K-State to keep Symantec AntiVirus software for now
by H. Townsend, Computing and Network Services
published Aug. 2, 2005
Due to good feedback from the university's IT community,
K-State will not switch to Trend Micro antivirus software for now.
We simply don't have time to make the transition before the start of the fall semester.
Although the long-term cost benefits are
appealing, the negative impact would be too great on too many K-State people and projects. More time is
needed to plan and test the transition, update documentation in many locations, and pursue funding.
K-State's contract with Symantec will be renewed in October for one more year, as routinely done for the past five years.
This will give us time to more thoroughly test Trend Micro, and have broader dialogue with the campus about the
switch.
SIRT session: Is it OK to snoop electronically?
by A. Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Aug. 2, 2005
Have you ever been asked by a co-worker to assist with snooping on
someone's computer? K-State departmental security contacts and others interested in IT security are
invited to a brown-bag session 12:15-1:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, in Union Staterooms 2 and 3.
A revealing discussion will focus on whether it is ever OK to snoop, as defined by
K-State's e-mail policy.
The discussion will be led by Tim Ramsey, K-State IT security coordinator, along with other SIRT members.
Axio Learning powers learning systems
for other institutions
by S. Finkeldei, Office of Mediated Education
published Aug. 2, 2005
The engine that drives K-State Online has been expanded to support other institutional partners.
Previously known as MECNet.org, it has been renamed Axio Learning.
Axio Learning is the company that supports the learning-management system and is owned by
Universal K-State, a not-for-profit corporation.
K-State Online and many partner institutions now use
learning-management systems "powered by Axio Learning". For example, you will notice this statement and the Axio
logo throughout the K-State Online system.
When you see the Axio logo, you will know you are using a system that is powerful, intuitive, and
developed right here at K-State.
Aug. 1-Sept. 14 is fall password-change timeframe
by B. Edwards, Computing and Network Services
published Aug. 2, 2005
It's time for K-Staters to change passwords on their eIDs for the fall
semester. Aug. 1-Sept. 14 is the mandatory password-change timeframe.
Passwords not changed by the end of Wednesday, Sept. 14, will cease to
work. This is a basic security measure, since long-term use of the same
password is a known risk factor. For this same reason, passwords
cannot be reused in a two-year period.
Visit the eid.k-state.edu website
and sign in to change your password. If you've forgotten your password,
call the K-State IT Help Desk at (785)
532-7722 and verify your identity, and staff will set a temporary password
for you to sign in on the eID site. For more about passwords, see the
Password FAQs page.
Free-printing quotas to be reset Aug. 14 for fall
by R. Cheung, Computing and Network Services
published Aug. 2, 2005
Free printing in the university computing labs and the K-State InfoCommons
will be reset Aug. 14 for the fall semester. All K-Staters will receive $10 of free
printing for the fall semester. For details, see Printing in the UCLs.
| Q/A: IT questions from K-Staters |
by J. Chacon, Computing and Network Services
published Aug. 2, 2005
Why doesn't K-State's spam filtering catch "Viagra" e-mail?
K-State's spam filtering is not just a keyword-matching filter, since those
can be circumvented. It is based on phrases and keywords in the
mail, along with identifying characteristics in the e-mail headers.
Each item that look suspicious or matches known patterns is assigned
a score value. To avoid matching valid e-mails, negative scores also
are assigned for e-mail that appears to have been generated from a
valid e-mail client.
The total of this scoring determines whether an e-mail is marked as spam or not.
We already have rules that match on "Viagra" and "Cialis". The scoring
from the other "good" things in those e-mails is most likely what
prevents them from being marked as spam. There's no easy solution here.
K-State can't easily support customizing all the scoring to catch everything.
Since spammers can download or purchase the same
software we use to identify spam, some of them will go to the extra
effort to ensure their spam e-mails get low scores. K-State spam filtering is not perfect, but it aims to
remove as much spam as possible and has done a significant job
reducing spam at K-State.
Have a question or comment?
TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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| Web watch |
The Hunger Site
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Aug. 2, 2005
The Hunger Site at www.the hungersite.com
began June 1999 and provides a way for visitors to give food for free
to people around the world.
According to the site, about 24,000 people die every day from hunger
or hunger-related causes.
Clicking on the "Give Free Food" button funds the food,
which is paid by sponsors "whose ads appear after you click".
There's a limit of one free-food click per visitor per day. The site
also sells products made around the world, with a portion of the
purchase price going to relieve hunger.
Find a good site? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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