OIT News – November 2009

OIT News  

Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 25, November 2009

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http://help.ncsu.edu

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01: Upgrades and improvements plan for WolfWise

02: Certification of security access to Student Information System (SIS) due Nov. 20

03: Angel.com – A new voice for the NC State Help Desk 

04: ComTech upgrades Internet gateways to 10 Gb/s

05: University forms Unified Communications advisory group

06: ComTech completes first phase of IP telephony project  

07: Call for nominations for Gertrude Cox Award 

08: Watch WolfBYTES Sports on Cable Channel 92

09: OIT returns to Avent Ferry Technology Center (AFTC)

10: SAS grant renewal begins 

11: Trend Micro OfficeScan for Windows 7 is now available
12:
OIT seeks partners in Rosetta Stone purchase 

13: Computer Security Day put spotlight on cybersecurity

14: OIT Lunch and Learn: Web Hosting for Campus on Dec. 1 

15: SAR training scheduled for Dec. 1        

16: OIT Lunch and Learn: Classroom Capturing on Dec. 10
17: New phishing attacks use Web forms 

 

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01: Upgrades and improvements plan for WolfWise

The WolfWise Implementation Team is making preparations to complete the migration of GroupWise users to the WolfWise environment in the new year and the eventual deployment of GroupWise 8. WolfWise is NC State’s implementation of Novell GroupWise for its single centrally supported calendaring and e-mail solution for faculty and staff.


The team will test and implement by late January a new service pack (OES2 SP1) that will enable more system stability and will migrate in early February users of the original campus GroupWise system whose data still resides on the old GroupWise servers (Post Offices 1-10)  to a single managed Linux environment.

 

The team will also decide in early February when GroupWise 8 will be deployed to campus users. The GroupWise 8 deployment will apply back-end fixes for known bugs, improve IMAP stability, allow for ActiveSync (for mobile devices) and improve the performance of Windows, Mac, Web and Linux clients. The deployment will depend on the successful testing of GroupWise 8 and the progress that has been made in migrating users’ mailboxes to the Linux environment. To keep abreast of the WolfWise migration, visit the WolfWise Web site (no longer available).


02: Certification of security access to Student Information System (SIS) due Nov. 20

The OIT Security and Compliance unit is requesting campus deans and vice chancellors to review and certify their staff’s access to the Student Information System (SIS) by Friday, Nov. 20. The University Data Management Procedures require each dean and vice chancellor semi-annually (usually in April and October) to review his or her staff’s security access to university computer systems and to annually check that staff security profiles have been certified.

Deans and vice chancellors can review their staff’s security access to SIS via the Web Security Report, which shows both active and inactive employees who are currently assigned to their department/OUC and have access to the system. The Web Security Exception Report displays both active and inactive individuals who are not employed in a dean or vice chancellor’s department/OUC, but who have security access to department records. This report, however, is only available to SAR Division-Level Approvers. If you have any questions, please contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-4357.

03: Angel.com – A new voice for the NC State Help Desk

The NC State Help desk will be transitioning its automated telephone call distribution system to Angel.com in the coming weeks. The new system will increase the Help Desk’s flexibility for routing incoming calls to team members and in providing information to callers. The new system allows the routing of calls based on origin  and time and will allow the Help Desk staff to improve options for after hours problem reporting and notification. The system also records the calls, which will facilitate quality assurance, help in confirming details and improve general productivity.  

 

04: ComTech upgrades Internet gateways to 10 Gb/s

To keep up with campus’ ever-increasing need for bandwidth, Communication Technologies (ComTech) has increased the university’s Internet gateways to the NC Research and Education Network (NCREN) from 1 to 10 Gb/s. NCREN, a service of MCNC, “is one of the nation’s first and one of the world’s leading statewide regional optical networks.” ComTech’s next step is to increase the campus networking backbone from 1 to 4 Gb/s. These enhancements will continue to keep NC State among leading research universities and help the university stay ahead of the curve of the ever-expanding need for data movement of students, faculty and staff.

05: University forms Unified Communications advisory group

The Unified Communications advisory group has been formed to chart the future of communications technology on NC State campus. The group held its kickoff meeting on Nov. 3. This team has been charged with surveying vendor offerings, evaluating and prioritizing the needs of campus, and setting an overall strategy leading to a tangible three-to-five-year roadmap for implementing unified communications – the integration of various communications technologies such as cell phone, email, voice, data, IM, etc. More information is forthcoming, and a project Web site is in development.

 

06: ComTech completes first phase of IP telephony project

ComTech announces that the rollout of IP telephony has progressed well, and the first phase of the multi-year project is complete except for Talley Student Center and Price Music Center. The first phase involved the conversion of mostly analog lines to an IP telephony infrastructure with the exception of life safety services (fire alarms, elevators and blue lights). Approximately 5,900 lines have been converted, lowering the university’s telephone bill by almost $750,000, lowering power consumption and resulting in a net annual savings of more than $275,000. For more information about the project, visit ComTech’s IP Telephony Web site.

07: Call for nominations for Gertrude Cox Award
Nominations for the 2009-2010 Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology are now being accepted through 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.

The award recognizes “the creative pedagogy of NC State’s faculty and technical staff and their work in integrating new technologies into effective teaching strategies.” The award is sponsored by the Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable; Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA); and the Office of Faculty Development.

To nominate an individual or for more information, visit the Gertrude Cox Award Web site. An award reception will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22 in the Walnut Room of the Talley Student Center.

08: Watch WolfBYTES Sports on Cable Channel 92
Miss a big game? You can watch the new WolfBYTES Sports Television on campus cable Channel 92 24-hours a day, seven days a week. WolfBYTES Sports offers coverage of both recreational and intercollegiate sports as well as coaches’ shows and special sporting events. You can also watch WolfBYTES Sports on iTunesU.

WolfBYTES Sports Television is a joint collaboration between NC State Athletics, Campus Recreation and OIT Media and Student Services. If you want to get involved with or want your team on WolfBYTES Sports Television, call 515-1082 or e-mail wolfbytes@ncsu.edu.

 

09: OIT returns to Avent Ferry Technology Center (AFTC)
Office of Information Technology’s move back to the newly renovated and renamed Avent Ferry Building has begun. The facility is now called the Avent Ferry Technology Center (AFTC).

Initially purchased by NC State in 1994, the former Mission Valley Inn Hotel became the Avent Ferry Building and served as a warehouse. However, with a growing number of OIT staff, the office and classroom space became substandard, initiating a renovation project in 2007 and the relocation of OIT staff to various campus locations. The move is expected to be complete by early 2010.

The new AFTC will house OIT’s Enterprise Application Systems (EAS) and Communication Technologies (ComTech) personnel and includes space for ClassTech’s warehouse and staging facility, three OIT classrooms and the ComTech warehouse. The center will provide a more professional work environment and significantly improved space efficiency and facilitate collaboration within and between EAS and ComTech staff as they all come together in one location.

 

10: SAS grant renewal begins
To avoid an availability impact to SAS campus users in the first quarter of 2010, OIT has already begun the SAS grant renewal process for both SAS and JMP licenses. The renewal is expected to be completed no later than the end of January 2010. Also, SAS 9.2 downloads will be made available to campus users during the spring semester. For more information, visit the SAS Web site.

11: Trend Micro OfficeScan for Windows 7 is now available
While the latest release of Microsoft’s operating system – Windows 7 – has great capabilities, it still needs an antivirus program to remain secure and keep performance at optimal levels. NC State now has an updated version of Trend Micro OfficeScan that is compatible with the newly released Windows 7. 

Windows XP and Vista customers currently using Trend Micro OfficeScan will be receiving this new version automatically in the coming months, and there is no need to upgrade at this time.

Windows 7 users should visit the OIT Antivirus Resources Web site to download a copy of Trend Micro OfficeScan.

 

12: OIT seeks partners in Rosetta Stone purchase
OIT is looking for campus departments that are interested in partnering to purchase Rosetta Stone, software that is used to teach foreign languages. OIT will be completing a consolidated purchase soon. 

If you are would like to join this agreement, or if you would like additional information about licensing or cost, please email Software Licensing Management or call 513-4083.

13: 2009 Computer Security Day put spotlight on cybersecurity

More than 175 people attended OIT’s third annual Computer Security Day 2009 on Oct. 26 to learn about cybersecurity self defense. In addition to providing informative IT security presentations, this event provided excellent opportunities for professional development and networking.

Computer Security Day featured an opening address by Dr. Marc Hoit, NC State’s Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, and a keynote address, “Secure Thinking,” by Jeff Crume of IBM. Both presentations can be viewed on NC State’s iTunes Web site. If you were unable to attend the event, you can access all event presentations by visiting the Computer Security Day Web site.

14: OIT Lunch and Learn: Web Hosting for Campus on Dec. 1
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series presents “Web Hosting for Campus” from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in 216 Scott Hall.

 

Sarah Noell of OIT Design, Education and Outreach and Jason Austin of OIT Outreach Technology will talk about OIT’s Web hosting outsourcing project wherein OIT acts as a reseller of externally provided Web hosting services to campus. Noell and Austin will discuss the value propositions of an on-campus and off-campus solution, share the four pilot participants’ experiences thus far, and answer any questions you might have about the project. To register, visit Classmate.


15: SAR training scheduled for Dec. 1

Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. Please visit
Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.

16: OIT Lunch and Learn: Classroom Capturing on Dec. 10
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series presents “Classroom Capturing” from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10 in 216 Scott Hall.

 

Everette Allen of OIT Outreach Technology will talk about the Podcast Producer classroom capture solution available to students, faculty and staff in 37 classrooms across campus. Allen will talk about how to create a podcast in your classroom and then make it available on the Web and only to campus community viewers if desired. He will also cover how to use podcast.ncsu.edu to publish podcasts not created in the classroom. To register, visit Classmate.


17: New phishing attacks use Web forms

OIT Security and Compliance staff are detecting new phishing attacks prompting campus e-mail users to complete a malicious Web form seeking users’ account information. Click here to view an example of a recent phishing email and form.

 

Although these forms may (or may not) have “NCSU” or “OIT” logos and other convincing text on them, users should be suspicious right away. First, NC State IT staff will not request users to confirm their accounts. Secondly, users should always be suspicious about entering their NC State username and password into a Web site where the URL does not end with “ncsu.edu.”

Security and Compliance reports that the targeted phishing attacks are now occurring once or twice a week. Each batch of phishing e-mails goes to about 250 active NC State e-mail accounts. Because this is a small enough number of messages,  the source of the e-mail may not get detected as spam, and the e-mail gets through the e-mail filters. OIT Security and Compliance relies on campus recipients of these e-mails to forward them with attached mail headers to abuse@ncsu.edu.

When Security and Compliance is made aware of a phishing attack, it puts the domain hosting the phishing site in the DNS block list for campus. Anyone trying to visit the site on campus will be redirected to a Web page warning that the site is malicious. Security and Compliance also reports the phishing site to major search engines like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo and security companies like Trend Micro, Symantec, McAfee and Sophos. This way anyone using anti-phishing features on Firefox 3, Safari 3, Internet Explorer 7 or Opera 9.2 will receive a warning if they click on the link to the phishing site in the e-mail. Phishing protection features in newer Web browsers look up each URL a user visits and compares it with a list of known malicious sites. If there is a match, the user gets a warning page instead of the browser displaying the phishing site. 


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