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iT News Room
MS Office for home use - For Faculty
Fordham IT website in Transition
Fordham IT increases Rose Hill Internet bandwidth to 300Mb/s
University HelpDesk & Walk-In Support Center Summer Hours
Internet Explorer 8
Announcing iVan - Wireless Internet Access comes to Ram Vans !
Fordham's New Portal !
Spam attacks using CNN & MSNBC Alerts
MyFiles (Network Storage) is NOW available for your use!
Gartner.com access for Fordham Community
Google Apps security lets Fordham University students and faculty focus on academics instead of spam
Potential Issue w/ Automatic FileSave in SPSS v16.0.x
Normalization of Technology Maintenance Schedule
Vulnerabilities in Adobe Software
Enhancements to Postini User Interface
Reminder: the IT Preventative Maintenance window is every Thursday and Friday from 5:00 to 8:30 AM.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the below - please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via e-mail to:helpdesk@fordham.edu
MS Office for Home Use
This offer enables full-time faculty to download copies of the full Microsoft suite of standard office applications--including Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Publisher--for installation on your home computer or laptop, to use for as long as you work at Fordham.
Microsoft Visio and Project are also available for download, for an additional $9.95 each.
To obtain your license, or for more information, please visit the Faculty Technology Center or Fordham IT Customer Care Desk on your campus.
You must present a valid Fordham Faculty ID to have your license approved, and payment via major credit card will be required at the time you download the software.
If you need any further information about this offering, please send email to ftc@fordham.edu
Fordham IT website in Transition
Over the next two weeks, the Fordham IT website will be migrating to the University's new standard look and feel. During this time, we will be unable to update content on any Fordham IT pages. All existing content will still be viewable.
Please check back Monday June 15th, 2009 to view the new Fordham IT website! We encourage everyone to revisit the website throughout the summer for the latest IT information.
Fordham IT increases Rose Hill Internet bandwidth to 300Mb/s
On Friday, May 22, Fordham IT increased the aggregate bandwidth of the Rose Hill Internet link from 155 to 300 Megabytes per second. This effectively doubled the capacity for the Rose Hill Residence Hall and wireless networks, as well as the Walsh Library. The reasons for the upgrade were twofold, first, the Internet utilization at Rose Hill was over-subscribed at the lower capacity and second, to create parity with the Lincoln Center 300Mb/s Internet link. Additionally, Fordham IT was able to negotiate the bandwidth increase at no additional charge to the University.
University HelpDesk & Walk-In Support Center Summer Hours
Fordham IT is pleased to announce the following summer hours, effective Monday, May 18, 2009 through Friday, August 14, 2009, for the University Help Desk and the Walk-In Support Centers.
Summer Hours: University Help Desk:
The University Help Desk will be available between 8AM and 6PM and can be reached by calling 718-817-3999, or via e-mail to:
helpdesk@fordham.edu
Walk-In Support Centers:
The Rose Hill Walk-In Support Center, located at McGinley 229, will be available between 8AM and 6PM.
The Lincoln Center Walk-In Support Center, located at Lowenstein SL 19A, will remain available between 10AM and 6PM. Please note: There will be no service available on days that theUniversity is closed.
For additional assistance, please contact the University Help Desk at 718-817-3999, or via e-mail to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
Internet Explorer 8 - Do not Install
Microsoft recently released Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) to the public and will soon be adding the IE8 download to its automatic update process as an optional update.
Fordham IT strongly recommends that you DO NOT download and install Internet Explorer 8 at this time as IE8 has not yet been proven to work well with all University software. As always, we will report to you as our testing and proof of solutions develop and will announce when Fordham IT will be able to provide support for Internet Explorer 8 issues as applications have been fully vetted and tested.
Please contact the University Help Desk with any questions or concerns at (718) 817-3999 or via email to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
Announcing iVan - Wireless Internet Access comes to Ram Vans !
As of March 2nd, Fordham is offering wireless Internet access, iVan, on the Ram Vans. As a result of a collaborative effort between Fordham IT and Intercampus Transportation Services iVan is currently in a pilot phase with 18 of 25 vans equipped for wireless access, identifiable by the Wireless Zone icon located on the window of the left double door.
This program is largely grant funded as part of Fordham IT's University Resources Initiative and extends the overall campaign to increase wireless access for the Fordham community. Riders can access the Internet with any wireless enabled device [laptop, phone, blackberry, etc.], maximizing productivity in what previously would be considered downtime.
So fire up your notebook and enjoy the ride.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via email to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
Fordham's New Portal!
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Fordham University portal, http://my.fordham.edu.
Over time, asnew services are added, MyFordham will become the gateway to all Fordham University's online services. With one login, the portal will provide students, faculty, staff and alumni with access to announcements, academic resources, library databases, collaboration tools, MyFiles, email, registration, financial aid, bill payment, academic course information and more.
The power and potential of this new tool will become evident as you become familiar with its capabilities and as more services are integrated. MyFordham both aggregates the University’s online resources in one location and provides a new communications channel facilitating even more effective delivery of information and academic community.
We encourage you to make MyFordham your new homepage.
To access MyFordham: http://my.fordham.edu
You will be prompted foryour username and password. If you don’t have one yet, click the ‘Claim your AccessIT ID’.
MyFordham works best with MS Internet Explorer.
Please provide feedback to: my@fordham.edu
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via email to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
Spam Attacks using CNN & MSNBC Alerts
Our message security vendor (Postini) has advised us on high volumes of bogus CNN and MSNBC messages that contain links to download malware. Spammers have copied the contents of CNN and MSNBC alerts and substituted a link that prompts users to upgrade to a new version of a fake Adobe Flash player.
Postini detected and blocked the vast majority of these attacks, and continues to release protections to stop the new mutations. Their capture rate is over 99%; however, the attack volumes are so large (in the hundreds of millions of messages) that a 1% pass-through rate means that a few messages may end up in your inbox.
For best security practices, if you see any CNN, MSNBC, or suspicious news alert messages:
- Do not deliver these messages from your Message Center or Quarantine Summary.
- Delete these messages from your inbox.
- Do not click on any links in the messages.
If you need to access CNN or MSNBC content, visit the website directly.
Please be assured that our security service considers virus and spam protection as a top priority, and makes every effort to remain current in the battle against new spam attacks and tactics.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via e-mail to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
MyFiles (Network Storage) is available now for your use!
Effective immediately, MyFiles (storage network) is available for your use. Please log in at: http://my.fordham.edu to claim your AccessIT ID and Password and access MyFiles, your network storage resource.
Fordham University AccessIT ID:
The first step in this process of securing network storage will be to Claim a new permanent Identity.
In the coming weeks and months, additional IT services (e.g. E-mail, Cisco Clean Access, and VPN) will be layered on top of this identity, allowing for a unified AccessIT ID and password for these services. Additionally, as the University rolls out its new administrative systems (Student Information System, On-line Registration) you will use this same Identity to gain access with reduced sign-on to all these systems.
Why MyFiles?
- MyFiles is intuitive and easy to use.
- It allows you to create folders, upload files, share folders, create wikis and connect to shared folders.
- You can also back-up pictures, photos, and coursework.
- It also eliminates the need for USB drives and reduces paper and printing costs.
Copyrighted Material Reminder:
Fordham community members must not use this or any other University resource to share or distribute copyrighted materials. Doing so violates the University's Acceptable Use Policy as well as Federal Copyright Laws.
If you have any difficulty claiming your account, questions or concerns about MyFiles, please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via e-mail to: helpdesk@fordham.edu
Gartner.com Access for Fordham Community
Get plugged into the most accurate and current IT research available!
Fordham IT is pleased to announce that faculty, students and staff now have free access to Gartner for technology related information. Through a partnership with the University Libraries, we have made it possible for all members of the Fordham community to access Gartner.Com from the Library's Databases & Indexes web page.
How does this affect you?
Faculty are empowered with current trends in information technology allowing them to bring real world complex issues into the classroom.
Students are provided with insight into current technology trends, IT management, business issues, organizations, strategy as well as a global perspective on the IT industry.
Staff is given information on how to improve infrastructure, validate technology decisions, analyze trends in the industry and understand best practices.
To access Gartner, point your browser to the University Library's Databases & Indexes page. The Gartner link is listed under "G" on the F thru J page:
http://www.library.fordham.edu/database/f-j.html
Google Apps Security Case Study
Challenges: Fordham University’s e-mail servers were crushed under the growing volume ofspam, slowing e-mail delivery to a halt and impacting performance and productivity of both students and faculty.
Results: Since implementing Google Message Filtering, Fordham University has been able to reduce the amount of time IT staff spends monitoring and maintainingspam-related issues, lowered the number of calls to the University’s Help Desk, and improved the performance of the e-mail system.
True to the academic tradition, over 15,000 students and hundreds of faculty at Fordham University, the Jesuit University of New York, had a free and open e-mail system that did not filter either incoming or outgoing messages. But by mid-2005, the volume of spam was unmanageable. Remembers Jason Benedict, Fordham’s University Information Security Officer, “We were processing 99 percent spam and only one percent legitimate e-mail. Our systems had become so overwhelmed by spam and spam processing that we suffered frequent failures of our e-mail system as well as tremendous slowdowns in delivery and, subsequently, in performance and productivity.”
Read the entire article...
Potential Issue with automated file save in SPSS 16.0.x
SPSS Technical Support has recently detected a problem in SPSS 16.0.x with the automated file save function. When modifications are being made to an existing file, the automated file save function periodically appears to save the file, yet the file is not saved and is missing from the system.
This problem can occur if you exit the application without explicitly saving your file first. This problem has been observed when working with larger size data files or saving to a slower device (such as over the network) where the saving process takes longer than 3 seconds. It is strongly advised that you do not save your files in this manner until the issue is addressed; this is slated for the next maintenance release.
SPSS is evaluating the most appropriate solution but until it is available, always save your file explicitly via File->Save or the save toolbar button prior to exiting the application.
If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS support team at: http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp
Normalization of Technology Maintenance Schedule
In order to normalize the scheduling of maintenance for information and technology services, Fordham IT is now reserving every Thursday and Friday morning between 5:30 AM and 8:30 AM to perform Preventative Maintenance (PM).
- software patches, fixes and upgrades [e.g., upgrades to SIS, such as applying new Federal Regulations code to Financial Aid components];
- hardware installs and upgrades [e.g., an additional server for redundancy so that e-mail remains up if a server goes down];
- quality assurance testing [e.g., to ensure what we've done works];
Notification of the regular PM schedule as well as critical repair events are posted on the Fordham IT website on the IT News Room page.
Vulnerabilities in Adobe Software
Security vulnerabilities have been discovered in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. If you use either of these products, it is recommended that you update your current version to version 8.1.2. Adobe has provided the following links to assist in updating your software.
Adobe recommends Adobe Reader 7 and 8 users update to Adobe Reader 8.1.2 , available here:
http://www.adobe.com/go/getreader
Adobe recommends Acrobat 8 users on Windows update to Acrobat 8.1.2 , available here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3849
Adobe recommends Acrobat 8 users on Macintosh update to Acrobat 8.1.2 , available here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3856
Enhancements to Postini User Interface [Fordham's Spam Blocker]
Postini is making some minor user improvement upgrades to their systems that will change what users see when they log into their Postini Message Center. These improvements include general navigation enhancements and the ability for users to control viewing of images, attachments and links. Postini has provided a Powerpoint presentation and pdf document to assist users in understanding these changes.
Please contact the University Help Desk at (718) 817-3999 or via e-mail to: helpdesk@fordham.edu for assistance to make sure you have the latest antivirus patches and updates installed on your PC.
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