OIT News – September 2013


OIT News
Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 71, September 2013
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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: NC State employees warned of unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing
02: DC2 planned outage to impact major systems and applications Sept. 21-22
03: Voice mail to be deleted after 30 days
04: OIT announces Cyber Security Awareness Month activities
05: University-wide IT strategic planning process update
06: Google Feedburner and Map Maker now available in Google Apps @ NC State
07: Website Accessibility Scanning Service offers new features
08: OIT terminates Gartner Group Services
09: OIT to offer Google Apps, Photoshop, Lightroom, Digital Photography, and WordPress training
10: SAR training scheduled for Oct. 9
11: Removing outdated software is good security!

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01: NC State employees warned of unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing
The NC State University community is reminded of the personal risks and legal consequences of unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. Music, movies, videos, games, and other online media are protected by (or subject to) copyright laws and are usually illegal to share through peer-to-peer file applications. The campus community is expected to respect the intellectual property rights of others and refrain from copyright infringement.

If you illegally download, upload, copy, or distribute copyrighted content, even unintentionally, you are at risk for legal action and criminal prosecution, which could mean fines or even imprisonment. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to fine a former Boston University graduate student $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 digital songs online (see Sony BMG Music Entertainment, et al. v. Joel Tenenbaum). Violating a copyright while using any university network or equipment may:

  • result in a permanent university record
  • serve as evidence in court
  • adversely affect your employment, up to and including discharge

Copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) use automated systems to detect file sharing and aggressively pursue infringements. In addition, the university increasingly logs and analyzes its wireless network activity to monitor peer-to-peer file sharing. View these resources to learn about copyright and copyright law:

For assistance with removing P2P file sharing applications and copyright infringing materials, contact the NC State Help Desk at 919-515-HELP (4357).

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02: DC2 planned outage to impact major systems and applications Sept. 21-22
OIT will be performing major infrastructure maintenance on Data Center 2 from 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 through 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, which will result in system outages. Service disruptions to a wide variety of applications include, but are not limited to the:

  • MyPack Portal
  • Human Resources System
  • Financial System
  • Student Information System

Other services potentially impacted may include Wolfware, Moodle, Collaborate, and Remedy. For more details, view Major OIT Infrastructure Maintenance. If you are in doubt about whether an application or system is available this weekend, check SysNews for an announcement, or contact the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu or 919-515-HELP (4357).

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03: Voice mail to be deleted after 30 days
Effective Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013, Communication Technologies (ComTech) will implement a change to the university’s voice mail system that will impact retention of your voice mail messages.

On Oct. 10, all voice mail messages older than 30 days will be deleted. New voice mail messages as well as those marked “saved” will automatically be deleted after 30 days. This retention change is necessary to keep the voice mail system running optimally. If you need to save a specific voice mail longer than 30 days, you have two options:

  • Send the voice mail message to your NC State Google email account.
    NOTE: Voice mail received via email will be retained in accordance with the NC Public Records Law.
  • Save the voice mail message.
    1. Go to Cisco Personal Communications Assistant.
    2. Log in with your Unity ID and Password.
    3. Click on “Web Inbox.”
    4. To find the desired message, select the “Inbox,” “Deleted” or “Sent” tab.
    5. Click to highlight the message you want to save. The name of the file will appear as “message.wav.”
    6. Right click on “message.wav.” and then choose “Save link as…”
    7. Choose a location to save the file and give it an appropriate name.
    8. Click “Save.”
    9. NOTE: For long-term storage of your voice mail messages, use one of the following:
      • NCSU drive
      • “B” or “S” drive (OIT-managed desktop users only)
      • USB (flash) drive

Help

  • For additional information, contact ComTech’s Network Operations Center (NOC) at 919-515-7099.
  • For voice mail services, visit Unified Communication Services.

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04: OIT announces Cyber Security Awareness Month activities
During National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, OIT will host a range of activities to encourage employees and students to protect their digital lives. This year’s theme, “Take Control,” aims to create dialogue about key ways to “increase awareness and prevention of online security problems.” October 2013 marks the 10th annual event sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance

Cyber Security Awareness Month activities include:

 

Lunch will be provided at each event, and you will have an opportunity to win door prizes. For more information, visit the Cyber Security Awareness Month website.

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05: University-wide IT strategic planning process update
The Information Technology Strategic Advisory Committee (ITSAC) and the Campus IT Directors (CITD), facilitated by the Process Steering Team, have developed a draft of IT Guiding Principles and begun work on creating a set of IT Strategic Goals. The actions were based on the feedback and input gathered from campus stakeholders during the spring and summer.

The guiding principles—or ways we want to operate as an IT community—are the first of the three major components that will make up the university-wide IT Strategic Plan under development. In a workshop on Sept. 20, the ITSAC and CITD will continue to draft the IT Strategic Goals—the second component of the plan—which sets out the IT-related targets they want to meet to help the university meet its goals. Other IT governance subcommittees and stakeholders along with the CITD and ITSAC will then be invited to help develop the strategies to carry out the goals—the third major component of the plan—at an upcoming brainstorming session.

Please share your feedback with members of the IT Governance groups as they help to develop the plan. Updates, notes and documentation related to the process are on the University IT Strategic Planning website.

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06: Google Feedburner and Map Maker now available in Google Apps @ NC State
The Google Service Team is pleased to announce that two more consumer apps—FeedBurner and Map Maker—are available today in the Google Apps @ NC State environment. Both are now available for use with your NC State credentials.

FeedBurner allows you to manage and distribute RSS feeds generated by a website you manage. In addition, analysis and reporting tools provide greater visibility as to how your feeds are consumed. For more information, please see Google Feedburner.

Google Map Maker gives you the ability to add and update geographic information for Google Maps and Google Earth. You can share information about places you know, and once this information is reviewed and approved by Google, it will be made available for all to see. For more information on Map Maker, please see Google Map Maker.

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07: Website Accessibility Scanning Service offers new features
The Information Technology (IT) Accessibility Office has updated its Website Accessibility Scanning Service to provide you with many new features.

The scan service now uses a second set of accessibility rules based on the popular WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool. With this new rule set, you can evaluate additional issues like color contrast or text that really should be coded as headings. You can also view detected errors on the page without having to view the source code. Finally, there is a new way to calculate which campus websites are the most accessible. Final calculations are now based on a compilation of the results of these new rules and the existing results and rankings. Visit NC State Website Accessibility Scanning Service Tutorial to watch an overview of these new features. To learn more, attend Tuesday’s Lunch and Learn, “Interpreting Your Accessibility Scan Report.”

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08: OIT terminates Gartner Group Services
To help meet this fiscal year’s state budget reductions, OIT terminated its Gartner Group Services on Aug. 31. For many years, university faculty and staff used the firm’s information technology (IT) research and advisory services to achieve their business needs.

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09: OIT to offer Google Apps, Photoshop, Lightroom, Digital Photography, and WordPress training
Upcoming workshops include:

  • “Google Apps: Calendar” will be offered on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. If you’re comfortable with the basics of Google Calendar and are ready to use more of its features, this hands-on workshop is for you. This workshop will focus on features such as appointment slots, event attachments, maps and directions, sharing and embedding calendars, labs, quick add, search options, mobile notifications, and more. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Create and Collaborate with Google Docs/Drive” will be offered from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center and again on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to noon in ITTC Lab 1A of D.H. Hill Library . In this hands-on workshop, you learn everything you need to know to get started using Google Docs/Drive at NC State. You will learn how to use Docs/Drive in a collaborative environment, including editing a file simultaneously with other people, securing a document through file sharing permissions, and creating files for use by a group of colleagues or friends. For this workshop, you will need to have an active NC State University Unity account with access to Google Apps at NC State. If you would prefer using your own laptop or other mobile device, feel free to bring it. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Introduction to Photoshop: Part 1” will be offered on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. In this four-part series, you will learn about the Photoshop software as well as print and photography design concepts. By the end of this workshop series, you should feel comfortable finding the Photoshop tools you need to open, edit, transform, retouch, and export images. Part 1 will also cover an introduction to the Creative Suite workspace and Adobe workflow, file types and how to save for print or Web. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Google Apps: Gmail Training” will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Oct. 2 in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. This workshop is an overview of Google Apps @ NC State and will cover more in-depth features of Gmail, including additional helpful resources. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Introduction to Photoshop: Part 2: Selection” will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. This is the second workshop in a four-part series that will introduce you to the robust capabilities of Adobe Photoshop. In this series, you will learn about the Photoshop software as well as print and photography design concepts. By the end of this workshop series, you should feel comfortable finding the Photoshop tools you need to open, edit, transform, retouch, and export images. “Part 2: Selection” will cover how to choose the right tools to segregate elements in your images and to refine those selections. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Photoshop: Introduction, Part 3: Layers & Retouching” will be held on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 110 of Avent Ferry Technology Center. This workshop is the third in a four-part series that will introduce you to the robust capabilities of Adobe Photoshop. In this series, you will learn about the Photoshop software as well as print and photography design concepts. By the end of this workshop series, you should feel comfortable finding the Photoshop tools you need to open, edit, transform, retouch, and export images. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Basic of WordPress” will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 15  from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. Have you ever heard of “WordPress” or wanted to see what it’s all about?  Learn everything you need to know to get started using WordPress here at NC State. This workshop will cover a complete outline of topics including setup, configuration, themes, plug-ins, settings, options, and management of WordPress. To register, visit Classmate.

Check the Classmate training calendar for other available workshops. If you’re interested in custom software training for your department, unit or classroom, please complete the Custom Training form. If you have any questions about OIT training, please contact Katie McInerney, OIT training coordinator, at 513-4091 or via email at classreg@ncsu.edu.

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10: SAR training scheduled for Oct. 9
Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. There will be no SAR training in November. Please visit Classmate to sign up for training.

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11: Removing outdated software is good security!
Removing older versions of software applications and cloud services from your computer, at least annually, is good practice to keep your computer running optimally. It also means you don’t have to worry about installing security patches to keep it safe!

You can view all of the programs installed on your Windows computer by going to Control Panel>Programs and Features. Look for old IM clients, Zip utilities, audio/video players, and viewers that you no longer use or need.

Old software often accumulates in your Web browsers too. In Firefox, you can view the plug-ins under Tools >Add-ins. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools >Manage Add-ons. For Google Chrome, visit Settings>Advanced Settings>Privacy>Content>Plug-ins>Disable individual plug-ins. Disable or delete plug-ins that you don’t need.

Also think about any old email accounts you may have. If you don’t need the account, copy the emails to another source and then close the account so hackers can’t guess your password or reset questions and then send spam to others in your name. If the account is needed to reset the password for your websites, you may need to keep it. If the account’s password is years old, change the password immediately. Make sure you create a long password or password phrase.

To learn more about how to keep your computer and other mobile devices secure, come to the Cyber Security Awareness Month events in October.

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