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Issue : December 7, 2007

No contacts? No links? No problem: send your inquiries and comments to oitbrief@umn.edu.

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.
November 2007
Attempted 126 million
Accepted 24 million
Blocked 77 million
User Unknown 12 million
Grey listed 13 million

Reasons for blocking:
Unauthorized access: 48 million (63%)
Spam source: 5 million (7%)
Dynamic: 4 million (5%)
Insecure: 15 million (20%)
Protocol Violation: 2 million (2%)
DNS problems: 3 million (3%)

Antivirus software caught 10,421 messages.

Network and Telecommunication
Services

NTS home

INFOBLOX TO REPLACE QIP IN JANUARY.
NTS Engineers will replace Qip with the new Infoblox application early next year. This service provides addressing and naming of all the computers, printers, and servers connected to the campus network or Authoritative DNS (Domain Name Service). Infoblox is more robust and reliable, and provides IP management options. Infoblox was successfully implemented last fall in
campus Residence Halls. Changeover will be transparent for current DHCP users. Network or QIP administrators will use Service Gateway to register IP addresses. Training and special introductions will begin soon; check
http://www.umn.edu/nts for details.

MODEM POOL ALMOST GONE.
The University Modem Pool Service (612-627-4250) and 800 Toll-Free Modem Pool will be turned off on December 31st, 2007. Alternate Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering University discounts are located here: http://www.umart.umn.edu.

GOPHER CONFERENCING.
The new Gopher Conferencing service, which allows up to 30 people to meet via web or phone, is starting a pilot trial beginning December 19. If you've previously requested access, you'll receive an email soon. To join
the trial group, please send email to GO4CONF@umn.edu. The tutorial and basic overview is available here:
http://uttc.umn.edu/training/tutorials/go4conf/.

Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services

ADCS home

GRADUATION PLANNER AVAILABLE.
Graduation Planner is an interactive Web-based tool to help students and advisors simplify the degree-planning process and create customized plans to help them achieve the goal of graduating in four years. For more
information or to plan your graduation, visit: https://plan.umn.edu.

NEW COURSE: EXCEL 2007: MANAGING AND ANALYZING DATA.
Explore some of the advanced data management and analysis tools available in Excel 2007. In this hands-on course, you will work with databases, PivotTables, filters, and much more. Learn more about this and all Microsoft Office 2007 courses in the Featured @ UTTC section of http://uttc.umn.edu.

NOW ONLINE: UTTC'S SPRING SCHEDULE.Didn't get to take the class you wanted to this fall? Don't worry... UTTC's spring schedule is online. As usual, we will have new and updated courses, as well as returning favorites. Check here: http://uttc.umn.edu to see What's New!

Digital
Media
Center

DMC home

UNDERGRAD LEARNING OUTCOMES & TECHNOLOGY.
Vice Provost Arlene Carney and Associate Vice President and Deputy CIO Ann Hill Duin were recently interviewed about the new Twin Cities campus undergrad learning outcomes. Read the article: http://dmc.umn.edu/projects/carney/.

REMINDER: GET READY TO TEACH WITH TECHNOLOGY.
DMC/ADCS staff members can help instructors and their assistants prepare to teach with technology spring semester. 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.

DECEMBER 13 ETF MEETING.
Educational Technologists Forum (ETF), 3:00-4:30 p.m., 402 Walter Library. Join educational technology colleagues for a discussion about best practices in video for teaching and learning. Guests: Peter McCauley and
Brad Hosack (Education and Human Development) and PaulBernhardt (Public Health). See: http://dmc.umn.edu/etf/.

UPCOMING TECH TALK EPISODES.
Join host Susan McKinnell and guest experts as they discuss the following topics, Sundays at 9 p.m. on TPT Minnesota Channel 17: DECEMBER 16 — “Networks and the Internet;” DECEMBER 23 — “The New TV;" DECEMBER 30 — “Safe Computing;” JANUARY 6 — "Wireless." For more information and to view past episodes, see: http://techtalk.umn.edu/.

LEARNING OUTCOMES, ASSESSMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY.
Find out more about Twin Cities campus learning outcomes; how faculty are integrating the outcomes into their courses; and the role of technology in
facilitating outcomes assessment and achievement. See:
http://dmc.umn.edu/spotlight/learning-outcomes.shtml.

The URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/12/tb1207/tb1207.html
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