OIT News – August 2013

OIT News

Monthly news briefs, information and announcements
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
Issue 70, August 2013

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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

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01: Checklists for separating employees and their supervisors
02: Mark Your Calendar! October is Cyber Security Awareness Month
03: Software Licensing Management to approve clickwrap agreements
04: WolfPrint FollowMe Printing enhances the student printing environment
05: Change to clicker technology in ClassTech-supported classrooms
06: Update your Campus Directory listing
07: OIT welcomes students back during move-in weekend
08: Gmail offers optional inbox tabs
09: Similar names in Google Auto-Complete Contacts
10: Create an accessibility IT campus environment
11: Participate in ComTech’s WebEx pilot
12: Lynda.com offers free IT training
13: OIT to offer training in website accessibility, Google Apps Calendar and Gmail
14: SAR training scheduled for Oct. 9
15: Watch out for phishing attacks
16: New Gmail compose window to become the default on Aug. 27

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01: Checklists for separating employees and their supervisors

In collaboration with Human Resources (HR), OIT has published the new System Access Checklist, a companion document to HR’s recently updated Employee Separation Clearance Checklist. During an employee’s separation, these documents help supervisors preserve access to the employee’s electronically stored information, systems and applications, which may include, but not be limited to: email, Google docs, items stored on departmental file shares, account names, encryption keys, and associated encryption passwords.

Supervisors are encouraged to review both checklists when an employee announces his or her separation. OIT and HR also recommend that supervisors involve their departmental IT support early in the separation process to help identify stored items and points of access. The practical guidance in these documents will help both the supervisor and the employee make a smooth organizational transition.

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02: Mark Your Calendar! October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

Cyber predators are smart, creative and dangerous. They surf the Web often in disguise, forever changing their strategies and tactics to attack and steal your account name and password, money, intellectual property, data and even your identity.

Each month this summer, NC State email systems has received about 4,400 edu phishing emails, and approximately 10 percent of phishing emails sent to @ncsu.edu accounts get through to campus users’ inboxes. Compromised accounts are used to send more phishing attacks, spam, emails with viruses attached, and emails containing malicious links.

OIT invites you to learn how to protect your digital life during National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October. 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.

To kick off Cyber Security Awareness Month, security expert Tim Gurganus of OIT Security and Compliance will present “How to Take Control of Your Digital Life” on Friday, Oct. 4 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Washington Sankofa Room (Room 126) of the Witherspoon Student Center. Come to this presentation to learn how today’s cyber predators are targeting you and how to defend yourself. Gurganus will show you:

  • new privacy and security features of programs like Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Java; and Web apps like Gmail and Facebook
  • how to recognize and avoid cyber attacks
  • how to make your smartphone, computer or laptop more secure
  • how to avoid trouble in your inbox and while using search engines
  • tips to protect your privacy and the confidentiality of your data


To register for this presentation, visit Classmate. Lunch will be provided, and you will have an opportunity to win door prizes.

There will be various Cyber Security activities offered throughout the month of October. More information will be available soon on the Cyber Security Awareness Month website.

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03: Software Licensing Management to approve clickwrap agreements

Software clickwrap agreements require a user to click “I agree” or “I accept” before software or hardware can be installed. Recent court decisions have made it clear that clickwrap agreements are legal and binding contracts and are, therefore, subject to university contracting policy, which prohibits many software clickwrap agreements.

To address this situation, the Office of General Counsel has given OIT Software Licensing Management (SLM) authority to perform risk assessments of and approve all campus clickwrap agreements. SLM has reviewed the most common clickwrap agreements on campus and has compiled an approved Clickwrap list.

Before you install (on a university-owned machine) software with a clickwrap agreement that was not purchased via the NC State Purchasing Department, verify that the clickwrap has been reviewed.

For additional information or to submit software for review, email Software Licensing Management at software@ncsu.edu.

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04: WolfPrint FollowMe Printing enhances the student printing environment

If you’re an NC State student, you can now print from your iPhone, iPad and other iOS devices using WolfPrint FollowMe Printing.

Print from your mobile device, wherever you are on campus, and you’ll have up to 12 hours to pick up your printout on any of the Followme Printing printers around campus. The service was already available from a Web browser and on Apple OS X (e.g., Mac laptops) devices.

You can use the service on an iOS device in these easy steps:

  1. Connect your device to NC State’s wireless network.
  2. Open the file you want to print.
  3. Click the Share icon and then the Print icon.
  4. Choose a WolfPrint printer type from the list.
  5. Launch a Web browser (e.g., Safari) on your device.
  6. Go to PaperCut and log in with your Unity ID and password.
  7. Confirm the number of pages to print and the print charge to be billed to your AllCampus Account.
  8. Click Print to send it to the FollowMe Printing queue.
  9. Within 12 hours, go to any of the FollowMe Printing printers on campus and swipe your AllCampus Card on the printer. Your job will be released from the queue and printed. If you wait longer than 12 hours, your job will be deleted from the queue and you won’t be charged for it.


For complete information about the service from all devices, visit WolfPrint FollowMe Printing. For more information about the service on iOS devices specifically, visit  WolfPrint – AirPrint: How to print from iPad, iPhone and other iOS devices.

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05: Change to clicker technology in ClassTech-supported classrooms

OIT announces the migration to TurningPoint 5 Suite clicker technology, an audience response system that teachers can use in the classroom to poll or to quiz students about a discussion topic.

The migration includes replacing all RRRF-01 model receivers, which accept the clicker signals, with new RRRF-02/03/04 receivers prior to the start of the fall semester. Although the new receivers can accept responses from the old clickers (RF & XR model), students who are purchasing clickers for the first time are encouraged to purchase the new NXT clickers sold through the NC State Bookstores. The NXT clicker is not compatible with the old receivers, hence the need to forklift all old receivers, campus-wide.

The benefits of migrating to the new suite include:

  • Reintroduction of the Mac version of the software
  • Integration into one suite of the three chief Turning applications: TurningPoint, TurningKey and TurningPoint Anywhere
  • Ability to run presentations created on the Mac or Windows environments on either platform
  • Ability to turn a participant’s Web-enabled mobile device (e.g., smartphone) into a clicker


For more information about this change, including instructor kits and training session announcements, visit TurningPoint5 Suite Software Migration.

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06: Update your Campus Directory listing

It’s time to update your directory listing for publication in the 2013-14 campus phone book.

To do so, visit the online Campus Directory and select “Update My Directory Listing (Faculty/Staff).”  The information you enter in the faculty/staff online directory will be published in the printed 2013-14 campus phone book. The deadline for making changes to be reflected in the new phone book is Friday, August 23.

When updating your listing, you will be required to use your Unity ID and password. If you need assistance with either of these, please contact the NC State Help Desk at help.ncsu.edu or 919-515-HELP (4357).

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07: OIT welcomes students back during move-in weekend

During move-in weekend, Saturday Aug. 17 to Sunday, Aug. 18, both the NC State Help Desk and the OIT Walk-In Center will be open to assist with the issues that tend to plague students coming back to campus, including account access and ResNet setup. Both services will be available from noon until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Students can visit the Walk-In Center in Room 101 of the West Dunn Building, on the corner of Dan Allen Drive and Thurman Drive. The NC State Help Desk can be reached at help.ncsu.edu or 919-515-HELP (4357).

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08: Gmail offers optional inbox tabs

You can now configure your Google Apps @ NC State Gmail inbox to display Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums tabs. You can automatically sort your inbox email into these categories, helping you better organize your inbox and email.

Each of these new tabs shows you the number of new emails in that category, and you can drag-and-drop messages between tabs, while setting a specific sender’s mail to always appear in a certain tab.

To enable this feature, click on the Gear icon in the upper right corner of your inbox, and then click on Configure inbox, where you can check any number of the categories available to turn into tabs. Because this is an optional feature, you can always return to the original inbox configuration by returning to the settings area and deselecting the options. For a light look at the pros and cons of enabling this feature, view Inbox Hero on Slate.com.

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09: Similar names in Google Auto-Complete Contacts

Have you ever been unsure which person’s name to choose when the Gmail auto-complete contacts feature presented you a choice of names for the To, Cc or Bcc fields? On a campus as large as NC State, there are bound to be people with similar names, and currently, Gmail suggests, for example, Pat Smith for both Pat R. Smith and Pat M. Smith.

Until Google provides a solution, such as displaying one’s department in the auto-complete information, NC State’s Google Service Team recommends that you consider using a profile photo. When someone’s cursor hovers over your name, your photo is shown, helping people who know you to make the right choice. If you don’t want your photo online, the team is also providing a generic image that identifies you as a student or faculty/staff, which might also help people choose correctly.

For tips on how to post your own profile photo, use a generic image or resolve similar names, visit What if multiple people have similar names in Google Auto-Complete Contacts.

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10: Create an accessible IT campus environment
As the fall semester begins, OIT reminds the campus community of its responsibility to create an accessible IT environment.

This means you should plan in advance to incorporate accessibility into your courses and other online content.  To help you, the University IT Accessibility Office has updated the IT Accessibility Quick Guide, a collection of techniques on how to create accessible documents, video, Web pages, and more.

If you have questions about how to create accessible online content for your courses, please email accessibility@ncsu.edu.

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11: Participate in ComTech’s WebEx pilot

Do you have a need for video and/or audio conferencing? OIT’s Communication Technologies (ComTech) is inviting all university employees to participate in WolfMeeting, its WebEx pilot. This full-featured video conferencing application allows users with a desktop, laptop, iPad, or iPhone to collaborate, present and share content with anyone, anywhere via the Web.

The pilot will run until Tuesday, Oct. 1. To join the pilot, complete ComTech’s WebEx Pilot Request Form.

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12:  Lynda.com offers free IT training

Campus IT users who are interested in enhancing their skills and learning new ones can now access Lynda.com easily and free of charge at the NCSU Libraries.

Lynda.com offers a massive library of nearly 2,000 courses in more than 140 specialties. Some IT-related courses includes:


Campus IT users can access these courses via computers available at the D. H. Hill Library and the James B. Hunt Jr. Library. For assistance in getting started, stop by the Ask Us area in the Hunt Library or the Learning Commons desk in the D. H. Hill Library.

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13: OIT to offer training in website accessibility, Google Apps Calendar and Gmail

Upcoming workshops include:

  • “Website Accessibility Tune-Ups” will be offered on Friday, Aug. 16 and on Thursday, Sept. 12 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. Do you have questions about your website’s accessibility, but don’t know who or what to ask? Bring your questions and website URL to this workshop and learn easy steps to make your site more accessible. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Google Apps @ NC State Calendar” will be offered on Wednesday, Aug. 21 and on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center (OIT Training Labs). 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. For more information and to register, visit Classmate.
  • “Google Apps @ NC State Gmail” will be offered on Wednesday, Sept. 4  from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 110 of the Avent Ferry Technology Center. This workshop will provide an overview of Google Apps @ NC State and in depth features of Gmail, including helpful resources. To register, visit Classmate.
  • “Interpreting Your Accessibility Scan Report” will be offered on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from noon to 1 p.m. in ITTC Lab 1A of D.H. Hill Library. This workshop will teach you how to interpret the results of your website accessibility scan. Learn which errors are more critical to deal with and which are not as essential to fix. Also, learn strategies for prioritizing your corrections and techniques for doing so. 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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14: 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 September. Please visit Classmate to sign up for training.

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15: Watch out for phishing attacks

As the fall semester starts, NC State email accounts are being targeted with advanced phishing attacks to steal your personal information (account names, passwords and banking and credit card information). These phishing attacks can be extremely damaging to you and NC State University.

Phishing attacks are typically associated with email, and most are implemented when someone clicks a link to malicious online content – often a webform designed to trick users into thinking they are entering information into a trusted website such as PayPal or Facebook. These attackers often will perform reconnaissance ( via a simple Google search) on a specific target and then craft a sophisticated pretext to increase the likelihood of their success.

For several years now, email accounts at NC State have been targeted using advanced phishing attacks. Attackers have made perfect copies of just about every login page on any ncsu.edu website and then sent thousand of emails enticing campus users to visit them. These sites includes the MyPack Portal, NCSU Shibboleth, gmail.ncsu.edu, the Google Docs login page and the NC State WRAP login page. Phishing emails sent to @ncsu.edu accounts have included a great deal of information about the university. They have referenced:

  • North Carolina State University
  • NC State logos, banners and template graphics
  • Shibboleth logins
  • OIT
  • Unity username
  • Names in the Campus Directory
  • Support@ncsu.edu or help@ncsu.edu
  • Google Apps for education


Why is protecting your email account and password important? The ncsu.edu domain is very old and as such is trusted on the Internet. Email sent from your account is unlikely to be tagged as spam, so it will get delivered to the target’s Inbox. Sustaining phishing and spamming operations seems to be the most common reason for phishing attacks. In one situation, a university discovered attackers had used employees’ passwords to modify direct deposit information in its payroll system, diverting monthly paychecks to the attackers’ accounts. In other cases, attackers used stolen passwords to erase email, pictures and Google docs.

Please remember that NC State IT personnel will never ask you for your password via email or telephone. They do not need it for maintenance or upgrades.

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16: New Gmail compose window to become the default on Aug. 27

Effective Tuesday, Aug. 27, if you are a Gmail user, you will no longer be able to opt out of the new compose window experience.

The new streamlined window allows you to compose email without losing the view of your inbox. While typing in the Compose window, you can also check for new email, view existing email, and minimize drafts for later. You can even compose multiple messages at once using the new Compose window.

For more information about the new compose window, see:


If you have any questions, contact the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-4357 (HELP).

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