How to help the HelpDesk help you

You call the HelpDesk, frustrated because you can't get your work done, and leave the message "my computer stopped working. Please help!." Then someone from the HelpDesk calls you back and instead of immediately solving your problem they start asking lots of questions.

Has this ever happened to you? There are some steps you can do to help us help you.

1. If your computer stops working or something isn't working right the first thing to try is to reboot your computer.
2. If the problem continues then please pay attention to exactly what you are doing when the problem occurs.
   • Were you writing an email?
   • Were you trying to print?
   • Did you get an error message? If so, either get a screen-print of it (Windows - press print Screen) or write it down.
3. Has this happened before?
4. Can you connect to the network?
5. Is your web browser working?
6. Can you see your H:\ and R:\ drives?

When you call

1. Please leave your first and last name, phone extension, and department so we can call you back.
2. The more information you can give us, the faster we can solve your problem. When you call please give us as much information about your problem as you can.

This informaton will be very helpful to us as we try to fix your problem as quickly as possible.

 

Week 4: Avoid being phished... don't take the bait!

Do you know what phishing is?

Phishing is an attempt to get personal and confidential information from you like your passwords/passphrases, credit card numbers, or your social security number. These phishing attacks usually happen in an e-mail or IM message and link you to a Web page or ask you to respond with personal information.

• What you should do if you think you're been phished, hacked, picked up a virus, etc.

Have you ever had the Windows Security Center window say "Your virus protection isn't running"?

Have you ever had the Windows Security Center window pop-up and say something like "Your virus protection isn't running", "Your virus protection is disabled" or "Your computer might be at risk"?

When you turn on your computer the Windows Security Center loads right away but Symantec takes a while to get up and running so the security center sometimes thinks Symantec isn't working correctly.

If you get a message like that please wait until your computer has completly booted up and then look for the yellow shield icon in the system tray. It should have a green dot on it to indicate that your virus protecton is up-to-date.

Are you missing the yellow shield icon? Click on Start > Programs > Symantec Endpoint Protection. That will load the program and the Symantec window will open. Make sure it is green with a check mark.  If so, just close the window and the Symantec icon should appear in the system tray.

If the yellow shield continues to look like this then you should call the HelpDesk.

October is Cyber Security Month - Week 3: Don't send confidential data in e-mail

Security: Sending e-mail is like sending a postcard to someone...anyone can read it!
Sending e-mail is like sending a postcard to someone. The mail carrier who picks up the postcard, the person who sorts the mail, the person who delivers the mail and anyone who sees the postcard lying around can read the contents. E-mail is not a secure method of communication. Most of us have no idea how to read an e-mail being sent to someone but, there are a lot of tech savvy people who do and it isn't all that difficult. Someone wanting to steal your identity can simply wait for your e-mail to pass by.

That means you shouldn't send ANY confidential information via e-mail including:

• social security numbers
• bank account numbers
• credit card numbers
• any information that you want to keep confidential

CIT adopts a new patch management schedule

Effective October 2009 CIT adopted a new patch management schedule for campus desktop and laptop Windows computers. CIT will push security patches once per month, usually on the 3rd Wednesday.** In addition, CIT will deliver required software program updates once per month, on the 1st Wednesday of the month.

What has changed and why is it changing?

The previous patch strategy was to deploy security patches within 7 days of release by a vendor. The number of vendors releasing security patches has steadily grown and the frequency of their patches has increased to a point that we were finding it difficult to balance the need to keep campus workstations secure while maintaining a tolerable disruption level to our users.

As the nature of computer threats has continued to change and evolve it has become critical that CIT maintain security patches on workstations to the most current levels and that we have the capability to respond quickly to incidents and outbreaks.

In August 2009 CIT was able to begin using a new patch management system from Novell which allows us to cleanly “bundle” multiple security patches into one delivered package to workstations. Whether the patches come from Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla, Symantec, or others we can bundle them together. If a system reboot is required it can be done once for the entire bundle rather than for each patch. This will allow us to maintain a higher patch level while limiting the number of disruptions to users.

What is the difference between security patches and program updates?

Security patches are issued by application vendors to address specific security-related concerns with their software. They are issued because a security flaw has been identified in their product. Once identified these security flaws quickly become known by the hacker community and exploits of them can occur as quickly as the same day they are discovered (so called “zero day exploits”).

Program updates are issued by application vendors to address “bugs” in their software which impact the functionality or stability of the program but are not related to security concerns. CIT is interested in deploying these when they address specific issues on Calvin workstations.

Why are security patches and program updates done on different days?

Security patches and program updates are managed by different systems in CIT. This means that we cannot bundle the patches and updates together. If we were to deploy these on the same day it would mean users would be interrupted twice on the same day and possibly be required to reboot their system twice on that day. CIT feels this is too much of a disruption on one day.

Can I opt-out of a patch or update?

You cannot opt-out of a security patch or update. To the degree that our system allows we will give you options to either defer installation of a patch for a period of time (3-5 days) or we will allow you to defer the system reboot for up to 24 hours after installation of the patch.

Why do I have to reboot?

Some patches and updates require a reboot and some do not. This is determined by the software vendor and by the current status of your machine. Some users may be prompted for a reboot and others might not be prompted for the same patch.

Once a patch is installed and before a reboot the machine is in what is called a “dirty state.” The patch has been delivered but it is not effective until the reboot occurs. This “dirty state” is a time when the machine can be less stable and unable to accept additional patches or updates. In some cases the machine may become unresponsive and/or not able to be managed by CIT’s management tools.

Patch management best practices recommend that you reboot as soon as possible when prompted. We recognize that it is not always practical to immediately reboot so we allow up to 24 hours for the reboot in case you have processes running that cannot be interrupted immediately.

Can I delay rebooting my computer?

Whenever possible CIT will provide you with the option to either defer installation of the patch for a period of time (3-5 days) or defer the reboot for 24 hours. This will depend on the patch bundle being delivered, the requirements programmed by the vendor, and the capabilities of our patch system tools.

Each bundle will be different and CIT will always look for the best balance between minimizing your disruptions while still achieving an effective delivery of the patches.

What about labs and Smart Classrooms?

Computer labs will not receive monthly patches or updates during the semester unless there is a critical need to do so. These labs have DeepFreeze installed on them which brings the computer back to its original state on every reboot, even if something malicious happens to it. DeepFreeze will also wipe out any patch we push to the machine during the semester so it does not make sense to deploy patches to these machines during the semester. They are updated at semester breaks.

Smart Classrooms are patched by CIT during non-classroom hours. We do this so that patching and updates do not interrupt class sessions.

Do I need to receive CIT delivered patches even if I have “Automatic Updates” turned on?

CIT disables the Windows Automatic Updates feature when we set up your computer. Every year there are patches and updates which we chose not to deploy because they cause other problems on our systems. So we want to test the patches before deploying them.

In addition, Microsoft Automatic Updates only covers Microsoft patches. Our patch management system covers security patches from 17 different vendors. It is more comprehensive in coverage than the Microsoft system.

Where can I find out about planned patches and updates?

CIT maintains the CIT Scheduled Maintenance blog at http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/maintenance which you may refer to for a list of current and upcoming patches and updates. This blog includes a specific list of patches included in each bundle. If you use an RSS reader you may subscribe to this blog to be notified of new postings.

CIT will also provide notices through CIT-Alert emails initially, especially for large patch bundles. Once the monthly schedule becomes more routine we will provide CIT-Alerts only as needed.

Will this affect requests for new software installs?

No, this does not affect requests for new software installs or requested software updates. CIT will continue to fulfill these requests on an “as requested” basis. Often for our standard software that is within a couple of business days for your office computer, depending on availability of the software.

Computer labs are updated prior to the fall semester and again if needed before Interim and second semester. Please make your request for software in computer labs several weeks before the beginning of the semester.

Does this impact Mac OS computers?

CIT uses a different patch management tool for Macintosh computers than for Windows computers. We have adopted this same patch deployment schedule on the Mac platform so that campus users know when to expect patches no matter what platform they are using.

---

** It technically is not the 3rd Wednesday of each month. It is actually the 8th day after the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Huh? OK, here’s the full scoop: Microsoft releases its security patches on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (a.k.a. “Patch Tuesday”.) Our patch management subscription provides them to us by Thursday or Friday. We need a couple of days to review the patches, create the bundle, and run some initial tests on our test machines. By the Monday following Patch Tuesday the patch bundle has been created and is deployed to all machines in CIT as a pilot group. We run them for two days in CIT to verify the patches and the delivery mechanism are working as planned before releasing them to the entire campus. That brings us to the 8th day after the second Tuesday, which is usually the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
Here’s the catch: If the first day of the month is on a Wednesday (e.g. September 2010) then the 3rd Wednesday comes the day after the 2nd Tuesday. This leaves us no time for testing. So in those months we will deliver the patches on the 4th Wednesday of the month.

Yes, this is more information than you care to know, but it does give you a glimpse into the complexities we have to deal with on these seemingly routine matters.

Cyber Security Awareness Month: Week 2: "If you really loved me you would share your password."

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

Week 2: " If you really loved me you would share your password."

Love has nothing to do with passwords. Would you share your toothbrush? Of course not! Then why would you share something as personal as your passphrase? If you share your username and passphrase, you and your personal data are put at risk. You might be in love today but what if you break up tomorrow?

A strong, secret passphrase is the best way to prevent others from accessing your IT accounts.

• Sharing your personal passwords is against Calvin’s Policy on Responsible use of Technology.
• Don't share your personal Calvin technology passwords with ANYONE. That includes friends, family, or even the Calvin Information Technology HelpDesk

Protect your passwords

• Don't let others look over your shoulder as you type your password.
• Don't write down passwords or keep them in a readable form in your office or home.
• Don't store passwords in a file on any computer system or PDA without protecting them with strong encryption.
• Don't use the "Remember Password" feature in Web browsers, e-mail software, or other programs that connect to the Internet unless the feature is protected by strong encryption.
• After entering a password into a Web page, be sure to logout and close all open browser windows when you are done.

October is Cyber Security Month

Week 1: Keep your computer and data secure

Keep your computer secure

• Use strong passwords and PINs.
• *Use a firewall.
• *Purchase anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them up-to-date.
• *Keep your operating system software updated.
• Security cables – lock up your computer (especially laptops). Security cable locks are an inexpensive way to lock up your computer.  We recommend purchasing a combination cable lock instead of one that requires a key. Keys are easy to lose

*CIT maintains a firewall and security software on all Calvin-owned computers.

Keep your data secure

Faculty and staff using Calvin-owned computers

• Work-related files should be stored on Calvin's Novell network. CIT backs up the Novell file servers on a regular basis.
• Off-campus and need your Novell files? If you travel with a Calvin laptop. You can connect to Novell from off campus after making a VPN connection.

Students or home computers

• Backup your files
  Because technology can at times prove unreliable, it is important to save your files in more than one location. You should save your files in at least two of the following locations:

• your personal computer's hard drive
• your student Novell (NetStorage) account
• CD-R/CD-RW
  Burning files to a CD is a good alternative to storing large files. All of our public lab computers have CD burning capabilities. While CD-RW and CD-R CDs have the same capacity, you can only delete files from a CD-RW disc to recover space. Once files have been written to a CD-R disc you cannot remove them.
• LoJack for Laptops can be used to aid in recovering your laptop in the event it is stolen. LoJack for Laptops is available at http://www.absolute.com/products/lojack or from the Campus Store.
• An online backup solution such as Mozy, Carbonite, or iDrive can be used to automatically backup your computer and help you recover your files if your computer is lost, stolen, or your hard drive fails.
• an external hard drive
  NOTE: USB external Flash drives (a.k.a. thumb drives, me mory keys, pen drives) are a fast and easy way of storing your files but they also can be easily lost or damaged. Be sure your documents are backed up in another location. USB drives They come in various sizes and can be pur chased at the Campus store.

IMPORTANT: Please note that Calvin no longer supports the use of floppy disks on campus. The HelpDesk no longer has the capabilities to recover lost files from floppy disks.

CIT services you might not know about

The CIT HelpDesk is the place to start for all of your computer, printer, telephone, and cable television problems or questions. To report a problem or to get help please call the HelpDesk at x6-8555 or send email to helpdesk@calvin.edu.

• Many answers to your questions can be found on the CIT web site. See the A - Z Index of Services.
• An overview of resources for faculty and staff can be found online.
  

Communications - find out what's happening

• The IT Connection
  The I.T. Connection, is an on-line newsletter providing the latest news and events that are happening in Calvin Information Technology that affect the faculty and staff of Calvin College. When The I.T. Connection is published, a link is provided in the Calvin News listserv.
• The Hoot
  The Hoot is a casual, on-going publication focusing on the topics and issues of the teaching and learning process, especially the use of technology. The Hoot features pedagogical best practices, Calvin faculty highlights, time-saving tips, as well as emerging technologies and other new ideas we pick up along the way.
• Maintenance blog
  When systems must be updated outside of the Routine Maintenance schedule this blog will be updated with the information.
  
• Scheduled Routine Maintenance and Upgrades
  The need for 24/7 access to our servers is becoming more and more necessary; however, routine maintenance and upgrades are also necessary for all of our network and network servers.To assist in planning, we have established weekly maintenance times for our major systems.
  
• Alerts
  Emergency maintenance and unscheduled down-times are sent out to one or both of the alert email listservs. All faculty and staff are enrolled in the CIT Alert listserv and all students are inrolled in the Student Alert listserv.
  • CIT-Alert Archive (faculty and staff)
  • Student-Alert Archive(students)
  
  

On-campus services

• Installing your own printers
  Need access to a different college printer? You can install the printer by going to iPrint Secure Printer Setup and following the directions.
  
  
• Moving office or changing departments
  CIT needs to know before you move to a new office so we can change your phone extension and check to be sure your CIT accounts are correct. Before you move to a new office please read Moving offices and/or changing departments.
  
  
• Wireless Access
  The CIT HelpDesk provides support for connecting your Windows and MacIntosh computers to our wireless network. We provide online instructions for connecting iPhone or iPod Touch to Calvin's wireless network.
  
  
• Test Scanning
  CIT offers Calvin faculty a comprehensive exam-scoring and reporting service, using machine-readable "bubble" forms and the NCS examSYSTEM II software. We can return a variety of detailed, reports, which are provided in both printed and HTML formats (the latter being delivered via e-mail). Or, if you chose, we can send the information to you in a comma delimited data file that you can use to create your own reports. Test Scanning
  
  
• Teaching and Learning (T&L) services for faculty
  CIT's five-member Teaching and Learning team works directly with faculty to support technology in education. The Digital Studio, skills training, and faculty development classes are examples of the Teaching and Learning team's responsibilities. Team members are available to work with faculty in developing KnightVision course content.
  • T&L Resources Resources
  • T&L Tools
  • T&L Digital Studio
  • T&L Projects
    

Off-campus services

• Accessing GroupWise from off-campus
  You can access your GroupWise mailbox from any web browser by going to http://webaccess.calvin.edu. You can also install the GroupWise client on your home computer.
  • Installing the GroupWise client at home (Windows users)
  • Installing the GroupWise client at home (Mac users)
    
    
• Calvin's Personal Technology Purchase Programs
  Calvin CIT works with various technology vendors to offer you discounts on your personal technology hardware and software purchases.
  
  
• Accessing your network files from off-campus
  You have access to your network files from off-campus access by accessing http://netstorage.calvin.edu.