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Issue : August 1, 2007

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The UM Tech Brief is a resource for University of Minnesota technical support staff and department and unit decision makers.

Security and
Internet Services

Security home

SPAM AND VIRUS STATS.

month of July (Jun 25 - Jul 22):

Attempted: 81 million
Accepted: 15 million
Blocked: 45 million
User Unknown: 11 million
Grey-listed: 10 million

Messages were blocked due to the following reasons:

Unauthorized access:   23    million / 48%
Spam source:  3    million /  8%
Dynamic:  4    million / 8%
Insecure:  10    million / 23%
Protocol Violation:  .5   million / 1%
DNS problems:  1  million / 9%

Anti-Virus software caught 43078  messages

Network and Telecommunication
Services

NTS home

WIRELESS 2008 UPDATE.
NTS is hosting Wireless 2008 Proof of Concept testing with vendor finalists from July 16th, 2007 until August 3rd, 2007 in the Information Technology building. Vendors are expected to construct their proposed wireless solution, allowing NTS Wireless 2008 members to test the live wireless network's functionality and scope in the University environment. This is one of the final steps in the RFP scoring process before recommending a wireless vendor to participate in the Wireless 2008 project.

MODEM POOL TRANSITION.
The University modem pool and the 800 modem pool are being decommissioned on December 31st, 2007. The customer base has greatly declined as people move to alternate Internet Service Providers (ISP) offering DSL and cable modem services. With aging equipment and
increasing maintenance costs, we cannot support the modem
pool  service. Additional information on this transition may be found at http://www.umn.edu/nts/data under the "ISP" Tab. Networking and Telecommunication Services (NTS) has selected vendors to provide residential fee-based Internet service at a discounted rate. University Faculty, Students, Staff, and Alumni may purchase this service directly from the selected vendors through http://umart.umn.edu.

ACUTA.
The University of Minnesota will serve as the official host school for The Association for Communication Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA) 2007 Fall Seminars at the Hilton Minneapolis, October 14-17 (http://www.acuta.org). OIT, NTS and other OIT units will host events and campus visits.

Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services

ADCS home

M KEY ROLL-OUT.
The first phase of M Key, a two-factor authorization process, has been implemented campus-wide for Enterprise password customers. The new data security system is designed to improve system security and reduce unauthorized access to and disclosure of private data. M Key uses an
authentication token that generates a one-time use password. Watch your campus mailbox for details.

MICROSOFT PROGRAM UPDATE.
Since May 2007, more than 8,600 student software orders have been placed through the Microsoft Campus Agreement program. The majority of the orders are for the new Microsoft software versions of Office Enterprise 2007 and/or Vista operating system upgrade. Microsoft Vista Business operating system upgrade software and Office Enterprise 2007 media is now available for faculty/staff personal computers. For more information, visit the UCS Web site at http://www.umn.edu/ucs.

SECURE YOUR COMPUTER!
Have a computer virus or spyware?  The UCS U Rent-a-Guru service offers computer security packages for removing viruses/spyware. The 37-step process also updates your computer with current patches, and takes proactive steps to better secure your computer from future infection. UCS follows computer security guidelines and recommendations from Office of Information Technology (OIT) Security. U Rent-a-Guru  also offers data backup, recovery and transfer services, operating system and software installations, and hardware upgrades. See http://www1.umn.edu/ucs/guru.php.

MINITAB SOFTWARE.
Minitab 15 is now available for students. Please visit the UCS website for updates: http://www1.umn.edu/ucs/minitab.php.

COMPUTER RECYCLING.
UCS offers a free Departmental Computer Pickup Recycling and Refurbishing program for TC departments. UCS will pick up departmental computer products located on the TC campus free of charge and recycle or dispose of it properly according to University recycling policies. The UCS Fall pickup schedule is filling up fast! Please contact UCS at
612-624-4800 to schedule a convenient pickup option: http://www.umn.edu/ucs.

COMING SOON! UTTC'S FALL SCHEDULE.
Look for UTTC's fall schedule online this month. As usual, we will have new and updated courses, as well as returning favorites. Some of the changes you'll find are an expanded WebVista 4 series, updated courses for Adobe CS3, and additional offerings for Microsoft Office 2007, including Access 2007. Check http://uttc.umn.edu to see "What's
New."

UPDATED COURSE! WEBVISTA 4: GRADE BOOK.
Working with WebVista 4, the newest version of the WebCT Vista online course management system, and need to learn more about the grade book? This course covers how to use the grade book to manage access to a site, as well as how to customize and work with data in the grade book. Search for WebVista 4 at http://uttc.umn.edu.

NEW COURSE! EXCEL 2007: SPREADSHEET BASICS.
Excel 2007 has many exciting new features that make it even easier to use! This hands-on course will show you how to create spreadsheets, charts, and work with data management tools. Check out Office 2007 Training in the
Featured @ UTTC section at http://uttc.umn.edu.

Digital
Media
Center

DMC home

GET READY TO TEACH WITH TECHNOLOGY.
DMC/ADCS staff members can help instructors and their assistants prepare to teach with technology this fall. Meet with consultants, hire professional video and student Web developers, obtain training, and more. See http://dmc.umn.edu/services.shtml, call 612-625-5055
(Minneapolis) or 612-625-8030 (St. Paul), or e-mail dmc@umn.edu.

AUGUST 7 (FORMERLY AUGUST 8) ETF MEETING: DEVELOPING ONLINE CONTENT WITH PACHYDERM.
Chris Scruton (Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost) will demonstrate the capabilities of Pachyderm, an open source multimedia authoring tool being pilot-tested at the University: August 7, 3-4:30 p.m., 101 Walter Library. See: http://dmc.umn.edu/etf/.

AUGUST 10, 16, 24: WEBVISTA 4 SHORT COURSES.
Learn about WebVista 4, the newest version of the WebVista online course management system available to University of Minnesota faculty and developers, in fall short courses. There are no fees. To register, see: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/alphabetical.jsp#W.

A SKEPTIC'S PERSPECTIVE ON TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY.
Gloria Williams, an associate professor in the Department of Design, Housing and Apparel, was skeptical about teaching with technology. After participating in the Digital Teaching Workshop, she intends to learn more through attending short courses and working with our consultants. Read more: http://dmc.umn.edu/projects/williams/.

The URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/08/tb0807/tb0807.html
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