Revisions to Electronic Mail Policy
by E. Unger, Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Services and Technology
published Jan. 30, 2007
K-State's Electronic Mail Policy has been revised
effective Jan. 19. The revisions clarify the applicability of
Kansas law and certain other Board of Regents and university policy
relative to e-mail. This policy can be accessed at
www.k-state.edu/policies/ppm/3455.html.
Should K-Staters buy Windows Vista or not?
by R. Gould, iTAC;
H. Townsend, IT security; and M. North,
FSCOT chair
published Jan. 30, 2007. updated 12:32 p.m. Feb. 7, 2007
Vista, the new Microsoft operating system, is now available in stores. As with any
new release, there are "bugs" and compatibility issues to work out and
Microsoft is already in the planning stages for a Service Pack 1.
At K-State, Vista is not compatible with the university's Trend Micro antivirus
software and will not be for some time. Consequently, computers running Vista will
not be allowed on the campus networks since they cannot also run the
Trend Micro antivirus software that is required by K-State policy.
In LISTSERV mailing lists from around the country, people have reported
compatibility issues with GroupWise, ESRI, SPSS, SAS, and AutoCAD, to
name a few. K-State's library catalog also has problems with Vista.
This underscores the need to thoroughly test all applications before
making the switch.
SIRT understands that
computers are already on the market with Vista installed. However, we ask that these computers remain off-campus
until the Trend Micro/Vista incompatibilities are resolved.
K-State information technology staff will continue to research this issue and provide
an update to students, staff, and faculty as soon as possible.
Next week, representatives from Microsoft will be on campus to provide
insights about Vista (see the article in this issue).
For more Vista news, see these recent InfoTech Tuesday articles:
K-State's Dell representative reported today that the university will be able to purchase new computers
directly from Dell (presumably on state contract) pre-configured with Windows XP through February 2008.
Windows Vista meetings Feb. 6 with Microsoft reps
by H. Townsend. interim IT security officer
published Jan. 30, 2007
Representatives from Microsoft Corp. will be on campus Tuesday, Feb. 6, to give two presentations
on the new operating system, Windows Vista. Both sessions will be in Union 212 and are open to all K-Staters.
Refreshments will be served at the morning session.
10-11:30 a.m. Overview of Windows Vista. Geared toward a general audience, with topics including:
- Major new features
- Different versions of Vista
- Security features
- Internet Explorer 7
- Licensing and purchasing
- Compatibility with applications
1:30-3:30 p.m. In-depth discussion on technical topics. Designed for IT support staff, with topics including:
- Product activation (especially volume license activation and its impact on imaging)
- Deployment/installation issues
- Group policy management
- Specific security features
- More on application compatibility
- Remote access
- Backup/restore functionality
- Virtual PC and compatibility with other virtualization software
- New active directory features
Time will be provided at both sessions to ask other questions. Anyone interested in meeting with the
Microsoft representatives privately should contact Aimee Hagedorn
(aimeeh@k-state.edu, 785-532-7651).
Creating a K-State eID for new employees
by A. Deutsch, Human Resources
published Jan. 30, 2007
It has been brought to our attention that department personnel are
creating K-State eIDs (electronic IDs) for new employees. Creating a K-State eID for
another individual is a violation of university policy and may compromise
the individual's e-mail account and resources on K-State's central
computer system. Please review KSU Policies and Procedures,
Information Technology Usage Policy, Chapter 3420.
"K-State eID -- New Employee Registration" on the HRIS User Personnel Specialists page
has steps for creating an eID. Please provide these instructions to new employees.
Note: When a student is hired as an employee, they will use their eID established as a student. There is no need
for them to create another K-State eID. Questions may be sent to Alma Deutsch,
almamd@k-state.edu, 785-532-1448.
TechBytes series begins Feb. 7 with Google Tools!
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 30, 2007
The TechBytes series for the spring semester starts next week.
These seminars are free and open to the K-State community to share technology innovations,
whether it's a new technology or a new way to use an existing technology.
The complete lineup will be posted soon on the TechBytes website.
Google Tools! kicks off the series at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 7, in Union 213. Over the last several years, Google has
developed a great number of useful tools, many of which are available to the
public without charge. Part of Google's philosophy is, "It's best to do one
thing really, really, well." That one thing is search, and you'll find that
is the common theme to an ever-increasing array of Google tools. Google is
organizing the world's information and making it readily available to anyone
with an Internet connection. Come take a peek at some of the lesser known
tools like Personalized Homepage, Calendar, Picasa, Notebook, and SketchUp.
IT training for February now open for registration
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 30, 2007
iTAC's
IT training calendar for
February is now online. All classes are free for K-State faculty, staff,
and graduate students, but require pre-registration. Details will be listed
on the individual registration pages. Courses include:
- Introduction to HTML
- Introduction to Dreamweaver
- Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets
- Working with CSS in Dreamweaver MX
- Introduction to RSS Feeds
PC SAS installed in Dickens lab over winter break
by E. Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 30, 2007
Over the winter break, iTAC
enhanced the software capabilities in the university computing labs by installing PC SAS in
the Dickens lab. PC SAS was installed to assist students taking statistics with analyzing
research data and completing course assignments.
Enrollment for Dreamweaver web design distance-ed course
by R. Vail, Division of Continuing Education
published Jan. 30, 2007
The Division of Continuing Education
is continuing enrollment for the 3-credit online course
"Topics in Dreamweaver and Web Design"
(EDCI 786), which is open to both graduate and undergraduate students.
Instructor Trudy Lund will cover the basics of website design
and development using Dreamweaver. Topics include Dreamweaver
elements, image types, graphics, file types, basic design
principles, site planning, structure, organization, and
navigation and basic site/template design.
An orientation is set for 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10
(optional with instructor permission). Regular course
dates run Feb. 11-May 13. The course is
completed entirely online via distance delivery.
Information regarding required software, study materials, and tuition can be
found online:
- Go to DCE's Search for Current Courses.
- In the "Course #" field, type EDCI 786 and then click Search.
Instructor permission is required for enrollment. To enroll,
contact DCE's
registration office (785-532-5566, 1-800-432-8222,
registerdce@k-state.edu).
2nd notice: Computer information specialist job in iTAC
by E. Dover, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 30, 2007
iTAC has a Computer
Information Specialist job opening in its Instructional Technology and Client
Services unit. This full-time, unclassified, evening position will provide ongoing
support and maintenance for the technology classrooms, K-State InfoCommons, and university computing labs. See the
job
posting for details. First-round resume review begins Feb. 5.
Security tip: Beware of PHP risks
by H. Townsend. interim IT security officer
published Jan. 30, 2007
Proceed with caution when using PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) to develop your web applications.
PHP is the programming language behind millions of websites and consequently, it is a popular target
for hackers because it is so widespread. Nearly half (43 percent) of the vulnerabilities discovered in 2006
were attributed to PHP.
If hackers can exploit a vulnerability in PHP, they have
a vast playground of PHP applications to test their malware. Since PHP is also popular with amateur web
developers who are not skilled at writing secure dynamic web applications, there's a lot of poorly written,
insecure code on the Web that could be exploited. Read more
about the risks of using PHP
and tips on how to develop and maintain secure PHP web applications. Also see these SecurityFocus articles:
IT by the numbers: iTAC training in 2006
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 30, 2007
- 1,504 people attended training sessions provided by iTAC in 2006
- 203 training sessions were provided in 2006
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