OIT News – March 2012

OIT News

Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 53, March 2012
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Follow OIT on Twitter @NCStateOIT
For up-to-the minute reports on OIT systems, see SysNews
For help with computing problems, contact the NC State Help Desk
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

01: New Financial System training and upgrade information!
02: OIT announces the Google Service Team
03: OIT Windows Active Directory migration schedule available
04: Triangle area to get “984” area code March 31

05: Google Apps @ NC State training offered
06: SAR training scheduled for April 11
07: Has your Gmail account been hacked?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
01:
New Financial System training and upgrade information!
Training opportunities are being offered now in advance of the transition to the new Financial 9.1 System. The new system will be available to campus users on Monday, March 26 by 2 p.m. The Financial System, which includes travel authorizations and Marketplace, is accessible via the MyPack Portal and provides financial management applications for accounting, budgeting, contracts and grants, and purchasing for the entire university.

Current training sessions include Asset Management, Journal Entry/Interdepartmental Transfer (IDT) and Purchase Card (PCard) Reconciliation functions. Additional training sessions on these and other Financial System functions will also be offered in April. For detailed information about training opportunities, visit Financial System Upgrade Training.

Financial 9.1 timeline:
A joint project with Finance and Business, OIT and campus customers, the Financial System upgrade from version 8.9 to 9.1 will begin on Thursday, March 22 at 2 p.m. At that time, the Financial System (Production and Reporting) will be shut down. The WolfPack Reporting System, which provides many campus Financial Reports, will remain available until midnight, Friday, March 23. Both systems are expected to be available on Monday, March 26 by 2 p.m.

Upgrade features:
The Financial System upgrade to version 9.1 will maintain vendor support from Oracle and offer efficiencies in processing and sharing of electronic attachments. In addition to electronic workflow improvements, the new Financial System will certify compatibility with more current browsers, desktop applications and operating systems and will include a new Asset Management module that will replace the outdated Capital Asset Management (CAMS) application. An updated Surplus Request System has been integrated with the Asset Management module, and a new Chartfield Request System will be implemented to eliminate paper request forms and improve efficiencies.

Help:
For more information on the upgrade and steps that need to be taken prior to the upgrade, visit Financial System Upgrade.

Back to top

02: OIT announces the Google Service Team
OIT announces the formation of the Google Service Team, which is responsible for the coordination and delivery of Google Apps @ NC State, a suite of collaboration and educational tools, including Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Sites and instant messaging.

Led by service owner Sarah Noell of OIT Outreach, Communications and Consulting, the team’s responsibilities include: maintaining the Google Apps core product suite, identifying and sharing best practices, overseeing email-related policy, integrating or improving email-related business practices, handling new app requests, assessing security and privacy risks, and providing training, documentation and customer support. For more information about the service team, contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP (4357) or at help@ncsu.edu. You can also visit Google Apps @ NC State.

Back to top

03: OIT Windows Active Directory migration schedule available
OIT announces its migration schedule for the new Windows Active Directory managed desktop environment. More than 3,000 NC State employees are transitioning from the current Novell-based environment to the new environment with a targeted completion date of Dec. 31.


The new environment, which uses the Windows 7 operating system, enhances OIT’s ability to manage and support client workstations at scale, while providing more file space to users. An overview of the transition and other project information are available at Client Solutions Managed Desktop.

Back to top

04: Triangle area to get “984” area code March 31
Campus telephone users are reminded to dial 7, the area code and the seven-digit telephone number to make local calls, beginning March 31. This change is due to the addition of a new area code – 984 – for the Triangle area.

An increase in cell phones and other mobile devices has depleted phone numbers in the 919 area code. The new 984 area code will overlay the entire existing 919 area, and only new telephone numbers will be assigned the 984 area code. All campus telephone numbers beginning with the prefix 512, 513 or 515 will remain in the 919 area code.

Back to top 

05: Google Apps @ NC State training offered
OIT is conducting a series of Google Apps @ NC State training sessions during March.

  • Beyond the Basics: Google Calendar will be offered on Thursday, March 15 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, March 20 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. This hands-on workshop will focus on more intermediate features of Google Calendar, including appointment slots, event attachments, maps and directions, calendar features, labs features, quick add, search options, mobile notifications, and more. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.
  • Beyond the Basics: Gmail will be offered on Thursday, March 22 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and on Tuesday, March 27 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. This hands-on workshop will focus on more intermediate Gmail features, including multiple signatures, template text, mail filters, search operators, labels, labs features, keyboard shortcuts, people widget, contact groups, and more. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.

  • Create and Collaborate with Google Docs will be offered on Tuesday, March 27 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 112 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. Learn how to create, import or build a collection of Google Docs (Web-based documents). During this demonstration, you’ll also learn how to use Docs in a collaborative environment – simultaneously editing the same file/doc with your colleagues and friends – as well as get tips on how to secure your docs by implementing the proper file sharing permissions. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.

  • Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training will be offered on Friday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center (OIT Training Labs). This workshop will cover everything you need to know to get started with Gmail and Google Calendar, including an overview of the apps and helpful resources. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.

Customized training on Google Apps at NC State is also available to groups of faculty and staff. Please submit training requests via the OIT Custom Training Form.

Back to top

06: SAR training scheduled for April 11
Monthly Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held on Wednesday, April 11 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.

Back to top


07: Has your Gmail account been hacked?
NC State Gmail accounts continue to gain the attention of hackers around the world who want to use them to distribute large volumes of spam under your name. According to OIT Security and Compliance, a good way to find out if your Gmail account has been hacked is to check your recent account activity.

To view this, open your Gmail account. At the bottom right, below the email body text, click “Details” to note the time, place, and connection type (browser, IMAP or mobile) for the last 10 logins. Below those, you can set the “Alert preference” to notify you of unusual activity. Be very suspicious of logins from foreign countries or at unusual times.

You may also want to check the following items if you suspect your account has been compromised:

  • Sent mail for phishing messages or spam you didn’t send
  • Trash for returned mail or excessive error messages
  • Drafts for phishing emails ready to send
  • Inbox for excessive returned or bounced email that you didn’t send


If you find evidence of account hacking, change your password immediately and check your “email settings” for:

  • Filters that the hacker added to redirect responses to another location
  • Forwarding that the hacker added to redirect messages to another location

For additional assistance, contact the NC State Help Desk at 515-HELP (4357) or help@ncsu.edu.

Back to top 
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Information about OIT News:
OIT News is an electronic news bulletin published monthly
Office of Information Technology
Box 7109
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7109
http://go.ncsu.edu/oit

To subscribe or cancel your subscription online, go to http://go.ncsu.edu/subscribe-oitnews

To subscribe by email, send the following message to mj2@lists.ncsu.edu:

subscribe oitnews

To unsubscribe by email, send the following message to mj2@lists.ncsu.edu:
unsubscribe oitnews

(These messages should be sent to mj2@lists.ncsu.edu, not to the OIT News list itself.)

For help with computing at NC State, visit the NC State Help Desk website, phone 515-HELP (4357), or visit Room 101, West Dunn Building.

Send your comments or suggestions about OIT News to Rhonda Greene, OIT Information and News Services, at rhonda_greene@ncsu.edu.