Think twice before sharing personal data online
During October, many K-State students received e-mail invitations to provide directory
information to "thefacebook.com". Neither this nor
"facebook.com" or "ksu.collegefacebook.com" are connected in any way to or
endorsed by Kansas State University. Students are advised not to participate in online directory schemes like this
since there is no way to confirm that personal information will
be used appropriately.
The more your personal data is shared
via the Internet, the more susceptible you are to identity theft and other undesirable
consequences. The risks far outweigh the benefits. Relatedly,
NEVER use your K-State eID/password on online
directories and non-secure, non-K-State sites. There's no way to know where and how
this information is stored.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
Another phishing attack hits campus;
5 percent gullible
K-Staters were recently deluged with requests from "Commerce Bank" to provide
personal account information via e-mail. This is another example of fraudulent
e-mail known as "phishing" that's sent by criminals attempting to steal your
bank account information. Remember: Legitimate businesses
do NOT e-mail customers to verify account information.
Standard procedure with any unexpected e-mail is to
- Resist the impulse to click on e-mail links.
- Look closely at the e-mail and what information is being requested.
- Telephone a company directly to verify it sent an e-mail message.
It's no wonder we're seeing more and more phishing attacks. They work!
According to a report at Internet2, the Federal Trade Commission estimates a 5 percent success rate for
phishing "attacks" -- in other words, 5 percent of the people who receive a
phish scam e-mail actually respond and enter their personal and bank
account information. When you consider the volume of phish e-mails
being seen at K-State, the number of stolen account numbers is staggering.
—H. Townsend, Computing and Network Services
HRIS system offline for upgrade Nov. 10-16
The Division of Human Resources and the Information Systems Office will
be upgrading the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) Nov. 10-16.
The system will not be available during the upgrade. It will go offline at 5 p.m. Nov. 10 (Wed) and
be available again by 8 a.m. Nov. 16 (Tue).
Approximately 400 K-State employees are authorized to
update information in HRIS. All K-State employees have access to
HRIS Employee Self Service to
- View paycheck information, leave accrual
balances, and other personal information
- Update degree/education data and W-4 tax information
The upgraded version includes several
enhancements, including a search feature to assist with locating
transaction pages, an embedded favorite component to create a list
within HRIS for sites visited often, and intuitive navigation.
Sneak previews and other upgrade information is at
www.ksu.edu/hr/hrisupgrade.htm.
—A. Deutsch, Division of Human Resources
XBL: More spam-blocking power for K-State
The Spamhaus XBL (Exploits Block List) was added to K-State's
arsenal of spam-blocking functions Nov. 1. This is an additional realtime
database of IP addresses of illegal third-party exploits, including
- Open proxies (HTTP, socks, AnalogX, wingate, etc.)
- Worms/viruses with built-in spam engines
- Other types of trojan-horse exploits.
All e-mail that arrives at K-State's central mail server is checked against the XBL database
and dropped if it is found in the database.
—J. Bell, Computing and Network Services
TechBytes Nov. 12: Macromedia Flash
"Macromedia Flash" is the TechBytes topic at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, in 501 Hale Library.
Many websites use Flash for animation and to provide interactive features.
This demonstration will provide an overview of the Flash interface and show several student examples
from the Graphic Design department, including how the projects were put together.
See the TechBytes website for details and resources.
—C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
Fall issue of LASER newsletter online
The fall issue of the online LASER newsletter is now available at
laser.k-state.edu/newsletter/home.htm.
Highlights include:
- Financials end-user training details
- New functional team added to Student System
- Message from project director Jennifer Gehrt
—A. Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
| On the spot: IT questions from K-Staters |
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I hear lots of K-State e-mail is not being delivered to America Online (AOL) users. What's going on?
K-State is on the AOL whitelist, but there are times when messages to AOL users are being returned.
K-State is working with AOL technicians to resolve this problem.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
Got a comment? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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| Web watch |
FTC online shopping guides
With the holiday season approaching, buyers and sellers will find many tips for safe online shopping at
the Federal Trade Commission's
Online Shopping
consumer information site. It includes tips on Internet auctions, safe online shopping, secure surfing, phishing,
e-payments, and resources for after-purchase problems.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
Find a good site? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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