Current Issue

Archive

About

Contact the Tech Brief

Subscription Info

     Also see:

     OIT Newsletter

     OIT 1-HELP,
     Technology Help

OIT Home

Issue : February 6, 2008

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.
For the month of January (2008):

Attempted: 97 million
Accepted: 22 million (23%)
Blocked: 51 million (53%)
User unknown: 12 million (12%)
Grey-listed: 12 million (12%)

Unauthorized access: 31 million (61%)
Spam source: 4 million (7%)
Dynamic: 3 million (5%)
Insecure: 11 million (22%)
Protocol violation: 1 million (1%)
DNS problems:  2 million (4%)

Anti-virus software caught 3635 messages.

BEWARE OF IRS E-MAIL SCAM!
Fraudulent University of Minnesota look-alike e-mails asking for personal and confidential information recently have been sent to some University e-mail account holders. These e-mails are not from the University of Minnesota. The University will never ask you to provide your password or other personal information by e-mail. You should delete the messages. Do not respond to these e-mails, or click on any links or attachments contained within them.

Network and Telecommunication
Services

NTS home

QIP TO INFOBLOX CUTOVER COMPLETED.
On Monday, February 4, OIT cut over its IP management application from QIP to Infoblox, which uses the Service Gateway as the user interface. Hosts that use DHCP are now served via the Infoblox DHCP services. Read the full story: http://www1.umn.edu/nts/qip_to_infoblox_cutover.html.

Academic and
Distributed
Computing
Services

ADCS home

LAST CHANCE FOR REFURBISHED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT.
After February 8, University students, faculty, and staff will no longer be able to purchase refurbished computer equipment and stocked parts from University Computer Services (UCS). An RFP is underway to secure a new location for storing and selling this equipment. We will continue to use our current location for both Microsoft Software pickup and the U Rent-a-Guru program. For the time being, UCS will also continue to pick up computer products from departments on the Twin Cities campus, free of charge. For updates, check UCS: http://www1.umn.edu/ucs/.

'SELF-SERVICE' PASSWORD CHANGE OPTION AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS.
Students now have the option to reset a lost or forgotten Internet password online – 24 hours a day - without calling the helpline. The option currently is available only to students. To enroll, students provide secret answers to a series of questions. When a password reset is needed, the online service will require that they answer some of the questions to verify their identity. For more information, visit http://1help.umn.edu/selfpwreset.html.

UMCAL ARCHIVING BEGINS.
Beginning February 1, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is archiving UMCal user data older than 18 months in order to increase system performance. Requests for calendar archives can be sent to the UMCal Support group at umcal@umn.edu. Additional information is available at: http://www.umn.edu/umcal/archiving/.

WEBMAIL PRO, 3.0 TO BE DECOMMISSIONED.
WebMail Pro and WebMail 3.0 are scheduled to be decommissioned July 1. GopherMail will continue as a Web-based e-mail application for central e-mail accounts. WebMail Pro and 3.0 users can begin using GopherMail immediately. WebMail Pro for non-central systems mail used by department e-mail servers also will be decommissioned. Send questions or comments to: webmail@umn.edu.

LISTSERV SOFTWARE UPGRADED.
The University's LISTSERV software was upgraded in late December 2007 in order to improve its Web interface performance. Approximately 653,500 users subscribe to more than 4,000 University lists. For more information, visit http://lists.umn.edu to view a user's guide, request a new list, search list archives, manage your LISTSERV password, and more.

NEW TRAINING: IMAGENOW 6 ONLINE ORIENTATION.
Get up to speed quickly on the new version of ImageNow, the document imaging system for electronically storing, indexing, and retrieving documents. This orientation, which you can view when and where it's convenient for you, gives an overview of the tools, introduces some new features, and compares the desktop application to the web-based version. View the orientation at http://uttc.umn.edu by clicking on the ‘Tutorials’ link. Are you completely new to ImageNow? Come to one of our face-to-face classes--for schedules; go to http://uttc.umn.edu and search for "ImageNow."

Digital
Media
Center

DMC home

FEBRUARY 10 'TECH TALK' EPISODE: WHEN TECHNOLOGY FAILS.
Eventually, technology fails in one way or another. Find out what you can do to minimize the damage when some of your devices fail: February 10, 9 p.m., TPT MN Channel 17. For more information and to view past episodes, see: http://techtalk.umn.edu/.

FEBRUARY 11 MN FUTURES GRANT PROGRAM SYMPOSIUM: NETWORKS & NEIGHBORHOODS IN
CYBERSPACE.
In-person registration is now closed, but you can still attend via UMConnect. Discussions will focus on how we perceive and construct online and face-to-face networks of people, information, and resources to address complex problems. Grant criteria will also be presented. Register online: http://www.dtc.umn.edu/cgi-bin/seminars.php?eventdesc=284&register=yes.

FEBRUARY 13 ETF MEETING: UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES.
John Butler and Cody Hanson will talk about tools the University Libraries provide that support teaching and learning: February 13, 3-4:30 p.m., 402 Walter Library. See: http://dmc.umn.edu/etf/.

FEBRUARY 18, 4:30 P.M.: TEL GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE.
Grants up to $10,000 are available for projects that are in alignment with the University goals for improving student learning outcomes and that use technology in their development of learning activities to improve achievement of specific student learning outcomes. See: http://dmc.umn.edu/grants/.

FEBRUARY 19 WEB SEMINAR: VIRTUAL WORLDS.
Sign up in advance for the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) Web Seminar, February 19 at noon, to hear Aaron Delwiche (Assistant Professor of Communication, Trinity University, and cofounder, Metaversatility, Inc.) discuss "Powerful But Not a Panacea: Virtual Worlds as a Tool for Situational Learning." For more information and to register see: http://www.educause.edu/ELIWEB082.

FEBRUARY 21 BROWN BAG SESSION: SECOND LIFE DEMO.
Second Life, a popular 3D immersive environment, recently has attracted the interest of educators. But can Second Life be successfully used for teaching and learning? DMC consultants Deborah Alexander and Cristina Lopez will address these and other questions as they provide a sneak peek into the University of Minnesota Second Life pilot: February 21, 12-1 p.m., 69 McNeal Hall, St. Paul campus.

MARCH 5 TEL SEMINAR: PRESENTING SCENARIOS AND TELLING STORIES WITH ONLINE VIDEO.
Instructors will discuss how online video can humanize learning content, illustrate concepts, and motivate students: March 5, 12-1:30 p.m., 101 Walter. Attend in person or online, get related resources, access recordings, and subscribe to the podcast: http://dmc.umn.edu//issues.shtml.

NEW SPOTLIGHT ISSUE: THE SECRET OF MY (SIMULATED) SUCCESS.
Computer-based simulations can be as simple as an animation embedded in a Web page or as complex as a fully immersive environment. Get an overview of the topic, annotated citations to related research literature, and links to campus resources: http://dmc.umn.edu/spotlight/simulated-success.shtml.

NEW EXEMPLARY PROJECT: CROQUELANDIA, THE NEXT BEST THING TO BEING THERE.
Learn how Julie Sykes, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, created an online immersive environment to teach advanced Spanish language skills: http://dmc.umn.edu/projects/sykes/.

The URL of this document is http://umtechbrief.umn.edu/index.html
E-mail UM Tech Brief website comments to oitbrief@umn.edu