December’s IT security roundtable will be at 9-10:30 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 12, in Union 213 on encrypting laptop and desktop computers with PGP Whole Disk Encryption software. Harvard Townsend, chief information security officer, will facilitate discussion on the following topics: Continue reading “IT security roundtable Dec. 12: Laptop encryption with PGP”
K-State to purchase 1,000 licenses of PGP encryption software
The departmental response to the request for commitments to purchase licenses of PGP Whole Disk Encryption software for laptops and desktops was outstanding, so K-State will purchase 1,000 licenses rather than 500 at an even better price of $32 per license. At the deadline, departments committed to purchasing 849 licenses for Windows and 118 for Mac OS for a total of 967 licenses. Continue reading “K-State to purchase 1,000 licenses of PGP encryption software”
SMTP block starts Dec. 20 on residence hall and campus wireless networks
On Saturday, Dec. 20, K-State will start blocking the SMTP e-mail protocol on the residence-hall networks and the campus wireless network. This is necessary in order to intercept the large numbers of spam e-mails sent by compromised computers on those network segments and to help keep K-State off spam block lists. Continue reading “SMTP block starts Dec. 20 on residence hall and campus wireless networks”
Microsoft Visio’s new theme colors
A new feature in Microsoft Office Visio 2007 enables two main ways to add more eye-catching colors and theme effects to the various diagrams.
In the toolbar, go to Format , and then Theme.
The Theme Colors box will appear to the right.
New electronic grade submission process this semester; no more paper forms
Beginning this Fall 2008 term, final grade submission will be electronic-only in iSIS. No paper grade sheets will be provided. Key criteria for electronic grade submission include:
- For Dec. 15-17 final exams, grades are due 11:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 22.
- For Dec. 18-19 final exams, grades are due 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23.
- Grades for all non-standard courses are due five calendar days after the completion of the course.
- Grades must be assigned for all students on the grade roster before the faculty member can approve the grades.
- K-State Online users must submit grades to iSIS and approve in iSIS in order to be posted.
This electronic grade submission process is totally new for this semester and differs from the “Electronic Grade Submission” process used over the last several semesters. Instructor-led and online sessions are
available to familiarize you with this new electronic grade submission. Continue reading “New electronic grade submission process this semester; no more paper forms”
SMTP to be blocked on residence-hall networks and campus wireless
In recent months, K-State has experienced a rash of compromised campus computers used by hackers to send tens or hundreds of thousands of spam messages to the Internet. Besides the embarrassment of having K-State labeled as a source of spam, some of these instances have resulted in K-State being placed on spam block lists where all e-mail from K-State is blocked. To remedy this problem, K-State intends to start blocking the protocol used to deliver e-mail off-campus on three selected portions of the network that typically have the largest percentage of compromised computers — the campus wireless network, and both the wired and wireless networks in the residence halls. This will only affect computers on these three segments of the campus network. All other network segments, including the guest wireless network (SSID=k-state.guest), will be unaffected.
This will take effect during the break between the fall and spring semesters. All students living in the residence halls will be notified about the change before they leave at the end of the fall semester. Continue reading “SMTP to be blocked on residence-hall networks and campus wireless”
Nominations open for 2009 IT awards and recognition
Is there an outstanding IT employee or team that has been especially helpful to you and your unit? Do you want to recognize that person for his/her contributions to IT at K-State? Nominate them for a 2009 IT Award! Nominations are open Dec. 1 through Jan. 11, 2009, so start thinking about whom you would like to see recognized at the upcoming awards ceremony.
All K-State employees, faculty, and students are encouraged to submit nominations for IT employees who represent an activity, service, or contribution considered “above and beyond the call of duty”. Eligible nominees include all employees from the various IT units at K-State – CTS, ECC, ISO, iTAC, KSRE, and OME. Continue reading “Nominations open for 2009 IT awards and recognition”
Reminder to departments: PGP encryption purchase commitments due Dec. 5
The impending bulk purchase of PGP Whole Disk Encryption software for K-State laptop and desktop computers was announced in last week’s InfoTech Tuesday. K-Staters are reminded that this Friday, Dec. 5, is the deadline for reserving licenses for your department at $38 each. Campus departments interesting in purchasing licenses must send the following information to Harvard Townsend (harv@k-state.edu) via e-mail by 5 p.m. Friday: Continue reading “Reminder to departments: PGP encryption purchase commitments due Dec. 5”
Q/A: Time required to install Vista service pack?
How much time does it take to install Microsoft’s Vista Service Pack on my PC?
Installing the Microsoft Vista Service Pack is a task best approached with planning and 1.5 hours of time. The Vista service pack provides critical protection for your computer from unwanted security risks and improves performance.
Users often come to the IT Help Desk asking for assistance installing the Vista service pack. Read on for a checklist to follow for installation. Continue reading “Q/A: Time required to install Vista service pack?”
BlackBerry calendar-sync webpage updated
The online guide to syncing BlackBerry calendars with K-State’s Oracle calendar using SyncJE has been updated. It includes instructions on how to install and configure the SyncJE syncing software on a BlackBerry. K-Staters who have been having issues with calendar syncing on their BlackBerry should check that page to see if any of the changes impact them.
