Beware of e-mail hoaxes: Think before you click
by the K-State Security Incident Response Team
published April 4, 2006
If you receive an e-mail message that instructs you to click links that are
not verified in some way, think before you click. These e-mails can be false
and are intended to trick you into installing malicious software on your
computer. Delete the message immediately and empty it from your Trash folder.
E-mail hoaxes try to lure you into clicking a link to view a picture, fetch a
greeting card, visit a cool website, or enter account information. Do not fall
prey to these tricks. Taking two seconds to think
before you click could save you the headache of completely reformatting and reinstalling your computer.
Recognizing an e-mail hoax.
If you click a link and are then prompted to download an application, that should raise a red flag.
Close all windows immediately and delete the e-mail message. The same goes if you are asked to save a file to your
computer. Close all windows and delete the message.
Have you ever clicked a link that you expected to yield a picture or a
webpage, but instead your computer asked you to save a file? If you are seeing
something different than you expected, you'd better think twice before you click.
If you’re not careful it might already be too late.
Recent e-mail hoaxes.
Numerous e-mail hoaxes are circulating. Here are
two examples that you should watch out for:
Subject: You've received a greeting from a family member!
From: postcards1001 _postcards@postcards1001.com_
Subject: You have received a postcard!
From: postcard.com postcard@postcard.com
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If you have questions about e-mail security or suspect your computer is
infected, contact the IT Help Desk at 785-532-7722.
Don't use Google Desktop's "Search Across Computers" feature
by the K-State Security Incident Response Team
published April 4, 2006
The latest version of Google Desktop has a "Search Across Computers" feature that enables users to
search their personal files from multiple computers. Once the feature is turned on, your computer's contents
-- including web history -- are transmitted to off-campus Google servers and could be viewed by third parties.
This means that if you have a spreadsheet stored on your computer which contains student grades, the contents
of the spreadsheet are being transmitted over the Internet to servers that do not belong to K-State. This is a
violation of the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Is it safe to use Internet search toolbars, or the built-in Windows search tool on my computer?
It is OK to use an Internet search toolbar -- such as MSN, Yahoo!, or Google -- that performs searches on the
Internet only. The built-in Windows Search tool is also safe to use. While it does search the files on your
local computer, it does not keep a record of your searches, nor does it store the results of your searches
anywhere outside your computer.
For more information, see these sites:
Enrollment open for Electronic Grade Submission training
by S. Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 4, 2006
Enrollment is now open for Electronic Grade Submission
training. All instructors who want to use the system, and anyone whom an instructor designates
to submit grades, must attend one of the scheduled instructor-led
training sessions or complete the online training prior to noon on May 5.
- Instructor-led training sessions will be offered
weekly beginning April 11 through May 5.
- Online training will be available beginning April 10 and must be
completed prior to noon May 5.
For more information and to enroll, see
Electronic Grade Submission System Training.
TechBytes April 12: Adobe Acrobat
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 4, 2006
Are you interested in learning the basics of how to use Adobe
Acrobat? Come learn the powerful features of Adobe Acrobat,
including converting documents to PDF, optimizing file size,
basic editing techniques, putting Acrobat files on the Web, and more.
The session will also include a discussion on new features in Acrobat 7.0.
TechBytes seminars are the second Wednesday of the month at
1:15 p.m. in 501 Hale Library and are open to the K-State
community. See the TechBytes website for more information. If
you are unable to venture out of your office, you can view the
live video on the day of the session at
www.k-state.edu/techbytes.
TechBytes topics needed for next semester
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 4, 2006
TechBytes is designed to educate the campus community about
existing information technology tools and services and to share
future technology innovations. Your ideas for session topics are needed for next semester.
If you have a topic you're interested in, send your ideas to Cathy Rodriguez
(cathyr@k-state.edu) or Gerry Snyder
(gsnyder@k-state.edu).
If you've missed a past presentation, see the
TechBytes website for a variety of resources
such as streaming videos and links to handouts and PowerPoint presentations.
Department software requests for labs and InfoCommons
by E. Dover, Computing and Network Services
published April 4, 2006
Every summer, software is updated in the K-State InfoCommons and university computing labs. This is also an ideal time
to add new software. Academic departments that want to add course-related software must observe these guidelines:
- All software-inclusion requests must be submitted by 5 p.m. April 28 via the
Software Request Form.
This deadline is firm, to allow time for installation and testing in the lab environment.
Once the request is submitted, the software should be ready for pick up by the LAN Technologies section
in Computing and Network Services.
- Departments will need to fund licenses for the software. CNS LAN Technologies has technology that makes it
possible for only a few licenses to be purchased but made available in all the university computing labs and the InfoCommons.
This will allow the application to be concurrently
opened only for the number of licenses provided by the departments.
- Licenses provided for inclusion must be exclusively given to CNS. A
one-semester notification is required before the software can
be removed. Departments risk violating the terms of the license
agreement if they attempt to use the software prior to its removal from the university computing labs.
- Departments must provide a technical contact person from their unit who can provide assistance
for the software application. This person also serves as the contact for CNS when the software is
tested in the university computing labs and InfoCommons.
- Software that is incompatible with the existing university computing lab image will not
be installed. In that event, software is returned to the requesting department.
Questions about this process should be sent to Eric Dover, edover@k-state.edu.
IT by the numbers: Labs, classrooms, ETDRs
by A. Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 4, 2006
- 489 available computers in the university computing labs and K-State InfoCommons
- 1,104 hours/week use of technology classrooms
- 59 electronic theses, dissertations, and reports in the pilot-test of DSpace
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