OIT News
Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 46, August 2011
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For up-to-the minute reports on OIT systems, see SysNews
For help with computing problems, contact the NC State Help Desk
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01: Google Apps @ NC State Gmail storage space increased to 25 GB
02: OIT to hold info session on GroupWise/WolfWise migration to Google Apps @ NC State
03: Apple’s OS X Lion is available
04: ComTech makes progress on campus IP telephony project
05: OIT Lunch & Learn: “Simplifying Telephone and Mobile Communications”
06: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training
07: SAR training scheduled for Aug. 23
08: Working at NC State makes you a target for phishing
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01: Google Apps @ NC State Gmail storage space increased to 25 GB
The Google Apps @ NC State Gmail inbox size increased from just over 7 GB of storage space to 25 GB with the “flip of a switch” from Google on June 24. Now, you have more space than ever to store and manage the email that helps you collaborate, communicate and educate! No action is needed to enjoy the larger mailboxes; they are already in place. Google has increased mailbox quotas several times since it introduced Gmail in 2004. Google’s Docs storage and Sites storage limits haven’t changed.
The fact that this upgrade happened seamlessly for users and that OIT could focus on its continuing effort to get all faculty and staff on Gmail to take advantage of this storage increase is a prime advantage of outsourced email. Enjoy your free, new-found space! And, for an interesting brief history of Gmail inbox space, which started off at 1 GB in 2004, see “Big(ger) mail on campus.”
02: OIT to hold info session on GroupWise/WolfWise migration to Google Apps @ NC State
OIT invites all GroupWise/WolfWise email users to an information session on the Google Apps @ NC State migration. GroupWise/WolfWise users’ email accounts will be moved to the university’s new email and calendaring system during the 2011-12 academic year.
The first session will be held from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30 in the Carmichael Recreational Center Play Zone. The second session will be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in the D.H. Hill Library Erdahl-Cloyd Theater.
During both sessions, OIT staff will provide an overview of the GroupWise/WolfWise to Google Apps @ NC State migration plan, followed by a question and answer period. Registration is not required.
03: Apple’s OS X Lion is available
NC State employees who are participants of the Apple Educational License Program (AELP) can now upgrade to Apple’s new OS X Lion for free. To obtain the software or for more information, please contact OIT Software Licensing Management via email at software@ncsu.edu.
If you are not an AELP participant, you can purchase the upgrade via the Apple App Store for $29.
04: ComTech makes progress on campus IP telephony project
OIT Communication Technologies (ComTech) has transitioned more than 400 campus customers to the new campus telephony infrastructure – Cisco’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Phase II of the project began in July.
As a cost-saving measure, ComTech will convert more than 5,000 AT&T digital telephone lines to VoIP technology during phase II, and the actual telephone sets currently used by customers will be replaced by Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) telephone sets. Customers will receive a new VoIP phone if they now have a Digital Meridian telephone or if someone who answers their calls has a Meridian telephone. OIT is funding this effort, and customers will not have to pay for the replacement telephone sets. ComTech continues to identify and contact affected users.
Phase II is projected to be completed in summer 2012. Training sessions on the new Cisco handsets will be available in the future via Classmate. Project updates will be available on the ComTech IP Telephony website.
05: OIT Lunch & Learn: “Simplifying Telephone and Mobile Communications”
OIT’s Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series will present “Simplifying Telephone and Mobile Communications” from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23 in 216 Scott Hall.
Join Matt Domnick and Cheri Renninger of OIT ComTech to discuss how the new campus voice mail system can help you simplify and manage your telecommunications. You’ll learn how to:
- Receive all work-related voice mail in one mailbox
- Transition active calls from your desk phone to your mobile phone, and vice versa
- Give contacts one number to call, but receive their calls on multiple phones
- Forward specific calls to your mobile phone, and if you desire to do so, specify when you wish to receive those calls (e.g., during work hours) and when you don’t (e.g., after work hours and on weekends)
To register for this workshop, visit Classmate.
06: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training
OIT is conducting a Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training session from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept.13 in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center.
Don Schmidt and Twanda Baker of OIT Design, Education and Outreach will cover everything you need to know to get started with Gmail and Google Calendar, including an overview of the apps and helpful resources. You must have an active Google Apps @ NC State account to participate in this training. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.
07: SAR training scheduled for Aug. 23
Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Aug. 23 in ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.
08: Working at NC State makes you a target for phishing
Foiling phishing attacks is a very challenging task for many educational institutions including NC State. According to OIT Security and Compliance, education or “edu” domains are often phishing targets due to their limited security staff, high performance networks and large number of email accounts. Phishing is an attempt to fraudulently acquire someone’s personal information (e.g., credit card information or login passwords) while masquerading as a trustworthy party.
KnowBe4, an Internet security awareness training company, recently conducted a cybercrime experiment to identify industry employees who are most prone to fall for phishing attempts. Who ranked in the Top 5 of the targeted industries? Education and IT services ranked second and fifth, respectively.
Every day, NC State receives between 400 to 4,000 education-related (“edu”) phishing emails that request users’ Unity IDs and passwords. About 50 percent of the “edu” phishing email comes from compromised “edu” accounts of foreign and domestic schools (K-12), colleges and universities. These figures do not include the ebay, Paypal, Craigslist, Hotmail, and other phishing emails that do not target Unity email accounts and passwords.
To increase their odds of success, phishers send approximately five to 10 variations of phishing messages each day, trying to lure users like you into disclosing personal information. Once phishers have your password, they use your Unity email account to send out more phishing emails, lottery spam and even emails with virus-laden attachments.
According to Security and Compliance, it’s not unusual for phishers to use compromised Unity accounts to send email to 100 or more “edu” domains. Recently, phishers have been correcting their grammar mistakes and even including NC State graphics or copies of the university’s Web pages, making their messages seem even more credible. The typical phishing email contains a threat to delete or deactivate your account if you do not respond quickly, within 48 hours or so. Most of these emails state that you have too many accounts or too much spam in your email system. Be aware that university email administrators do not give such short notice about system changes and do not need your password to upgrade email systems.
To prevent your email account from being compromised, never respond to an email message, attachment, linked page or form that request your Unity ID and password. Remember, the NC State Help Desk staff will NEVER ask you for your Unity password for any reason, via an email or otherwise.
If you have questions, please contact Security and Compliance at abuse@ncsu.edu or call the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP (4357).
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