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Email Services is currently working to bring student email server VRAM10C back online. Students may connect to their alternate server, VRAMIMAP10.vcu.edu via IMAP, or automatically via VCU Mail Anywhere. For assistance, please contact the Helpdesk at 828-2227.
Various media sources are reporting that Comcast.net was hacked this week which resulted in customers not being able to access their Comcast email and account information. While Comcast continues to work on the problem there are still issues with contacting their website. Until Comcast resolves this issue customers will continue to have issues accessing their site from VCU or other networks. Customers are encouraged to contact Comcast for support.
This squarely falls under the non-technology banner but we thought we would share anyway. Jets will be flying over the MCV campus at approximately 3 p.m. today as part of the state's Wall of Honor ceremony. From the Attorney General's email about this event issued earlier this week:
This year’s ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. The speakers will include Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Adjutant General of Virginia Major General Robert Newman, Jr., a family member of one of the Virginia Heroes, and several others. There will also be an F-18 Jet flyover, a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter flyover, a 21-gun salute, and music by the Fort Lee Army Band. Immediately following the ceremony, the Wall of Honor will be open to the public.
Technology Services just wanted to make people aware of the activities in case there was concern when the jets fly over the downtown area.
Please be aware of a fake email that some VCU community members are receiving concerning a critical update called Critical Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB946026). This is not a legitimate update from Microsoft Corp. and should be deleted immediately. The link in this fake email takes the user to a server that has apparently been compromised and will download malware to your computer. Unless you are an IT professional or have specifically subscribed to a special IT related mailing list, it is unlikely that you would receive an update such as this from Microsoft. Microsoft generally issues updates through their own Automatic Updates utility found in their operating system software such as XP and Vista. All users are encouraged to make sure your computer is set to process Automatic Updates via this Microsoft utility.
If you have clicked on the link in the fake email or believe your PC is compromised please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227 for assistance.
There have been a recent spate of attacks originating from China on numerous internet and VCU websites. These attacks reconfigure a website without the knowledge of the website owner. In short, these are automated attacks. When going to a compromised website a program may be downloaded to your computer without your knowledge or present you with a window with a special offer for a free service or product. Do not click on these windows. Instead just close them and move on. The result of clicking on these windows might be any of the following:
-Having a software program installed on your computer that records your user account names and password. This information is then transmitted back to the bad guys.
-Tricking your computer to go to a site that you might not want to see.
-Sending you to a website that looks like what you are expecting but instead is a fake and collects your user and credit card information.
What can we do as users? As always, it is important to keep you computer system software, as well as third-party software, patched with the latest releases. Users should have an anti-virus package such as VCU's Sophos package installed on their computer. Sophos is free to all faculty, staff, and students for use at VCU and on home computers. All you need is your eID to download a copy for your PC or Mac. Mac? Yes, Mac computers are vulnerable to these attacks too.
If you suspect that you might have an infected computer contact the Technology Services Help Desk or your local IT support as soon as possible. Often they can assist you with these problems and return your computer to the system's previous state. The Help Desk can be contacted via email or by calling 828-2227. You can also visit the Help Desk website to request help online.
All student email servers are now available. Email Services continues to work on Sametime (instant messaging) awareness. For details regarding this upgrade and new features coming, please refer to http://beech.vcu.edu/mail. Questions may be referred to the Technology Services Helpdesk at 828-2227 or to Doctor Notes (dnotes@vcu.edu).
The Domino/Quickr Server - Beech will be down for maintenance on Saturday May 17, 2008 from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM.
The portal will be down for maintenance from 4pm-6pm on Friday May 16th. During this time, an alternate portal will be available providing links to the main applications at VCU. However, you will need to manually sign in to each of these applications using your eId and password. The other features of the portal will not be available.
Thanks,
The myVCU Portal Team
Another scam email is hitting VCU email Inboxes this morning with subject line, "WebNews Email Account Update" and falsely identifying the sender as "webmaster@vcu.edu". VCU and all legitimate organizations will NEVER ask you to send your password or other personal identifying information to us over email.
If you did receive this email, delete it immediately. Please contact the Technology Services Help Desk with any questions or concerns about phishing scams such as this one. Thank you.
On Sunday, May 18, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to approximately 10:30 a.m., the UCC will be performing maintenance on the ImageNow server. ImageNow will not be available during this scheduled maintenance window.
The May 22 maintenance has been completed.
The May 15 maintenance has been completed.
The schedule for this month's server maintenance is May 15 and May 22. All services should be restored by 7am.
Special hardware and software maintenance will be performed on the email servers VRAM1C - VRAM12C only Saturday, May 17, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. During this maintenance window, access to email may be unavailable on your primary server. Access to your e-mail via your alternate server (VRAM1 - VRAM12) should be available automatically when accessing through VCU Mail Anywhere, or via your alternate server using an IMAP connection or the Notes client.
The portal will be down for maintenance on Tuesday May 13 from 6am to 9am.
(Note: Maintenance was completed on Saturday May 17 at 10:15am)
Blackboard will be down while we upgrade to 7.3 this Friday evening and Saturday morning:
Start Date/Time:
Friday, May 16 at 4:00 PM.
End Date/Time:
Saturday, May 17 at noon.
Regards,
Blackboard Team
For further assistance contact:
Technology Services Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 828-2227
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu
Help ticket: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/
Blackboard FAQ: http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/
Aspen3 is currently unavailable for Faculty/Staff use. Users should connect to their alternate server of Oak3. For assistance, please contact the Helpdesk at 828-2227.