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Archive: September 8, 2004 |
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Security and
Internet Services
Security home |
IMPORTANT: NEW SECURITY UPDATE FOR WINDOWS XP
Microsoft has released a substantial security update called Service
Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP. It is important to apply this as soon
as possible via Windows Update. More info here: http://www.safecomputing.umn.edu
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PEER-TO-PEER (P2P) AT THE U
Using University resources (e.g. computer or network) for downloading
or sharing copyrighted songs or movies for personal or other non-job
related reasons without the permission of the copyright holder is
against University policy. A letter sent to UMN staff and faculty
last fall is at http://www.umn.edu/oit/security/p2p.html
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P2P ON TOP 20 LIST
P2P has been added to the top 20 vulnerabilities by the SANS security
organization, citing both legal issues and vulnerabilities such
as spyware, viruses, etc. More info: http://www.sans.org/top20/#w9
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NON-PUBLIC DATA AND THE WEB
Anyone who stores non-public data should be reminded not to store
this data on a web server. In addition to other security risks,
files may be unintentionally indexed by a search engine (e.g. Google)
for public access. More info: http://www.umn.edu/oit/security/privatedata.html
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E-MAIL NEWS: SUMMER UPGRADES COMPLETED
OIT Internet Services staff completed summer upgrades of the central
e-mail systems. Storage for 5 servers was moved to the new EMC CLARiiON
SAN managed by UDMS, including one completely new client/server
system, providing faster, larger, and more manageable storage for
the e-mail servers.
ONE PREMIUM INTERNET SYSTEM AND SIX CLIENT/SERVERS
Now there are six client/server and one premium interactive system
providing e-mail services for the Twin Cities University community.
We expect that the last two client/server systems will be moved
to the SAN sometime in the future, when infrastructure issues are
addressed.
SPAM AND VIRUS STATS: MILLIONS BLOCKED
In July, Central e-mail spam controls blocked 7,288,349 messages.
Anti-virus controls blocked an additional 413,534 messages. In August,
central e-mail spam controls blocked 10,575,731 messages, and anti-virus
controls blocked an additional 203,704 messages.
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Network and Telecommunication
Services
NTS home |
DONE: CORE CUTOVER
On August 14, the NTS Gopher GigaNet Team successfully moved the
entire Twin City core routing infrastructure to the new Gopher GigaNet
network. This task, one of enormous scale and complexity, began
early on Saturday morning and took many hours and many people contributing
to be completed by Monday morning. When all feature upgrades are
completed by next spring, the new network will be faster and more
reliable.
GOPHER GIGANET MAINTENANCE WINDOW
To maintain and tune the new Gopher GigaNet, NTS has implemented
a temporary maintenance/change window for changes that may require
a brief network outage. Scheduled maintenance will be done, as needed,
5-7 am on Mon, Wed, and Fri, and from 5-10 am on Saturdays and continue
through project completion - Spring 2005. Scheduled outages will
be sent to net-ops@umn.edu
subscribers.
ST. PAUL CAMPUS AND GOPHER GIGANET
Building cutover to the new network began two weeks after the core
cutover with BioSystems & Ag Engineering, Haecker and Coffey
Hall. By starting the conversion with a smaller number of connections,
the installation crew is able to track testing and identify unforeseen
issues with the new network. With the first group of approximately
850 ports/locations cut during week one, 13 trouble tickets were
issued.
RENT-A-GURUS HELP WITH TROUBLESHOOTING
University Rent-A-Guru (URAG) technical staff will be available
on cutover days to troubleshoot if needed. See URAG on UCS site:
http://www.umn.edu/adcs/ucs/guru.php
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TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HIGHER BANDWIDTH
Preparing for the building cut and to take advantage of the higher
bandwidth available in the new Gopher GigaNet, users can change
speed and duplex settings to auto-negotiation after the cutover
is completed. More information on auto negotiation and what users
can expect during building cutovers here:
http://www.umn.edu/nts/networkupgrade/building_cutover.html
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SERVICE FREEZE DURING BUILDING CUTOVER
A 3 week service freeze will be in effect for all buildings scheduled
for cutover. Regular Etherjack move/add/change orders will be scheduled
around these freezes. Check all building events and freeze status
on the project website http://www.umn.edu/networkupgrade
. Or sign up to receive updates on the track-buildings registration
page. The Gopher GigaNet Hotline 1-GIGA (612.301.4442) also has
regular updates.
BUILDING INSTALLATIONS
Through September the installation phase of the new network equipment
is in progress on the West Bank campus. The East Bank area equipment
installation will begin in October as the building cutover concludes
on the St. Paul Campus.
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Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services
ADCS home |
MUSIC ON TECHMART: RHAPSODY
The U now offers students a discount on online music. Students can
sign up for a free trial for Rhapsody. Subscription prices range
from $2.99 for one month to $23.99 for 12 months; and for $.79 students
can burn individual songs. Requirements include Windows XP, Me,
2000, 98 SE or NT 4.0 SP6; Rhapsody is not compatible with other
operating systems. Details here: http://techmart.umn.edu
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NEW TRAINING: VISIO 2003 CREATING BASIC DIAGRAMS
Need help communicating complex ideas, processes, and systems? Visio
2003 is Microsoft's tool for creating and sharing visual diagrams.
This new 7-hour course explores the skills necessary to create common
diagrams such as flowcharts, brainstorming maps, web site diagrams,
and organizational charts. See http://www.umn.edu/uttc
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ACCESS PROJECT-BASED TUTORING IS BACK
Need some one-on-one assistance with your database project? We've
got the perfect opportunity for you. Our Access 2000: Project-based
Tutoring provides four hours of guided assistance from a tutor.
With a week between scheduled sessions, there is time for you to
work with the answers to your initial questions on your own and
come back for more. See http://www.umn.edu/uttc
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WORD GOT YOU DOWN?
Our updated Microsoft Word 2002/2003: Hints, Tips, Shortcuts and
Secrets! class covers customizations and techniques that will make
your life with Word much easier. We're also offering this class
for Word 2000. Don't forget our other Word classes - learn how to
format papers, merge documents, or create fill-in-the-blank forms
in just one morning or afternoon. See http://www.umn.edu/uttc
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Digital
Media
Center
DMC home |
SEPT 14: NEXT WEBCT VISTA SESSION
Instructors can learn about Vista, the newest version of the WebCT
online course management system, in orientation sessions and short
courses this fall. The next sessions are Sept. 14, 16, 23, and 24.
See: http://training.micro.umn.edu/ShortCourses/ClassList2.cfm?Sort=Category#16
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WEBCT SUPPORT SITE NEW LOOK
The U's WebCT site has a new look as of Monday, August 23. The content,
organization, and page URLs are still the same; but the interface
is now compatible with other University web pages and the navigation
is simpler. See: http://webct.umn.edu
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OCT 8: FALL TEL SEMINARS BEGIN
This fall, University instructors again will present their technology-enhanced
learning (TEL) work at a series of free seminars featuring a moderator
and panel discussing broad technology and pedagogy issues related
to specific topics. The complete fall schedule is available at http://dmc.umn.edu/series/fall04.shtml
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SPOTLIGHT ISSUE: SIMULATIONS AND VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS
With computers, instructors can combine media in simulated real-life
environments and control students' interactions to facilitate active
inquiry activities. Learn more to prepare for the first fall TEL
seminar on the DMC site at
http://dmc.umn.edu/spotlight/simulations.shtml .
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The
URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/04/tb0904/tb0904.html
E-mail UM Tech Brief website comments to oitbrief@umn.edu
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