OIT News – October 2012

OIT News
Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 60, October 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: U R Cyber Security! Enter to win an iPad, Kindle Fire and iPod Touch
02: Google Apps @ NC State to offer more apps!
03: Illegal Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Annual Notice
04: ComTech addresses issues with new wireless technology
05: Campus IP telephony project nears end
06: NC State Twitter accounts now require registration
07: Migration of OIT-managed data from Novell to Active Directory
08: Captioning guidelines for live online events
09: Report2Web demo and training sessions available
10: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training and more to come!
11:
Registration is open for DELTA fall workshops
12: SAR training scheduled for Nov. 14
13: Email attacks continue to evade traditional filters
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
01: U R Cyber Security! Enter to win an iPad, Kindle Fire and iPod Touch
You have an important role in campus IT security and in protecting your cyberspace. U R Cyber Security is the theme of OIT’s Cyber Security Awareness Month event.

October 2012 marks the ninth annual event sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance “to increase the awareness and prevention of online security problems.” In observance, OIT is sponsoring various cyber security presentations throughout the month.  Light refreshments will be available at all events, and you will have the opportunity to register for a free iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle Fire, NC State football tickets, and much more to be given away Wednesday, Oct. 31. For more information, please see the Cyber Security Awareness Month website.

Cyber Security Awareness Month events  

  • Mobile Device Security Sessions

Come to the Mobile Device Security Sessions held throughout October. Campus IT experts will take you step-by-step through recommended steps — and required ones if you have a university-owned device — to secure your devices. Leave these sessions with the peace of mind brought to you by knowing your devices are secure. All sessions will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in 216 Scott Hall.

  • Mac Laptops: Wednesday, Oct. 17. To register, visit Classmate.
  • BlackBerry: Thursday, Oct. 18. To register, visit Classmate.
  • iPhone, iPad, iPod and iPod Touch: Friday, Oct. 19. To register, visit Classmate.
  • Android:  Monday, Oct. 22. To register, visit Classmate.
  • Windows 7/Vista Laptops: Friday, Oct. 26. To register, visit Classmate.

  • Dude, Where’s My Data

Find out what hackers and attackers are looking for on your devices and exactly what you have to lose if they find it. Join this session on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at noon in 216 Scott Hall. You’ll also learn about available tools that you can use to find sensitive data on your device and how to remove it. To register, visit Classmate.

  • Exploring the Good and Evil in the Internet Cloud!

Is the Internet cloud good or evil? Perhaps it’s both. Whether you’re an NC State student or employee, the Internet cloud provides collaborative tools that can make you far more productive in the classroom, at work or at home. These capabilities, however, come with security risks for the availability and security of your data. Who is protecting your data and how? What makes some data “sensitive” at NC State? Where is it OK to store your data? Join this session on Monday, Oct. 29 at noon in 216 Scott Hall to examine these issues and to find how you can reduce the risk to your important information. To register, visit Classmate.

Back to top

02: Google Apps @ NC State to offer more apps!
OIT and the campus Google Service Team are pleased to announce that an agreement with Google Inc. has been reached to bring Consumer Apps to NC State!

What are Consumer Apps?
Google offers an array of apps, defined as either “consumer” or “core.” Some core apps are already in use at NC State Gmail, Docs/Drive, Calendar, Groups, Sites, and Talk. Consumer Apps include YouTube, Maps, Google+, Reader, Picasa, and many more. After testing and documentation are completed, the Consumer Apps rollout is expected to include Picasa Web Albums, YouTube, Google Takeout and Google+, to name a few. Campus users will be able to access consumer apps through their ncsu.edu account.

Terms of Service
Use of the core apps is covered by a single “Terms of Service” (TOS) agreement that NC State has already signed on behalf of campus, but Consumer Apps are covered by multiple agreements. OIT and the Google Service Team will inform and educate all students, faculty and staff to ensure that they understand the implications of the use of Consumer Apps and their associated TOS. For details on the anticipated way the TOS will work for the new apps, see the Google Apps @ NC State to offer more apps! announcement on the Google Apps @ NC State website.

When can I get these Apps?
A rollout date for Consumer Apps has not yet been established. For updates on their availability, check the Google Apps @ NC State website. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-HELP (4357).

Back to top

03: Illegal Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Annual Notice
NC State campus community is reminded of the personal risks and legal consequences of unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials, including illegal peer-to-peer file sharing.

Music, movies, videos, games, and other online media are protected by (or subject to) copyright law and are usually illegal to share through peer-to-peer applications, unless direct permission through license, purchase, the copyright owner, or a legal exception, such as the Fair Use doctrine, applies. While peer-to-peer file sharing software, itself, may be lawful, sharing copyrighted files without permission is not. In most situations, downloading or uploading even one small portion of a copyrighted work without permission constitutes a copyright infringement. File sharing also creates a substantial risk that others can gain access to confidential data on your computer or install destructive computer viruses that can spread across the university’s network.

If you illegally download, upload, copy, or distribute copyrighted content, even unintentionally, you are at risk of legal action and criminal prosecution, which could result in severe fines, personal financial loss or even imprisonment. Violating a copyright may result in a permanent record at the university, may serve as evidence in court, and may adversely affect your current status at NC State, as well as future employment or educational opportunities. The university acts quickly when notified of alleged copyright infringements. It refers incidents to appropriate campus officials and takes steps to stop the unauthorized download or distribution of copyrighted materials.

To become better informed about copyright and copyright violation, see:

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

Back to top

04: ComTech addresses issues with new wireless technology
With the migration of Centennial Campus to 8.0211n on Oct. 5, Communication Technologies (ComTech) has moved the majority of the campus wireless infrastructure to the latest WiFi technology. Approximately 30 of the former access points remain, including outdoor installations  —  such as the CentMesh, an experimental outdoor wireless network on Centennial Campus, and the Arboretum — as well as remote Virtual Private Network (VPN) sites. All are expected to be replaced by the end of this month.

During the migration, ComTech corrected a number of network protocol and authentication issues that had been impacting campus users. ComTech is currently responding to reports about intermittent usability of the wireless network and has devoted significant resources to determine the cause of these issues. If you are encountering any problems with your wireless connection, contact the OIT Network Operations Center (NOC) at (919) 513-9675 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or send an email to support@ncstate.net. On-call staff will respond to calls about network outages reported after 5 p.m. and on weekends.

ComTech began the migration last spring to provide campus with updated wireless technology and to address an increase in the number of wireless devices connecting to the campus network and increased bandwidth usage. The new wireless access points are 802.11agn, which allows 802.11n-capable clients to connect at a faster data rate (up to 300Mb/s depending upon configuration and the radio frequency band). ComTech will replace just over 1,400 wireless access points during the migration.  

Back to top

05: Campus IP telephony project nears end
ComTech has transitioned more than 4,000 out of the targeted 5,000 campus customers to the new campus telephony infrastructure – Cisco’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system. Phase II of this project, which began in July 2011, is slated to be completed at the end of this month.

As a cost-saving measure, ComTech will convert approximately 5,000 AT&T digital telephone lines to VoIP technology during phase II and will replace the telephone sets currently used by campus customers to Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) telephone sets. More than 5,900 digital telephone lines were converted to VoIP in Phase I. OIT is offering training on the new Cisco handsets. To register, visit
Classmate. For more migration information, visit the ComTech IP Telephony website.

Back to top

06: NC State Twitter accounts now require registration
NC State on Twitter, the aggregator of Twitter accounts officially tweeting on behalf of the university, is now being registered through Web Registry and approved by members of University Communications.

This change is necessary to attain contact information for official university communicators, and it will enable potentially new NC State tweeters to see — via the Web Registry Directory Service — if someone is already tweeting on behalf of the university for a department, college or business unit before creating a duplicate or conflicting account. When registering, users must provide a primary and secondary contact who will be responsible for the maintenance of the Twitter account and select the appropriate group from a list of organizational unit / departmental codes (OUCs) for the account.

If you have any questions or need more information about the migration process, send an email to twitter@ncsu.edu.

Back to top

07: Migration of OIT-managed data from Novell to Active Directory
OIT Technology Support Services (TSS) reminds all users of Novell file services that they will be migrated to Active Directory file services on Celerra on either Nov. 1 or Nov. 15, 2012. Novell user and unit share data are being migrated to Active Directory in order to free up leased Novell hardware that must be returned to the vendor at the beginning of 2013.

To find the specific migration date for your unit, see Data Migration Dates for OIT-supported Campus Units (Google doc). This information is sorted by date and by unit for your convenience. For more general information about the migration, see Migration of OIT-managed Data (Google doc). If you have any difficulty viewing these documents, contact the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-HELP (4357). For questions related to the migration, contact Dan Evans of OIT Technology Support Services at dlevans@ncsu.edu.

Back to top

08: Captioning guidelines for live online events
The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Disability Services Office and OIT have released two frequently asked questions (FAQs) on providing accommodations, such as captioning, for live online events.

To view the FAQs, visit the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility Regulation FAQs. See also OIT’s procedures for Providing Captions for Live Online Events. For more information, send an email to accessibility@ncsu.edu.

Back to top

09: Report2Web demo and training sessions available
Campus users are invited to attend Report2Web demonstrations and training sessions. Report2Web, a Web-based report document repository at NC State, will be upgraded on Nov. 4.

To prepare campus users for the upgrade, OIT Shared Services will hold one-hour training sessions on Monday, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sessions will also be held on Thursday, Oct. 18 and 25 at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and Wednesday Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. All sessions will be held in the in the ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. To register, visit Classmate. For more information about Report2Web, contact Derek Jordan of OIT Shared Services at dcjordan@ncsu.edu.

Back to top

10: Google Apps @ NC State mail and calendar training and more to come!
OIT will offer the following Google Apps @ NC State training workshops:

  • Google Apps @ NC State Mail and Calendar training will be offered on Tuesday, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center (OIT Training Labs). This hands-on 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.
  • Google Apps @ NC State Beyond the Basics: Calendar will be offered on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center (OIT Training Labs). This hands-on workshop will focus on some of the more intermediate features of Google Calendar, including appointment slots, event attachments, maps and directions, sharing and embedding calendars, labs features, quick add, search options, mobile notifications, and more. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.

OIT will be adding more training to the Classmate training calendar soon! If you have any questions about upcoming training, please contact the new OIT Training Coordinator, Beth Shepherd, at classreg@ncsu.edu. If you’d like to request a custom training workshop for your department, unit or classroom, please complete the Custom Training online form.

Back to top

11: Registration is open for DELTA fall workshops
Are you interested in learning practical, effective skills and best practices for teaching with technology? Register this fall for Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications’ (DELTA) free workshops and seminars dedicated to teaching and learning with technology.

DELTA’s offerings will provide you with best practices for using Learning Management Systems and related tools, guidelines for streamlining your transition to Blackboard Collaborate, real-world examples and tips for legal and accessibility issues, and strategies for using Google Apps to enhance your teaching. Some new and popular classes include:

  • Camtasia II: Bells and Whistles
  • Creating Engaging Online Learning Activities
  • Transitioning to Blackboard Collaborate
  • Google Apps for Educators
  • Moodle Assessments: Gradebook & Quizzes
  • Legal Issues Impacting Online Instruction

For more information and to register, visit the DELTA website.

Back to top

12: SAR training scheduled for Nov. 14
Monthly Security Access Request (SAR) training for campus requestors and approvers of access to secured university data will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the ITTC Lab 2 of D.H. Hill Library. SAR training will not be held in December. Please visit Classmate to view available classes and to sign up for training.

Back to top

13: Email attacks continue to evade traditional filters
OIT’s recent analysis of campus computer threats show that cyber criminals are increasing their attacks on campus users because their tactics are working!

One reason for the increased attacks is that campus users remain very susceptible to clicking on malicious links, especially those that exploit social engineering or “manipulative” tactics. Another reason is that malicious code embedded within Web traffic is effective at bypassing traditional security mechanisms such as antivirus software, block lists and firewalls.

Malicious links in email are a common channel through which cyber attacks are initiated. This year, there has been a significant fluctuation in the amount of malware delivered via email attachments versus links. In January, 15 percent of malicious emails contained malicious links and the other 85 percent contained malicious attachments. During the summer, email with malicious links topped 50 percent of all malicious emails. Currently, 65 percent of malicious emails have a link to malware and 35 percent have malicious attachments. Most campus users received one or more emails with malicious links daily. Some of these emails include:

  • Fake eFax notices
  • Fake phone bills from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint
  • Fake UPS tracking notices
  • Fake orders for Intuit GoPayment orders
  • Fake charge declined notices from American Express and Visa

To avoid clicking on these type of malicious links, look for signs of social engineering, including:

  • The email is unexpected or unusual, and you are being asked to click on an embedded link.
  • The email appears to be a reply to a message you never sent.
  • If you hover over the hyperlink that’s displayed in the email message, the link to address directs you to a different website from the one mentioned in the text.
  • The hyperlink is a misspelling of a known web site, such as www.nscu.edu.
  • You are asked to click on a link to avoid a negative consequence or to gain something valuable.
  • A business-related email is sent to you after business hours (like 2 a.m.).
  • The email was sent to an unusual mix of people you don’t know, like all people at NC State with Unity IDs starting with the same letter.


For other tips, see Social Engineering Red Flags.

 

Back to top