Internet outage Sunday due to faulty fiber card
by N. Beemer, Telecommunications, and R. Becker, Computing and Network Services
published Nov. 15, 2005
At 3:22 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, a fiber card failed in a
device owned by Cox Communications that provides the circuit between
campus and the outside world. Due to the nature of the
problem, Cox couldn't determine remotely that the card had failed.
After several hours of investigation, a Cox technician was
dispatched from Wichita. The technician replaced the card, and K-State's Internet
service (Internet 1, Internet 2 and Salina connectivity) was restored
about 10 p.m.
K-State Calendar upgrade went smoothly this morning
by J. Bell, Computing and Network Services
published Nov. 15, 2005
The new K-State Calendar went online at 8 a.m. today. As of 8:01 a.m., 59 users
were on the system and things were going smoothly.
To configure your PDA or Pocket PC, refer to the Calendar
documentation.
Questions about the K-State Calendar can be sent to the IT Help Desk,
helpdesk@ksu.edu.
Rootkits pose serious security threat
by J. Ballard, Computing and Network Services
published Nov. 15, 2005
A rootkit is a piece of software
that allows another piece of malicious software (such as trojans or IRC bots) to hide their presence.
The rootkit intercepts calls to the operating system and passes
back false or incomplete information. These calls
could include trying to find all the processes running
on a computer or active Internet connections.
See Wikipedia's rootkit entry for details.
How does a rootkit get installed on a computer?
They almost always accompany another piece
of malware that actually installs the rootkit in order to
hide itself. For example, a link clicked on by someone in instant messaging that installed an IRC bot
along with a rootkit.
Why is K-State's SIRT concerned about rootkits?
Rootkits allow a computer to look as if
it's secure, with nothing going on behind the scenes, when in fact the system is very
insecure.
Can rootkits be removed from a computer?
Yes and no. It depends on the rootkit. Some rootkits can be purged
through force of effort and a lot of time. Unfortunately, once a rootkit has been installed,
there's no way to tell what malware was being hidden.
K-State requires a reformat and re-install on any systems found to be
compromised and running rootkits.
How can I detect if a root kit has been installed?
Good detection utilities are on the market for finding
rootkits, and many are free. SysInternals
puts out freeware security utilities, including the RootkitRevealer detection application.
What is the issue with Sony's "rootkit"?
Sony has packaged a "rootkit" on a number of audio CDs by various artists
in order to prevent copying of its music. There are many issues involved:
- The license agreement doesn't say a rootkit is being installed.
- It creates an insecure system that can be exploited by hackers.
- Privacy issues are involved as well.
K-State's SIRT has not made a decision on the official response for systems running Sony's
"rootkit". SysInternals has a blog
that broke the news and continues to provide updates on the Sony "rootkit" controversy:
For more information:
Video-capable iPods now in stock at Union
by C. Loehr, D. Claassen, Union Computer Store
published Nov. 15, 2005
Apple iPods with video arrived on the market the first week of October.
The Union Computer Store began stocking video-capable iPods in late October,
and has already sold 40-50 units in the past few weeks.
It is available in 30 gigabytes ($269) and 60 gigabytes
($369) in your choice of white or black.
Apple has chosen to use "iPod" as the moniker rather than "iPod video" or "iPod photo". So
whenever you see "iPod", that means it's the current model. The iPod boasts many new
features, of which its video-playback capability is the most highly touted. It also
- does music and photos
- has a stopwatch function
- syncs with Microsoft Outlook and iCal
- has an alarm clock, games, and more
- can do audio recording (with optional accessory)
Many of the new design changes were made to accommodate
the video feature, including the larger 2.5-inch LCD screen, longer
battery life, and thinner overall design. The iPod has two modes
of video playback -- on its high-resolution screen, or through
TV out, which allows viewing of videos on any television with RCA inputs.
For more information:
- Get a hands-on demo at the Union Computer Store.
- Check out iPod features on Apple's website.
- See more iPod resources in the Tuesday Gem below.
VHS format being discontinued by manufacturers
by B. Oglesby, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 15, 2005
Fox and Warner Brothers have reported that they will phase out VHS-format tapes
by 2006. Best Buy and Circuit City have already discontinued selling VHS movies
online. Rental stores also are reducing or removing their VHS inventory.
With DVD rentals and sales on the rise and larger than VHS rentals,
the sales of VCRs looks bleak. TiVo recently held a mock funeral for the
VCR at the Digital Life event in
New York, complete with a casket full of VHS tapes.
See CNET.com's Oct. 14 article,
"TiVo buries the VCR".
K-State Libraries canceled ICT technology test
by S. Kearns, K-State Libraries
published Nov. 15, 2005
K-State Libraries has decided to withdraw from the ETS ICT pilot test
(mentioned in last week's ICT article)
for three reasons:
concerns about the technology, lack of a confidentiality statement about the
student testers' personal information, and the discovery that ETS would
not be providing any kind of summary or sample report for review after the test.
Unfortunately, this means that the students who volunteered
will not receive the $25 for taking the test. We hope that our students will
continue to be involved in efforts such as this. Those
who already signed up will be contacted and given a $10 gift card to the Union.
If you have questions, please contact Sara Kearns
(skearns@ksu.edu, 532-7446).
Technology trainers: Where are you?
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 15, 2005
The technology trainers in the Information Technology
Assistance Center are interested in meeting and collaborating
with other technology trainers across campus. In order to gather
information about training on campus, we would like existing
trainers to fill out an
online survey
which is available through Nov. 29.
Reminder: IT award nominations due Dec. 1
by the IT Awards and Recognition Committee
published Nov. 15, 2005
All K-Staters can submit nominations for the IT Awards and
Recognition process through Dec. 1. Take a minute
to nominate a colleague or IT team for their outstanding
contributions to the university.
Go to the IT Awards website and click on
the word "Nominations" at the top of the page to access the nomination
form.
IT by the numbers: K-State's central website
by B. Edwards, Computing and Network Services
published Nov. 15, 2005
K-State's central website at www.k-state.edu had the following usage statistics
- As of today, 249,950 webpages exist on the central website and related ones such as
courses.k-state.edu and antivirus.k-state.edu. This includes HTML, PDF and text pages.
- As of today, 57.75 gigabytes of disk space are being used on the central site.
- The week of Oct. 2-8, there were 489,249 visits (number of unique visitors)
and 2.35 million page views (total number of pages viewed).
| Q/A: IT questions from K-Staters |
by B. Edwards, Computing and Network Services,
and L. Robertson, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 15, 2005
What's the best office temperature for a computer?
Good question, especially since the first snow of the season is happening today in Manhattan.
The optimum environmental temperature for a computer is around 70-80 degrees, but 40-105 degrees is an
acceptable range. Higher than that can fry circuits. Lower than that, your hands will probably start freezing.
So, if your office gets above 90 degrees with no fans
or circulation, you should think about shutting things down. And remember that computers should not be
in direct sunlight or near heat sources -- or anything that supplies more heat.
You can use free software, such as Aida32, to see the actual running temperature of your system.
For example, my PC's motherboard is currently at 100 degrees, and the CPU is running 115 degrees.
That's probably the norm, given that my office temperature is about 80 degrees.
Have a question or comment?
TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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| Web watch |
America Recycles Day
by B. Edwards, Computing and Network Services
published Nov. 15, 2005
Today is "America Recycles Day" and the
ARD homepage says:
"Your attitude, your actions, can make a world of difference. Let's each do our part.
Because almost everything can be recycled except the planet."
Today is also the last day to enter the site's
contest
to win a Ford Escape Hybrid, "the cleanest, most fuel-efficient SUV in the world".
Find a good site? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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