Email Services is working to bring Beech back on-line. Access to Quickr sites and the VCU Mail Anywhere home page is currently unavailable.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UPDATE: Another phishing scam email is making the rounds with the subject line of "Important Update". This email is asking people for their user name and password. As noted before, VCU will never send an email to the campus community asking for account information via email. Emails such as these should be ignored and deleted. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or if you have responded to one of these scam emails.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

VCU users are reporting that they have received emails with a subject of "last warning". These messages claim to be from the "Virginia Commonwealth University" with an email address of "itservce@vcu.edu" (not a real VCU address).

The email asks recipients to reply with their "Username", "Password" and other information. VCU's Technology Services staff will never ask you to email your password. Per VCU's Password Standard:

Passwords must be kept secret and must not be shared.

and

Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication...

If you receive this email, or one like it, please delete it and do not respond to it.

The email is similar to one we alerted you to a week ago and another we alerted you to last month, which you can read about at Phishing Scam - "Re: Upgrade Notification" and Phishing Scam - "Attention:Virginia Commonwealth University Email User".

Posted by Steve Werby at 11:00 AM | Permalink

UPDATE: Access to outside websites was restored but there are still reports of some users having trouble with authenticating to the wireless network.

Network Services is reporting that VCU is currently experiencing wireless access issues including:

1) Authentication - some users are not able to log on.
2) Uses who have authenticated may have problems getting to outside websites.

Network Services staff is working to resolve these issues. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 10:54 AM | Permalink

Outbound email addressed to @comcast.net, @msn.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com may fail as a result of "blacklisting." This blacklisting is a result of VCU users responding to phishing scams. VCU has sent requests to the corresponding domains to have VCU removed from these blacklists. Messages that are returned as delivery failures, may be resent later today or tomorrow.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sunday, November 23, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Network Services will be updating software for various network equipment on the Monroe Park campus. This is due to a bug in the existing software that caused recent outages experienced on this campus. During the upgrade time it is likely that internet, wireless, and phones all be down at some point. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) to report any access problems after this maintenance period.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 12:15 AM | Permalink

On Sunday, November 23, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Network Services will be updating software for various network equipment on the Monroe Park campus. This is due to a bug in the existing software that caused recent outages experienced on this campus. During the upgrade time it is likely that internet, wireless, and phones all be down at some point. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) to report any access problems after this maintenance period.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 12:10 AM | Permalink

Email Services is working to resolve an issue that may cause users to be unable to access email via VCU Mail Anywhere. Access should be resolved shortly.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ImageNow will be upgraded to 6.1.5 on Thursday, November 20, 2008 and Friday, November 21, 2008, with testing and fine-tuning occurring over the weekend. ImageNow will again be available at 7:00 a.m. Monday, November 24, 2008. Please contact the ImageNow Lead in your department if you have any questions.

Posted by Eric Doersch at 1:43 PM | Permalink

Blackboard regularly scheduled maintenance on Friday, November 14, 2008 started at 4pm and was completed at 6:10pm.

Please report any problems to blackboard@vcu.edu.

Thank you,
The Blackboard Team

Posted by Sheila Chandler at 6:31 PM | Permalink

Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Adobe Reader, affecting versions 8.1.2 and below. The vulnerabilities are rated highly critical by Secunia. The solution is to upgrade to either version 8.1.3 or version 9. VCU Information Security has already received a report of an attempt to compromise a machine via these vulnerabilities.

For those unfamiliar with the Twitter microblogging service, we first reported this on Twitter in an entry on Monday. For additional information security news, tips and more, follow our Twitter page.

Posted by Steve Werby at 8:08 AM | Permalink

A configuration change to the network last night has made the eID Manager application used by the campus community for resetting eID passwords unavailable until further notice. VCU Computer Center staff is working to resolve this issue. If you need to reset your password please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) for assistance.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 5:02 PM | Permalink

A problem with the Clean Access server that provides authentication services to the VCU network for the residence halls has been identified by Network Services. Staff is working to resolve the issue and hope to have a fix in place within the hour. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or to report any additional access problems.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 11:48 AM | Permalink

UPDATE 2 (11/12/08): The network equipment software update this morning failed to correct the issue of network drive availability. Some network drives are still not available to the campus community. VCU Computer Center and Network Services staff continue to work on the issue. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or to report an access problem.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

UPDATE: The two primarily affected file servers are Rose and Nightshade. VCU Computer Center staff are working with the vendor to resolve. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or to report an access problem.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

ORIGINAL POST: The Technology Services Help Desk reports that some people are having trouble attaching to network drives they have mounted on their computer. VCU Computer Center staff is investigating to determine the cause. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or to report an access problem.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 9:33 AM | Permalink

Server maintenance will occur on all LANDesk servers between 5 am and 8am on Friday, November 14. All services should be restored by 8am.

Posted by Mary Young at 9:29 AM | Permalink

Scheduled maintenance will be performed on the E-mail system Saturday, November 15, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. During this maintenance window, access to e-mail may be unavailable on your primary server. Access to your e-mail via your alternate server should be available automatically when accessing through VCU Mail Anywhere, or via your alternate server using an IMAP connection or the Notes client.

Posted by James Pociluyko at 7:00 AM | Permalink

Network Services will implement a software upgrade to network hardware at 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning, November 12, 2008. This upgrade has been suggested by the hardware vendor as a possible fix for connectivity issues that recently have been experienced by the campus community. This upgrade will cause a network disruption to all servers at the VCU Computer Center and to Internet connectivity for the campus. University telephones will be affected as well. The outage is expected to be about 15 minutes. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions or to report any network access problems Wednesday morning.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 4:03 PM | Permalink

Blackboard Maintenance - Friday, November 14, 2008 – 4pm to midnight. Blackboard Maintenance is the second and fourth Friday of the month.

If unforeseen circumstances cause the system to be down past midnight updates will be posted to the Blackboard system announcement blog at:

http://blog.vcu.edu/blackboard/

Regards,
The 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/

Bb Training/Instructional Assistance
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/search.asp (enter Keyword: Blackboard)
Center for Teaching Excellence - http://www.vcu.edu/cte/

Posted by Jana Avery at 11:31 AM | Permalink

UPDATE 2: Network Services staff implemented the updated code mentioned below and the network has remained stable. However, due to syncing issues anyone trying to call VCU Police from an on campus telephone should continue to dial the number as 9-828-1234 through the weekend. Network Services staff will be monitoring the network throughout the weekend with the vendor on-call should any problems arise.

Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) to report any network access problems or with any questions.

Follow Technology Services on Twitter!

UPDATE 1: Technology Services staff, in conjunction with our network vendor, will be
implementing a change on network equipment at 1:30 this afternoon. This is
expected to stabilize the intermittent outages in network and phone service
that we have seen since 4:30 pm yesterday. You may experience a short
disruption of network and/or phone service at the time of the change.
Please contact the Help Desk at 828-2227 to report any continuing network
or phone issues this afternoon.

If you need to contact the VCU Police, please continue to dial their full
emergency number from University phones (9-828-1234).

Since last night, we have been experiencing intermittent problems with
network equipment on the Monroe Park Campus. This is impacting phones on
this campus. If you need to contact the VCU Police, please dial their full
emergency number from University phones (9-828-1234).

We are working with the vendor to correct the problems with the network
equipment. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions.

Follow Technology Services on Twitter!

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 5:07 PM | Permalink

Email Services is working to bring IMAP access back on-line on Aspen3. Users can connect via the Notes client, VCU Mail Anywhere, or their alternate server, oak3.vcu.edu.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UPDATE 2: Network Services staff implemented the updated code mentioned below and the network has remained stable. However, due to syncing issues anyone trying to call VCU Police from an on campus telephone should continue to dial the number as 9-828-1234 through the weekend. Network Services staff will be monitoring the network throughout the weekend with the vendor on-call should any problems arise.

Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) to report any network access problems or with any questions.

Follow Technology Services on Twitter!

UPDATE 1: Technology Services staff, in conjunction with our network vendor, will be
implementing a change on network equipment at 1:30 this afternoon. This is
expected to stabilize the intermittent outages in network and phone service
that we have seen since 4:30 pm yesterday. You may experience a short
disruption of network and/or phone service at the time of the change.
Please contact the Help Desk at 828-2227 to report any continuing network
or phone issues this afternoon.

If you need to contact the VCU Police, please continue to dial their full
emergency number from University phones (9-828-1234).

Since last night, we have been experiencing intermittent problems with
network equipment on the Monroe Park Campus. This is impacting phones on
this campus. If you need to contact the VCU Police, please dial their full
emergency number from University phones (9-828-1234).

We are working with the vendor to correct the problems with the network
equipment. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) with any questions.

Follow Technology Services on Twitter!

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 10:01 AM | Permalink

UPDATE: The network was restored late last night and has remained stable since Network Services staff implemented a work around for some errant code in the network router hardware. This is a temporary solution until the vendor fixes their code. Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) if you are still experiencing any additional network access problems.

Follow Technology Services on Twitter!

Network Services is reporting connections issues for some locations on campus. Technology Services staff are investigating at this time. The areas affected are believed to be the following:

Trani Life Sciences, Seigel Center, Harris Hall, 1314 W. Main, 10 N. Brunswick, 8th N Harrision, 612 N Lombardy, Youth Center, Green Alley.

Please contact the VCU Help Desk (828-2227, help@vcu.edu) to report any additional systems or access problems.

Follow Technology Services at:
http://www.ts.vcu.edu
http://www.twitter.com/vcutechservices

Posted by Sam Kennedy at 5:02 PM | Permalink

Email Services is working to bring Aspen4 back on-line. Users can connect to their alternate server, Oak4, until the issue is resolved.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email Services is working to resolve issues which may not allow access to email via VCU Mail Anywhere. Please try again shortly should you be unable to access email via http://webdirect.vcu.edu.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The mail servers VRAM1-12 will be undergoing emergency system maintenance at 4:00 PM to apply a fix to correct an ongoing server issue. The outage is expected to last less than 45 minutes. During the outage, users can connect via HTTP or via their secondary IMAP server.

Posted by Marie Scott at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email Services is working to bring Oak4 back on-line. Users can connect to their alternate server, Aspen4, via the Notes client or IMAP.

Posted by Joe Lichtenstein at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email Services is working to bring Oak2 back on-line. Users can connect to their alternate server, Aspen2, via the Notes client or IMAP.

Posted by Joe Lichtenstein at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email Services is working to bring Aspen4 back on-line. Users can connect to their alternate server, Oak4, via the Notes client or IMAP.

Posted by Joe Lichtenstein at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Email Services is working to bring Aspen2 back on-line. Users may connect to their alternate server, Oak2 or Aspen4, via the Notes client or IMAP.

Posted by Connie Lowery at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

VCU users are reporting that they have received emails with a subject of "Attention:Virginia Commonwealth University Email User". These messages claim to be from the "Virginia Commonwealth University" with an email address of "onlineservices@vcu.edu" and have a signature of "Sarah Anderson HelpDesk".

The email asks recipients to reply with their "Username", "Password" and other information. VCU's Technology Services staff will never ask you to email your password. Per VCU's Password Standard:

Passwords must be kept secret and must not be shared.

and

Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication...

If you receive this email, or one like it, please delete it and do not respond to it.

The email is similar to one we alerted you to last month, which you can read about at Phishing Scam - "Re: Upgrade Notification".

Posted by Steve Werby at 8:57 AM | Permalink