this will violate the keene.edu email terms & conditions. This will render your account inactive.  NOTE: You will be send a password reset message in next seven (7) working days after undergoing this process for security reasons.
Keene State College - Webmail Access (Powered By gmail).

This is absolutely phishing. In the past year, our educational campaign regarding phishing focused on how to tell a phishing attempt from a legitimate email. Here is a quick list of things to remember or look for:

• No legitimate institution, including KSC and the KSC IT Group HelpDesk, will ever ask you for personal information through email. There are no exceptions to this. Period!
• IT Group HelpDesk email will be addressed to the GAL, a specific group (i.e. teaching faculty), or you personally. It will be familiar to you.
• We will provide you the reason behind our communication (routine maintenance, infrastructure upgrade, etc.).
• We always provide our contact information (including phone number, email address, and buildinglocation).
• We always tell you to contact the HelpDesk if you have any questions or concerns.

This format should be familiar to you. When this email was received after business hours last week, a very mature and responsible HelpDesk Student Technician understood how some faculty/staff might respond to it, given the specific use of keene.edu in the message. She made an urgent decision to send out a brief communication, and, while it did not include everything in our standard communication template, you recognized our message as legitimate, and the majority of you did not respond to the phishing attempt. Kudos to our student technician and kudos to you!

It is important to stay vigilant about phishing attempts both here on campus and at home. Learn to recognize the signs, and, above all, if they are asking for personal information, it is a phishing attempt!

For more information, please visit the IT Group Security website.

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From the IT Group: Is it phishing or is it real? You just received the following email in your Keene State College Outlook/Entourage email account. Is this phishing or is this real?

From: Webmaster [mailto:Webmaster@info.edu]
Sent: Friday, October 2, 2009 5:50 PM
Subject: Mailbox Shutdown Notification.
You are expected to verify your email account to avoid mailbox shutdown by furnishing us with the following details:
Login Username:
Login password: **************
To avoid shutting down of your mailbox, which could lead to loss of your important files on our server, you must send these details on receipt of this message.
Thank you very much.
Webmaster

Is this email phishing or is it real? This email is phishing. You can tell because Keene State College and the IT Group would never ask you to verify any account information through email or any other electronic source. We already have that information. Also, this message does not use the standard template you always see from the IT Group when we communicate to campus. We always address the GAL, we identify ourselves as the IT Group at the beginning of the message, we tell you the reason behind our communication (routine maintenance, infrastructure upgrade, etc.), and we always provide our contact information (including phone number, email address, and building location), in case you have any questions or concerns. However, most importantly, legitimate institutions, including the IT Group, will not ask for personal information through email. There are never any exceptions to this.

We hope this information will help you better understand phishing when you receive a suspicious email. However, whenever you are in doubt, do not hesitate to contact the HelpDesk at358-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu, or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall. We will be glad to help.

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From the IT Group: October IT Security Awareness Month . Think B4 U:

• Open any attachment
• Open an e-mail from someone you don’t know
• Click on any link in an e-mail, IM, or blog
• Install software from the web
• Share your password (don’t do it!)
• Allow someone else to use your computer
• Use an unsecure wireless network 
•  Offer any personal information over the web
• Use Facebook or MySpace
• Use your name/pet’s name as a password (create a strong password and change it frequently)
• Open your computer to file sharing

When in doubt, call the HelpDesk and we’ll be glad to help you!

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From the IT Group: As part of October IT Security Awareness Month, the IT Group is providing citrus-scented air fresheners for your room or car. You can pick up an air freshener at the Student Center Information Desk, New Rhodes Hall Computer Lab, or at the HelpDesk on the 2^nd floor of Elliot Hall. Like cITrus in your diet, SecurITy in your IT!

For more information and tips for safe computing, visit: www.keene.edu/it/security

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From the IT Group: When someone has shared their calendar with you, accessing that calendar when you are using Outlook on campus is simple. However, there may be times when you need to view that shared calendar when using Outlook Web Access. This is simple too!

Open your web browser open and type: https://owa.keene.edu/exchange/<email address of user sharing calendar>/calendar. For example, if you need to see the shared calendar of your supervisor, John Doe, you would type the URL as: https://owa.keene.edu/exchange/<jdoe@keene.edu>/calendar. The Outlook Web Access login page will appear where you enter your credentials. The shared calendar you requested is now visible to you. Everything that has been entered on that calendar (appointments, meetings) will be available to you.

So, whether you are working from home, or you use Outlook Web Access on a normal basis, access to a shared calendar is simple and easy.

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Traditional computer labs are configured with rows of computers to support individual work, but technology uses have changed. KSC students asked for an environment where collaborative learning could take place, and Rhodes Public Lab has changed to meet those needs

While one side of Rhodes Public Lab still houses the permanent PCs students are used to seeing, the other half is now a place for students to gather and work together. Furniture can be configured into “pods” where groups of students can plug in laptops and display work on a wall monitor. Screens are available for students who want more privacy, and students can bring portable white boards to their workspace to share their ideas while brainstorming as a group.

Courtesy photo; from Kim Pare, IT Services

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From the IT Group: The IT Group would like to welcome everyone back to a new academic year, provide you with new information that you missed while you were away, and offer some general information to keep in mind.

New information:
• The IT Group is pleased to announce that Elise Morrissette has accepted the responsibilities of the IT Group HelpDesk manager, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Eoin Clarke in May. Elise brings years of experience to the position, and her primary focus has always been customer service, making the customer experience her top priority. Please join us in welcoming her.
• The Rhodes Hall Computer Lab has a new face this year: One-half of the lab continues to offer computers for basic student computing use; the other half will soon provide students with an open, collaborative working space that allows students to come together and work in groups comfortably and easily. New mobile tables and chairs allow students to form a “pod,” plug in their own laptop, and view their work on a monitor attached to the wall. It is still currently under construction, but look for its opening very soon!
• This summer the IT Group completed an upgrade to the KSC data center, which houses campus servers and networking equipment. This project upgraded the power and cooling system. The power can now be managed and tracked from a centralized system, and an emergency fire-suppression system was added so that equipment will not be damaged if the fire suppression system is activated. These upgrades delivered not only greater efficiency and reliability for campus, but environmental benefits to the campus as well.

• FY09 projects: The IT Group and our campus partners completed 15 projects during FY09. A complete list is available on the web: IT Technology Plan FY09 Projects & Initiatives.

• FY10 projects: Looking for what’s new for FY10 projects? Check out IT Technology Plan FY10 Projects & Initiatives.
• Network Upgrades:  As part of our network-upgrade master plan, Carle Hall and sections of Elliot received network wiring and equipment upgrades. These upgrades help ensure a reliable, high-performance, and secure technology-rich environment that facilitates curricular needs and access to IT resources and information services for students, faculty, and staff.
• It was a busy summer. All discipline and public labs were re-imaged (refreshed) and cleaned. The library lab, library circulation laptops, Modern Languages lab, Rhodes public lab, and the Safety lab were all upgraded this summer. We delivered, installed, or upgraded 56 workstations for faculty, 69 for staff, 36 circulation laptops for the library, 130 lab computers, and nine SmartCarts over the summer. FY09 printer upgrades were also completed. Please visit Campus Workstation and Network Printer Upgrades for information on workstation and printer upgrade policies and procedures. In addition, a new network access-control product was purchased, tested, and implemented for fall ‘09 returning students.

Reminders:
• The new USNH System Access Policy took effect May 1. This policy increases protection for computers and data resources used in the transaction of USNH and Keene State College business. It is the responsibility of every KSC employee to comply and practice safe computing practices as outlined by USNH and KSC policies, standards, and procedures. Visit Changes Resulting from the System Access Control Policy for a comprehensive listing.
• Netbooks (lighter, smaller versions of laptop computers) are being purchased by departments across campus because of their compact size and inexpensive price tag. They are perfect for travel, if your needs are limited to reading email and surfing the web, if you don’t need large storage capacity or fast processing, and if you can live without high-resolution graphics and a large screen. While they fit the needs for basic computing, netbooks are not currently a technology the IT Group supports.
• The HelpDesk is dedicated to the distribution and support of standard technologies used by employees of Keene State College - including desktop computers, classroom technology, major applications, telecommunications equipment, and access to the campus network. The HelpDesk is open Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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From the IT Group: The calendar feature, which displays your busy or free time in Microsoft Outlook, is set for two months. This means that information beyond two months appears as “no information is available,” and a bar with diagonal lines. A simple solution to this problem is to expand the number of months others can view from two to six! If you expand your calendar availability, and everyone else expands theirs, scheduling project meetings or making appointments will be whole lot easier.

To do this, open Microsoft Outlook, click on “Tools,” and open “Options.” In the “Calendar” area, choose “Calendar options,” and under “Advanced” options, select “Free/busy options.” In the “Options” area, change the default from “Publish 2 months” to “Publish 6 months of calendar free/busy information on the server.” Click “OK” and continue clicking “OK” through each subsequent screen.

That’s it, you’re done! Visit our web page to see this tip and other helpful information. If you have any questions about this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, email us, or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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From Kim Pare, IT Group: The IT Group is pleased to announce that Elise Morrissette has accepted the responsibilities of the IT Group HelpDesk Manager effective immediately. Elise fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Eoin Clarke in May.

Elise brings five years experience to the position: two years as the HelpDesk customer service representative and almost three years as a HelpDesk technician. Her primary focus has always been customer service, making the customer experience her top priority. Please join me in welcoming Elise as our HelpDesk Manager.

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From the IT Group: Recently there was a “Phishing” attempt sent to Keene State College faculty/staff email. “Phishing” is email spam sent by someone pretending to be an organization or person asking you to enter your personal and/or account information. If you respond to these emails, your information has been compromised.

It can be difficult to know what is legitimate email and what is phishing. Test your knowledge with this informative five-minute test - you may be surprised by what you know, and what you don’t.

At Keene State, the IT Group will never ask you to verify any information via email or any other electronic source - we already have that information. Legitimate financial institutions, the government, and the IT Group will not ask for personal information through email. You can always recognize a message from the IT Group because we use a standard email template when communicating with the campus. Critical campus-wide messages from us will always be addressed to the Outlook Global Address List (_GAL), and we will identify ourselves at the beginning of the message. Our messages always tell you to, “Contact the IT Group HelpDesk at 358-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu, or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Elliot Hall with questions concerning this or any other technology issue,” and our signature line provides location and contact information.

So don’t be fooled. Computer security is a partnership, and you need to be responsible for your computer security, too. Whenever you are in doubt, contact the IT Group HelpDesk. We can help! If you would like more information regarding Phishing and other helpful security information, please visit the HelpDesk website.

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From the IT Group: All network and information system services will be down from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 25, as part of the Data Center Upgrade Project. This upgrade will improve power distribution and power management to systems and improve the air-cooling and fire-suppression systems. The following systems will not be available:

• Outlook (including Outlook client and OWA access)
• Datatel
• P & Q file storage
• internet access
• WebAdvisor
• MyKSC (only offline for those working on campus, with the exception of the Student Services tab. This will be unavailable to those working from on campus or off campus)
• Blackboard (only offline for those working on campus)
• Hosted server solutions (Bookstore, Judicial, Health Service scheduling)
• Library connection to Keene Library
• Campus Safety camera feeds, ticketing system, 8800 phone directory,

ID swipe-card door-entry notifications (physical door access with ID card would still work)
We appreciate your patience. If you have any questions regarding this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, email us, or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Elliot Hall.

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From the IT Group: Departments across campus are purchasing netbooks (the lighter, smaller, version of laptop computers) because of their compact size and inexpensive price tag. Netbook users typically rely on online applications, and services that do not require powerful computing power. They are perfect for travel if your needs are limited to reading email and surfing the web, if you don’t need large storage capacity or fast processing, and if you can live without high resolution graphics and a large screen.

While they fit this need for basic computing, the IT Group does not currently support netbooks. HelpDesk staff won’t be able to help you operate, load applications and/or troubleshoot if something goes wrong. However, if they are purchased with KSC funds, you are still required to comply with all KSC policies regarding equipment purchase and disposal, data security, and privacy.

As with all computers accessing the KSC network, netbooks must meet the standard IT Group security requirements with the installation of McAfee anti-virus software, and windows updates and patches installed. If you have any questions about this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Elliot Hall.

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From the IT Group: As part of the Data Center Upgrade Project being completed this summer, all network and information system services will be down on Saturday, July 11, from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., and on Saturday, July 25, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The following systems will not be available during these outages:
• Outlook (including Outlook client and OWA access)
• Datatel
• P & Q file storage
• Internet access
• WebAdvisor
• MyKSC (only offline for those working on-campus, with the exception of the Student Services tab. This will be unavailable to those working from on-campus or off-campus.)
• Blackboard (only offline for those working on-campus)
• Hosted server solutions (Bookstore, Judicial, Health Service scheduling)
• Library connection to Keene Library
• Campus Safety camera feeds, ticketing system, 8800 phone directory
• ID card swipe card door entry notifications (physical door access with ID card would still work)

The Data Center Upgrade Project will improve power distribution and power management to systems, and improve the air cooling and fire suppression systems. We appreciate your patience as we work to schedule these two Data Center outages when they will have the least amount of impact to campus operations. If you have any questions regarding this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, email or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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Courtesy photo: David Ray Griffin

From Aaron Rothberg, IT: On Friday, April 10, David Ray Griffin will present 9/11: Time for a Second Look, at 7 p.m. in Redfern’s Alumni Recital Hall. His presentation is free and open to the public and is sponsored by KSC’s Economics/Political Science department and the Monadnock 9/11 Truth Alliance.

Dr. Griffin could be called the world’s foremost 9/11 scholar. He has appeared before numerous audiences in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan, including many TV and radio shows. He is professor emeritus, philosophy of religion and theology, at Claremont Graduate University, CA, and the author of 34 books, including Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11 - A Call to Reflection and Action.

On Thursday April 23, the Putnam Theater will show Fabled Enemies at 7 p.m. This new film by Jason Bermas focuses on the various players in the 9/11 attacks, and in the process, unearths a vast amount of evidence that contradicts the official story. This event is cosponsored by Campus Ecology, the Film Society, and the Monadnock 9/11 Truth Alliance and is also free and open to the public.

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From Laura Seraichick, IT: Members of the campus community are invited to submit comments and/or any proposed revisions to the college’s Computer & Network Use Policy (CNUP). This policy governs the use of Keene State College IT and network resources by authorized individuals.

IT Policy comments should be submitted to Laura Seraichick by email by April 10. At that time, the proposed revisions, amendments, and campus feedback will be presented to the College Information Technology Committee (CITC) for review, and recommendations will be sent to the president for final approval.

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From Laura Seraichick, IT: In an effort to increase USNH security practices, the USNH System Office has recently approved modifications to our current USNH 5.7 System Access Control policy. System Access Control is part of the USNH Property Policies, Section F under IT Security (Section F5).

Highlights of the policy include utilization of employee-specific passwords for access, password change schedules, and treatment of passwords, along with Social Security Number restrictions whenever the SSN is utilized and/or displayed. The policy-effective date is May 2, 2009, and the updated policy will soon be published online.

As with other USNH policies, compliance is required and accomplished locally at each institution. As CIO, I am responsible for establishing standards to ensure that it is implemented in a manner compatible with technologies at our institution. Our approach to IT Security is a combination of technical and business-process controls, and to that end, I will need your help. The IT Group is currently conducting a gap analysis and will be communicating with others on the campus in order to complete their work. Recommendations will be considered by CITC and then forwarded to the President for final approval. At that time, I anticipate that we will be communicating to the campus changes in tools and/or processes that will ensure compliancy with the new policy before May 1. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

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From the IT Group: Do you have a workshop or training you are presenting to campus? Rather than receiving RSVP’s to your campus email account, you can post your workshop on the training website. By doing this, you are able to provide a brief description of your event, cap the number of participants you can accommodate, offer multiple sessions, and have a record of the participants who have registered. It is simple and easy, and it does all of the work for you. Any workshop or training opportunity is welcome.

Visit the training website, and if you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk, 8- 2532, or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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From the IT Group: Do you need help creating an organization chart for your department? We will show you how to create one using Office 2007 (if you haven’t upgraded to Office 2007, this would be a perfect time). The IT Group will be hosting workshops on Thursday, March 19, from 10:30–11:30 a.m., and on Friday, March 20, from 2–3 p.m. in the ESEC Lab in Rhodes Hall. We will walk you through the steps for creating a basic organization chart in Excel 2007. Bring your department information if you want to get started while at the workshop. You can reserve your spot by registering here.

If you have any questions regarding this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 8-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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From the IT Group: On February 13, the IT Group upgraded the voice-recognition system for the directory for Keene State’s main number, 352-1909, and for the internal directory number, 358-8000. This new system provides enhanced name recognition with greater accuracy. While there is very little difference in how the new system sounds, you may notice a slight difference in the prompts and the beeps. We encourage you to test the new system to be sure it performs as expected; if it does not, please contact the HelpDesk with that information.

If you have any questions about the system, find that your name is not listed, or have a concern; please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 358-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu, or stop by our office on the second floor of Elliot Hall.

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From Jenny Darrow, IT Group: Why do professors blog and how might Flickr (an online image site) be used for work during a six-month sabbatical? Please join us for our first brown bag lunch of the spring semester on Tuesday, February 10, noon–1 p.m., in Student Center 309. English professor Mark Long will explore the why and how of From the Far Field, a blog written to document the experience of his family during his sabbatical in India last spring.

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From the IT Group: We are happy to announce that students’ MyKSC email quotas have increased from 10mb to 50mb. This increased mailbox capacity will allow important email such as course registration, housing information, student financial aid, and billing to arrive in their mailbox as intended.

It is always a good idea to reinforce the importance of managing email accounts with students so that the information you want them to have will reach them when they need it. If you have any questions regarding this or any other technology issue, please feel free to contact the HelpDesk at 358-2532, email helpdesk@keene.edu, or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Elliot Hall.

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