OIT News
Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 24, October 2009
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01: Enjoy great presentations and door prizes at Computer Security Day on Oct. 26
02: Advance System successfully migrates from Sybase to Oracle platform
03: WolfWise Town Hall to be held Oct. 28
04: Campus Linux Services general meeting scheduled for Nov. 4
05: OIT Lunch and Learn: Facebook – Beyond the Basics on Oct. 20
06: SAR training scheduled for Oct. 21
07: OIT Lunch and Learn: NC State Mobile Web on Nov. 10
08: Don’t save login IDs and passwords in Web browsers
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01: Enjoy great presentations and door prizes at Computer Security Day on Oct. 26
The Office of Information Technology’s (OIT) Computer Security Day is only 11 days away! You won’t want to miss this exciting security event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 at the Talley Student Center.
Computer Security Day is designed to raise awareness and promote best practices in information technology (IT) security. This year’s theme is “Cybersecurity Self Defense.” The event provides insight into the privacy and security issues surrounding electronically stored sensitive information and offers ways to keep your computer and data safe.
This event will feature Jeff Crume, a Distinguished Engineer and IT Security Architect on IBM’s World Wide Tivoli Tiger Team, as the keynote speaker from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Talley Student Center Ballroom. It also will feature three tracks of general and technical presentations about social networking, current privacy issues in legislation, Web application security, antivirus protection, disk encryption, mobile device security, tools for desktop security, identity theft prevention, identity management and access control, and much more.
Enjoy great presentations, free food and numerous giveaways! The grand prize is a Dell 1230c color laser printer, provided by Dell Inc. Many other great door prizes including an Apple iPod 8 GB Nano, provided by the NC State Bookstores, and a Cisco flip camera, provided by Cisco Systems Inc., will be given away to attendees during the day.
For a complete schedule of Computer Security Day events, please visit the Computer Security Day 2009 Web site.
02: Advance System successfully migrates from Sybase to Oracle platform
University Advancement and OIT have been close partners for many years providing strategic systems support for advancement and development offices across campus. This past weekend saw the culmination of a major initiative that has been underway for nearly a year and a half – the successful conversion of the Advance System (version 9.1) from Sybase to Oracle, step one in a multi-year strategic systems plan. Migration to the Oracle platform positions the university to move to the Advance Web-based application, implement major new Advance functionality and integrate with value added systems and latest technologies in support of the university advancement program. Many staff members within OIT and University Advancement have devoted thousands of hours to ensure this project was a key success.
For more information about the Advance project, contact Jennifer Morell of Advancement Services at jennifer_morell@ncsu.edu, Cindy Hutchins of OIT Enterprise Application Services (EAS) at cindy_hutchins@ncsu.edu or Connie Reitfort of OIT Enterprise Application Services (EAS) at connie_reitfort@ncsu.edu.
03: WolfWise Town Hall to be held Oct. 28
Campus IT staff members are invited to attend a WolfWise Town Hall from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in Room 136 of the Monteith Research Center on Centennial Campus.
During the meeting, the OIT Campus Messaging Services Team will discuss current WolfWise priorities and challenges and plans for service changes over the next 12 months. The Team will also solicit feedback regarding a new governance structure for messaging. For more information, please visit the WolfWise Web site (no longer available).
04: Campus Linux Services general meeting scheduled for Nov. 4
The next Campus Linux Services general meeting will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Room 3211 of Engineering Building II on Centennial Campus.
Linux systems administrators are invited to attend, however, anyone interested in working with Realm Linux or furthering Linux at NC State is welcome. Meeting topics will include changes and features in the next version of Realm Linux; Kernel-based Virtual Machines (KVM), the aging Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 based kit; and an open discussion about file system needs.
05: OIT Lunch and Learn: Facebook – Beyond the Basics on Oct. 20
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series presents “Facebook – Beyond the Basics” from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in D.H. Hill Library Auditorium (Erdahl-Cloyd Wing).
Twanda Baker of OIT Design, Education and Outreach will talk about sharing news articles, videos and links on your profile page, customizing the Facebook interface, interacting with Facebook from external applications, setting up chat options, using Facebook mobile, and if there’s time, throwing a virtual pillow at your co-worker with SuperPoke! To register, visit Classmate.
06: SAR training scheduled for Oct. 21
Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to university data will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in the EAS Training Lab (302 Harrelson Hall). Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.
07: OIT Lunch and Learn: NC State Mobile Web on Nov. 10
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series presents “NC State Mobile Web” from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10 in 216 Scott Hall. NC State Mobile Web brings news headlines, the campus directory and the nearest Wolfline bus en route in a concise, stylish Web site.
Jason Austin and Garrison Locke of OIT Outreach Technology will talk about why the site was created, present a demonstration of the site and share some of the plans and ideas for future site expansion. To register, visit Classmate.
08: Don’t save login IDs and passwords in Web browsers
Most recent releases of Web browsers can enable you to save your login IDs and passwords for various Web sites. When you revisit the sites, the browser will recall your login ID and password automatically. While this feature may allow you to access your information much quicker, it also has real security risks for both your personal and business information.
The Web sites that you log in to, using the saved login IDs and passwords, may contain private information such as your e-mail, sensitive university information or financial information such as your credit card number. Once you save a login ID and password, anyone using your computer can access information just by starting the Web browser and visiting the appropriate Web site, or by using your browser’s saved history. A worm or virus programmed to steal passwords from the Web browser may infect your computer and transmit this information to a remote online location for malicious use. You cannot track or monitor this type of abuse. The only resolution is to change the password.
Never save your NC State Unity ID and password in a Web browser. Doing so may allow others to impersonate you while using university applications and may allow them to view any sensitive or private information on sites to which you have access.
Here are ways to manage and remove stored passwords in some common Web browsers:
- Firefox 3.5.3
Click on the Tools menu -> Options. Click “Security” and make sure that “Remember Passwords for Sites” is not clicked. Click the “Saved Passwords…” button to manage individual or all saved passwords. - Internet Explorer 8.0
Click on Tools -> Internet Options -> Content -> AutoComplete. Make sure AutoComplete is not enabled for “Forms” and “User names and passwords on forms” and then click OK. Click “Delete AutoComplete History” and select “Form Data” and “Passwords” and then click OK to delete all currently stored userids and passwords.
- Google Chrome 3.0
In the browser window, click the button with the wrench icon (top right). Click “options” in the drop down menu. Click the “Personal Stuff” tab. Click the “Never save passwords” radio button. You can manage saved passwords by clicking on the “Show saved passwords” button. - Opera 10.0
Disable the password manager by selecting Tools -> Preferences -> Forms tab. Uncheck “Enable Password Manager.” You can manage saved passwords by clicking on the “Password Manager” button.
Safari 4.0
From the Safari “Edit” menu, choose Preferences. Click the Autofill tab. Make sure “Usernames and Passwords” is not checked. Click the Edit button next to Usernames and Passwords and manage your passwords from there.
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