Summerhill Series to provide technology Q/A for K-Staters
by B. Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 19, 2006
A technology forum named the Summerhill Series is being planned for K-Staters who have questions
about information technology at K-State. The forum is designed
as a periodic meeting where K-Staters can get updates and answers on computing and telecommunications technology
issues that affect the campus.
"The series is named after Rick Summerhill, who was instrumental in bringing data networking to K-State,"
said Fred Damkroger, director of K-State Telecommunications and interim director of Computing and Network Services.
He noted that the series will be starting soon and will be announced in InfoTech Tuesday.
Using WID number for exams/quizzes with Scantron form
by S. Finkeldei and R. Gould, IT staff
published Sept. 19, 2006
One of the many new features of K-State Online is the ability to use
the Wildcat Identification number (WID) as the student identifier on the Scantron test-scoring form.
Using the WID is a step forward in migrating K-State's
systems away from requiring the use of SIDs (student IDs), which are most often
based on the students' Social Security number. Using the WID on K-State Online
Scantron form is strongly encouraged due to the increased individual security
for students. (See
Reasons for ID Switch
from the K-State ID Center.)
Currently, K-State Online looks for the WID first. If it doesn't find
that number, it looks for the SID next. While K-State Online can still locate
SIDs, every effort should be made to start migrating to using WIDs on Scantron exams.
Download the handout for
Creating Scantron Assignments
(in PDF format).
Conflict found with Trend Micro firewall and Dell GX280 hardware
by E. Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 19, 2006
A hardware driver conflict has been found with the sound card of the Dell GX280 workstations and
the Trend Micro firewall.
The symptom of this conflict is when a user is using Internet Explorer or
in some cases Netscape, the computer will lock up with 99 percent utilization on the computer.
The solution to this issue is to update the sound card driver
from Dell's related
Drivers & Downloads page.
An in-depth explanation of this issue can be found on Trend Micro's related webpage,
Opening Internet Explorer in the OfficeScan Corporate Edition (OSCE) 6.5 client causes high CPU usage in the Dell Optiplex GX280 machine.
Faculty/staff: Apple seminar Sept. 21 to include podcasting
by C. Loehr, K-State Student Union Computer Store
published Sept. 19, 2006
A free Apple Education Update Seminar is scheduled 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21,
in the Room 501, the Hemisphere Room in Hale Library. According to the registration site,
"the sessions are designed for both K-12 and higher education
educators, administrators, and technology staff who want to stay current with the latest educational technology
innovations."
What's new at Apple is the morning session (9 a.m.-noon) that will include demos and the latest hardware,
software, and solutions.
iPod and podcasting in education is the afternoon session (1-4 p.m.) that, according to the
registration page, will include:
- How schools and universities are using iPods and podcasting to deliver instruction and enhance curriculum
- Details on the popular iTunes U Program
- Demonstration of the tools and processes involved in creating, distributing and accessing podcast content.
Go to the
registration page for more information.
Pre-registration is requested, but not required. Feel free to attend at the last minute.
Wimba demonstration Monday, Sept. 25
by B. Vandiviere, Office of Mediated Education
published Sept. 19, 2006
Here's your chance to learn about Horizon Wimba, the new voice
technology integrated into K-State Online this semester. The
demonstration will be 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 25 in the
Hemisphere Room of Hale Library. For more about Horizon Wimba, see the
Wimba
article Aug. 22 in the newsletter.
To sign up for this session, go to the
Wimba registration page.
Deep discounts on Dell computers until Sept. 30
by S. Coulson, College of Engineering
published Sept. 19, 2006
This is a reminder that deeply discounted quotations for Dell desktops, laptops,
and LCD monitors will expire Saturday, Sept. 30.
These quotations are priced very near Dell's actual cost. They are
available to all K-State departments, and K-State faculty and staff can
make personal purchases for the same price, plus taxes and shipping.
Departmental orders can customize the quoted configurations. Personal
orders cannot be customized and must be purchased as quoted.
For a complete list of all quoted items, full details, prices, and
ordering information, see
Excellent
prices on Dell computers. The webpage includes:
- $999 DESKTOP: Dell OptiPlex GX620 Minitower, Pentium D 830/3GHz
Dual Core processor, 2GB memory, 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s hard drive, 16X
DVD+/-RW, Dell UltraSharp 1907FP Flat Panel monitor, 3-Year Next
Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site warranty
- $1,235 Same desktop as above, but with two flat-panel monitors
- $999 Same desktop as above, but with small form factor case
- $236 LCD monitor only
- $1,621 NOTEBOOK: Dell Latitude D620, Intel Core Duo T2500, 2.00GHz,
667MHz, 2M L2 Cache, Dual Core processor, 14.1-inch Wide Screen WXGA+
LCD, 2GB memory, 100GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM, 6-Cell/56 WHr Primary
Battery, 8X DVD+/-RW, Dell Wireless 1490 WLAN (802.11a/b/g,54Mbps),
Nylon Carrying Case, 3-Year Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site
Response warranty, plus CompleteCare Accidental Damage Svc
Security tip: Destroy data on hard drives before disposal
by H. Townsend, interim K-State IT security officer
published Sept. 19, 2006
Each year, K-State disposes of or transfers to other departments
thousands of used computers. When the computer leaves your department, so
do the hard drive(s), so it is critical that you destroy all the data on
the drives before disposing of the computer to prevent the unintended
disclosure of sensitive information like social security numbers,
personnel documents, or student grades.
A recent discovery in Nigeria underscores the importance of doing this.
Used computers from the United Kingdom re-sold in markets in Nagos,
Nigeria, still had bank account information on them that was being
harvested from the hard drives and sold over the Internet.
Another incident occurred last spring, when hard drives with sensitive data from an
Idaho power company were being sold on eBay. The power company hired a
third-party vendor to dispose of 230 hard drives, but the company failed
to destroy the data before putting them up for auction. And last year,
surplus laptops from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico were
auctioned off without wiping lab documents off the hard drives. These
are just a few of the many examples of yet another threat to the
confidentiality of information.
Just deleting folders and files is not enough. It is very easy to
recover data from deleted files using tools freely available on the
Internet. Even re-formatting the hard drive does not sufficiently
destroy all the data.
K-Staters should therefore use software designed to destroy the data in a
manner that prevents recovery. K-State's Security Incident Response Team
recommends freeware called "Derik's Boot and Nuke" (aka "DBAN" from
www.dban.org) for this purpose. Use the "DoD 5220.22-M" wipe method in
DBAN that overwrites the data seven times, which meets Department of
Defense requirements for disposing of sensitive electronic data.
Note that you should do this even if you are going to give the computer to
another department for re-use. Run DBAN on the hard drive before
re-partitioning and re-formatting it and reinstalling the operating system.
It is also acceptable to remove the hard drive and physically destroy it.
This could be a good way to vent your pent-up frustrations with computers
-- remove the hard drive and destroy it with a sledge hammer! This is not
necessarily a bad strategy even when you are giving the computer to
someone else to use. New hard drives are cheap enough that you can buy a
new drive to put in the used computer before passing it on.
IT by the numbers: Password help after the Sept. 13 deadline
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Sept. 19, 2006
The IT Help Desk had a record-high 689 phone calls on Sept. 14,
the day after K-State's password-change deadline.
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