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Archive: March 2, 2005

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Security and
Internet Services

Security home

IMPORTANT: NEW SECURITY PATCHES FOR WINDOWS USERS
On 2/8/05 Microsoft released 13 security patches. It is important to apply these as soon as possible to reduce your exposure to new viruses and intrusion attacks. The patches are at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. See all the latest news and threats at http://www.safecomputing.umn.edu.

STATS: OVER 7 MILLION BLOCKED
In February, 2005 central e-mail spam controls blocked 7,489,332 messages. Anti-virus controls blocked an additional 63,926 messages.

Network and Telecommunication
Services

NTS home

UPDATE: NETWORK UPGRADE
The final stages of the building cutover process is near. The network upgrade and the building cutover moves to the East Bank with the remaining buildings north of Washington Ave - the last group after St. Paul, Health Sciences, and the West Bank. For building updates, news, other information see Gopher GigaNet http://www.umn.edu/nts/networkupgrade.

GO4SERVICE, COMING SOON
NTS is rolling out a new system for online ordering and managing data and voice services. Go4Service will be phased in following the network upgrade as we renumber VLANs and IPs.

GO4SERVICE AND MANAGEMENT ID GROUPS
Go4Service's web interface will allow customers to order new connections, change existing services, and manage their other network attributes. Go4Service will put many of the tools used to approve communications changes into the hands of the departments using Management ID groups for each unit.

CENTRAL FIREWALL SYSTEM
NTS purchased a central firewall system that establishes rules and policies for campus network security. With the Gopher GigaNet upgrade, the capability of implementing University and departmental firewall policy will be available, including added flexibility for network administrators - enabling units to control traffic based on their own needs. Look for more information in the coming months.

WHY A CENTRAL FIREWALL SYSTEM?
The University's campus network ties directly to the Internet over several high speed data communication lines. With this access comes exposure to viruses and other security threats. Blocking traffic based on traffic type or protocol is a method to minimize exposure to all security threats.

NETWORK INTERFACE CARD (NIC) ISSUES
NIC compatibility issues continue to be a dominant call to 1-HELP. For troubleshooting tips on popular cards from Asante, 3Com, Compaq, Dell, IBM, Intel, Sun, Xircom, and for the Apple Macintosh see our table at http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/05/tb0305/nts_nic.html.

Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services

ADCS home

UNSECURE E-MAIL: SSL FOR E-MAIL REMINDER
Reminder notices for required SSL (secure socket layer) changes for University e-mail accounts were sent on Feb. 15, 22, and March 1st. These are the first reminder notices sent to users who are still accessing e-mail with unsecure methods. Reminder notices will be sent again in April. SSL conversion: http://www.umn.edu/securclt/.

HAVE YOU UPDATED YOUR ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE?
Nearly every day Symantec Security adds virus definitions to its software to protect its customers against threats. The March 1st list includes Myfip.R, Trojan.Tooso.D, Gaobot.CPX, Spybot.KHO, Bloodhound Exploit.28 and several W32.Beagle variants - all these threats affect Microsoft Windows systems. Access Symantec's latest threat list at: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html#threat_list.

REMINDER: USE SYMANTEC CLIENT SECURITY SOFTWARE
ADCS has a license with Symantec Corp. to provide its Symantec Client Security (SCS) software to students, faculty, and staff of all campuses of the University of Minnesota. There is no charge to valid users of the software, provided a few conditions are met. More at http://www.umn.edu/adcs/software/security/.

NEW: WEBCT VISTA 3 ASSESSMENTS COURSE
University faculty and course designers interested in using WebCT Vista for online assessments will gain valuable hands-on experience in this course, which covers creating and modifying quizzes; reviewing, resetting, and replying to submission attempts; and examining performance reports. More information on instructor-led WebCT Vista courses: http://uttc.umn.edu. Download course materials for self-paced learning: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/resources/webct.

NEW: WEBCT VISTA BASICS & CONVERSION ONLINE VIDEOS
Unable to attend WebCT Vista training for Creating Basic Course Web Sites or Converting from Campus Edition? You can now view videos of these presentations, as well as download the related course materials: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/resources/webct/.

UPDATED SEMINAR: PORTFOLIO ORIENTATION
Portfolio, a web-based tool for storing and sharing academic and professional information, was recently upgraded; this 1-hour, free seminar will provide you with a first look at the latest features. See how Portfolio can enhance your professional and academic career. Registration information: http://uttc.umn.edu. More on Portfolio information: http://www.umn.edu/portfolio.

NEW: EXCEL 2002/2003 CHARTS TRAINING
Represent simple or complex data visually using Excel's built-in charting tools. This 3.5-hour course will give you hands-on experience creating and customizing Excel's charting tools, as well as importing charts into other Microsoft Office applications such as PowerPoint and Word. For more information see http://uttc.umn.edu.

REMINDER: WATCH TECH TALK
University and local experts discuss the digital technology we encounter in our daily lives on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on TC Public TV channel 17. The March and April programs include – copyright –digital literacies – new ways to learn – 3-D graphics – home automation. Details at http://techtalk.umn.edu.

Digital
Media
Center

DMC home

MARCH 22, 24: IMPLEMENTING TEACHING STRATEGIES WITH WEBCT
Learn how to define learning objectives and develop, implement, and evaluate TEL strategies using WebCT course management software: MARCH 22, 24, 1:30-4:30 P.M. The seminar fee is waived for eligible faculty members. See: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/description.jsp?secName=DSIGN101.

MARCH 23 MEETING: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGISTS FORUM
Come hear Nora Paul describe the Game Research and Virtual Environment Lab (GRAVEL) project and participate in break-out sessions about participant-chosen topics with other campus developers of technology-enhanced learning projects: MARCH 23, 3-4:30 P.M., 402 WALTER LIBRARY. See: http://dmc.umn.edu/etf/schedule04.shtml#4.

APRIL 7 SEMINAR: TEL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
Panelists will discuss collegiate/departmental faculty TEL support and development strategies: APRIL 7, noon-1:30 P.M., 274 MCNEAL HALL. See: http://dmc.umn.edu/series/spring05.shtml#3.

The URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/05/tb0305/tb0305.html
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