The IT Professionals Technical Forum is Thursday, July 10th at 10:30 a.m. The two sites are Cabell B35 and Sanger B1-020. We look forward to seeing you there. The agenda for this month's meeting follows:
- Welcome
- Labstats and pGina, the alternative login to the eID Authenticator
- Virgina Virtual Computing Lab Project
- Questions
In order to comply with State and University information security policies, all Banner Self-Service users will need to "accept" terms of system use annually. The Terms of Usage page will appear at login starting on January 30th, and users will need to click "Continue" to access Self-Service. The Terms include compliance with policies and standards, consent to monitoring use, and awareness of data privacy and confidentiality. Please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227 with any questions.
The 2007 Technology Guide is available in PDF form online for download. Find all you need to know to traverse the technology landscape at VCU. Click here to get your copy today! We have some copies still available. Contact Hope Adams (804) 828-3653 if you would like a copy or download it today.
UPDATE: We want to thank everyone who volunteered to participate in the staff focus groups. Both sessions are filled. Faculty & student focus groups will be taking place after the beginning of the spring semester.
If you’re staff & answered yes, you’ll want to register today for one of the Technology Services’ Focus Groups being held on Monday, December 3rd (9am-http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/course_detail.asp?ID=5237 or 11am- http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/course_detail.asp?ID=5238 ). There is a 21/per session limit! We are in the process of redesigning our website (www.ts.vcu.edu) to be more useful and informative for the VCU community and we need input from faculty, staff, and students on their wants, needs and desires. The 12/3 meetings are for STAFF ONLY—we’ll meet with faculty & students next Semester. Susan Gunn of Working Dynamics will moderate the groups; she is great at working with these type of groups and will keep it interesting. Remember the 12/3 session is for STAFF only and there is a 21/per session limit, so register today! Don't forget you will get your FREE $5 Starbucks Gift Card for participating and refreshments will be served! The Focus Groups will be held in the Center for Teaching Excellence Conference Room, located on the 4th floor of Cabell Library.
Various members of the VCU community have received emails from what looks like a trusted internal source with the subject line of "Where did you take that?". The email includes a link that looks like it will take you to YouTube.com. In fact this link will take you to a nefarious website that will download malware software to your PC. DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK. Please delete any email with this link immediately. If you have clicked on this link please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227 to determine what should be done to ensure that your PC is not affected.
The release of Microsoft Vista and Office 2007 has brought with it a few challenges for faculty and students at VCU. Students are arriving on campus with new computers running the Vista operating system and Office 2007. Technology Services has compiled some tips and tricks to address possible problems using Vista and Office 2007 at VCU. To learn how to view an Office 2007 document in Office 2003, find solutions to Vista and Office 2007 problems, and view Microsoft Word and Excel online tutorials, go to http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/ts.userservices.training/vista_office2007.htm
This course, hosted at the University of Virginia, will introduce participants to the basics of high-performance parallel computing and the national cyber-infrastructure. The course is targeted at graduate students, staff, and faculty with a computational science and problems that demand high performance. The program takes place August 7-10 & August 13-16, 2007. The bootcamp is free to attendees. For more information click here.
Technology Services begins installation of the university's new phone system in the Ambulatory Care Center, basement through third floor, this week. Occupants of these buildings click here for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance.
Reports are surfacing from the VCU community about receiving a number emails sent by the Virginia Credit Union and Chesterfield Federal Credit Union asking for account or survey information. These are not being sent by these credit unions and should be deleted immediately. These emails are an attempt by scammers to gather account information from customers of the credit unions. VCU's scanners are beginning to recognize these emails as junk and they are being quarantined as they are received by the email system.
If you receive an email with a offer that seems to be too good to be true, it often is. Don't reply to these emails or click on any link contained in the email. Financial institutions will never send an email asking for account information from a customer. If you have any questions please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227.
The Mobile Computing Initiative program, also known as G2GMobile@VCU, has selected the award winning Lenovo Thinkpad laptop as the signature product for the program. Thinkpad laptops have been setting the standard for mobile computing since their introduction by IBM in 1992. Lenovo purchased IBM's consumer PC business unit in 2005. In 2006 the Lenovo Thinkpad was awarded the PC Magazine 2006 Reader's Choice Award (August 2006 issue) for PC-based laptops. The same survey found Lenovo was tops in support for PC-based laptops as well. To learn more about the G2GMobile@VCU program click here.
Technology Services begins installation of VCU's new phone system in the VCUHS Medical Center buildings. Occupants of these buildings may click here for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance. Group 30 of the ePhones project has started with 12 groups remaining to complete the ePhones implementation at VCU.
Last year a Standard for Strong Passwords requirement was established for the VCU eID to better secure the personal data of the VCU community. The first users to be required to meet this standard were the fiscal and personnel administrators at the University. This past spring students were required to set their eID passwords to meet this new standard before they were able to register for classes. Beginning in October 2007 all faculty and staff who have not set eID passwords to meet this new standard will be required to do so. This will be a phased process so that not everyone will be required to change their password at the same time. Faculty and staff will receive three email notifications that informs them on what date their current password will expire and how to set their new password. If you have questions about this process please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227.
Technology Services begins installation of the university's new phone system in the Pocahontas and Robert Blackwell Smith buildings today, March 19. Occupants of these buildings may click here for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance.
Technology Services begins installation of the university's new phone system in the help desk area of the Cabell Library and the Nursing Education Building today, March 12. Occupants of these buildings may visit http://www.ephones.vcu.edu/training.html for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance.
With the implementation of the new VCU phone system, some faculty and staff have new phone numbers. If your number is incorrect in the VCU directory on the web, then you can easily change it through Banner Self-Service (the same web site that you check for your pay and leave information). To access Banner Self Service, log into the myVCU portal and click on the "Banner Self Service for Employees" link in the Single Sign-on Links portlet. Once in Banner Self Service, just click on the Personal tab and update your office telephone number. This change will ensure that your correct contact information is displayed in the "People Search" on the VCU homepage as well as other directory databases. Please note that it will take a day or two for all subsidiary databases to be updated once the new information is entered into Banner Self Service. If you have any questions, please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227.
Technology Services begins installation of the university's new phone system in the Pocahontas and Robert Blackwell Smith buildings this week. Occupants of these buildings may click here for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance.
VCUCard will be performing a system upgrade on March 13 - 15. During this time we will be unable to issue any VCU ID's. In addition CSVT's, pay-for-print stations, copiers, laundry, turbos, Verifones, bookstore interface, off campus merchants and vending machines will not be available for meal plans, RamBucks, School of Business Pay for Print, Dining Dollars, Housestaff, or Pediatric debit plans.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions please contact the VCUCard office at 827-2273 or the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227.
Technology Services begins installation of the university's new phone system in the Valentine House, 1000 W. Franklin St., Lafayette Hall, 310 N. Shafer St., Grace Street Theater, the School of Engineering and the Hibbs Building this week, Feb. 19-23. Occupants of these buildings may click here for information regarding training sessions or to download training materials. If any problems should occur after installation, dial *90 or 827-8353 for assistance.
Based on feedback from faculty, Dr. Joe Marolla, Vice Provost for Instruction, has tasked the Center for Teaching Excellence and Technology Services to develop a new standard podium design for centrally scheduled classrooms. This standard is to ensure that a PC, internet connection, and LCD projector be available for instructional use in a uniform design across all of these centrally scheduled classrooms. While the new design has been reviewed on a limited basis by faculty this new podium design will be available for all faculty to review on Monday, Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon and Thursday, January 11 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Cabell B36. Please feel free to drop by during these times to view the new design and provide feedback. The new podium will begin to appear in classrooms during spring 2007.
Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 last week and Mozilla followed up with their latest release on Tuesday. IE7 can be downloaded from Microsoft's site and will be included in their Windows automatic monthly updates after November 1. User Services' Desktop Support group has found that IE7 does not play play nice with Banner but they do have a solution. Go to the Banner Information Center to check out the alert post.
Firefox 2 is available from Mozilla or by clicking on the "Check for Updates" menu item under the Help menu in previous versions of Firefox. If you have never used Firefox give it a spin. There are a number of plug-ins available to enhance functionality and change the look of the browser. That is just good fun waiting to happen. Psst...there are Mac and Linux versions too. Don't tell anyone though. Our secret.
In an effort to enhance network security and allow for better network capacity planning Technology Services networking staff have begun a port security process that will limit the number of devices that can be attached to one network data port. The new VCUnet switch configuration restricts each network data port to a maximum of two MAC addresses per port (one for your ACES VoIP phone, and one for your PC). If the VCUnet switch detects more than two MAC addresses on one port the port is automatically shut down and network connectivity is lost. In order to make the port operational again all devices must be unplugged from the port for at least three minutes. The VCUnet switch will automatically re-enable the port. The new port security settings are required to maintain compliance with VCU security policy and are based on industry best practices.
The port security configuration is being implemented during the ACES project LAN remediation efforts. During recent remediation work a number of unauthorized hubs were disabled without warning because VCUnet staff did not know they were in circuit. This message is meant to alert you to the upcoming changes and provide time to make any necessary changes.
Please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227 should you have any questions or problems resetting a network port. Additional network connections can be requested by making a Service Request here: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/faq/network/
-- it turns out that Dell ships the laptops with the resolution set to 120 dpi instead of the usual 96 dpi. Internet Explorer compensates by scaling the text and images. This makes the page look odd and sometimes breaks the layout. Firefox and other browser have no similar problem.
In order to get you to the technician that can best assist you with your concern, the Technology Services' Help Desk has updated its Phone System to now give you two options as soon as you call in! Upon dialing our help line number, 828-2227, our very brief welcome message will direct you to press 1 for eID or other account related questions; and press 2 for all others. You will be directed to the person that is best equipped to handle your needs!
We want to assure you that although our phone line has gone automated, it has not replaced our personal commitment to you! We made this change so that we could enhance our services to you.
The 2006 Lenovo ThinkPad Educational Tour Bus will visit VCU Wednesday,June 21 from 8:30-4:00. The bus will be parked in the QQ lot adjacent to the Technology Administration Building on the corner of Broad & Pine Street. All members of the VCU community are invited to visit and see the latest ThinkPad technology available to VCU Students, Faculty and Staff. Giveaways including T-Shirts, frisbees and beach balls will be given away at each event. If you need directions please call 828-1177.
Campus email users have been receiving a new variety of spam (junk
e-mail) with a subject line containing a number (e.g., 1545453) and a
message body containing another different number with fewer digits
(e.g., 969). The messages do not contain any other text or attachments,
and the From: and To: fields often contain the same @vcu.edu address.
Technology Services (TS) suspects the messages are malformed virus or
spam messages. The messages do not appear to be harmful but users are
advised to delete them as they arrive.
The current problem appears to be widespread and is happening at other
institutions. TS is monitoring external sites for additional
information and will work to eliminate these emails at the anti-spam
gateway.
On Friday, April 28 from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. network upgrades required for the Banner administrative systems implementation may affect users' ability to log into University web applications. Access to areas such as Blackboard, VCU Mail Anywhere, myVCU portal, and other areas that require the use of your eID to access may not be available intermittently during this period. Internet access and any other area that does not require an eID login will continue to be available during this time.
If you experience any problems logging on after 9 p.m., or have questions, please visit the Technology Services Help Desk at http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk or contact the TS Help Desk directly by calling 828-2227, or sending an email to help@vcu.edu.
On Friday morning LanDesk released a spyware definition - Win32.Trojanclicker. The core servers are set to automatically scan for new spyware definitions. This definition erroneously caused a critical registry entry to be removed. The removal of this registry entry makes it impossible to log back into the machine. The problem is not apparent until the user either logs out or reboots the machine. That afternoon we received a bulletin from LanDesk regarding this problem and moved the definition to the "Do Not Scan" group.
LanDesk has released a patch for fixing the problem (IF the user has not rebooted). We have run this patch on every machine on both core servers that was on.
If you still having a problem with logging on please contact the Technology Services Help Desk at 828-2227 for assistance.
Do you want to learn how to do your own podcast? Have you been thinking about buying a ThinkPad? Do you have a question about my VCU, or your VCUCard? Do you have e-mail or Help Desk questions? If you answered yes to any of these questions, or are just curious about how technology improves services and life here at VCU, come out to the Technology Services Day and meet the Technology Services staff and visit with our sponsoring vendors: IBM/Lenova, Apple, Bell, Crestron, Daly, Dell, Gateway, Inquisite, Neoware and T-Mobile. Join us in the Commonwealth Ballroom in the University Student Commons between 10am-4pm for great presentations, demonstrations, free food (if you visit five of our sponsoring vendors). Visit six of our sponsors and be eligible to win a free iPod, Gateway and Dell backpacks, a Samsung pre-paid flip phone, or a Respondus/StudyMate single-user License. This free event is open to all VCU students, faculty and staff. For more infomation visit http://www.ts.vcu.edu/day
If you have any suggestions, comments or concerns that you would like to share, just click on the TS Suggestion Box located on the bottom of the Technology Services web page. Your messages will be forwarded to the applicable Technology Services' staff person(s).
Need a long distance code? Want information on how to buy a computer, or how to change your password? Have you lost your VCUCard and need it replaced?
Thanks to the new Technology Services web page (
Remember if you can't find the answer you need on the web page, or need additional assistance, the Help Desk can be reached at 828-2227 and they will be happy to assist you.