New Windows exploit hitting campus
by Harvard Townsend, interim IT security officer
published April 3, 2007
Malicious code that exploits a recently announced vulnerability in Microsoft Windows'
handling of animated cursors
has hit the K-State campus. Fortunately, Trend Micro security software catches at least some variants of this exploit
(identified as TROJ_ANICMOO.AX)
and has prevented infection on 18 computers as of Tuesday morning, April 3. However, three other K-State computers
exhibited behavior over the weekend symptomatic of a compromise, so the exploit still appears to be a threat.
Today, Microsoft
released a patch to fix this vulnerability,
so all K-Staters are urged to:
- Make sure their computers received the patch, AND
- Reboot their computers after the patch is applied in order for it to take effect.
The patch is being distributed automatically through Microsoft's SUS and WSUS services,
or K-Staters can manually run Windows Update. Talk to IT support staff to see which method applies to your computer.
Infections occur when a user visits a malicious website or opens a malicious HTML-formatted e-mail message (and in some cases,
just previews the malicious message). To prevent infection:
- Make sure your antivirus software is up-to-date.
- Apply the patch released by Microsoft on Tuesday, April 3.
- Do not visit websites you cannot trust.
- If you use Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista, make sure it is running in "protected mode".
- Read e-mail in plain text rather than HTML (not readily available in all e-mail clients).
CTS network staff are also investigating a method
to block this exploit at the border of the campus network to help prevent more infections.
More information is available:
University computing labs, InfoCommons get new website
by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 3, 2007
On Feb. 23, a new website went live
for the central university computing labs and the K-State InfoCommons. K-State web developers should update their
links to the old labs site (lan.cns.ksu.edu/labs) and the former K-State InfoCommons site
(infocommons.k-state.edu) to point to the new site at www.k-state.edu/infotech/labs.
The consolidated website contains:
- Up-to-date labs and InfoCommons data
- The newer K-State webpage templates
- A streamlined design with more data on the homepage
For assistance with the labs and InfoCommons facilities or to report equipment problems, contact the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722,
helpdesk@k-state.edu.
K-State Survey System becomes Axio Survey
by Amanda Tross, Office of Mediated Education
published April 3, 2007
The newest version of the K-State Survey System, now called Axio Survey, was
released the last week of March. Along with the name change, new features have
been added, the purple background has been updated to a neutral color scheme, and
the sign-in page has changed.
The official website will continue to be survey.k-state.edu.
Surveys that you are currently creating or that you have created are still
available in the new version. Surveys that you had "hidden" are now listed
because the hiding feature is no longer available.
In addition to the neutral color scheme, you can move surveys to the top of
your survey list by clicking the green plus sign (+) to the left of the survey
name. The green plus will change to a yellow star once the survey has moved.
To remove it from the top, click the yellow star. You also can expand or
collapse the offerings listed for each survey, allowing you to control the
amount of space each survey uses.
New features of Axio Survey include an HTML editor for all text boxes,
additional report statistics, the ability to label your pages with page headers,
semantic differential question type, and the ability to share your survey with
other Axio Survey administrators. Shared surveys are co-owned, meaning
whomever you share your survey with can now edit, offer, and even delete the
survey. If you want to share a survey but do not want to run the risk of
deletion or mistaken edits, share your survey, have the other user make a copy
of it, and then you can un-share the original survey with them.
The sign-in page for Axio Survey looks exactly like the sign-in page for K-State Online.
This change was made to improve integration with K-State Online. To access, use your eID and password.
For more information, contact the Office of Mediated Education at
info@surveys.k-state.edu.
Last TechBytes April 4: Adobe software presentations
by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published March 27, 2007
The TechBytes series will wind up the spring semester with three presentations
Wednesday, April 4, in Hale Library on the new features and products offered by Adobe. An Adobe rep will be on hand
to discuss Creative Suite 3 (which includes Photoshop and Illustrator), Connect (for Internet conferencing), and more.
- 10 a.m., Hale 301A -- Discussion of new Adobe software releases
- 1:15-2:45 p.m., Hale 501 -- Creative Suite 3 Overview
- 3:30-4:30 p.m., Hale 501 -- Acrobat 8
The afternoon sessions will feature remote connections with an Adobe expert, using Adobe's Connect software.
K-Staters who can't attend the sessions in Hale 501 (Hemisphere Room) can connect remotely to the sessions
from their own workstation. Those interested in doing so should e-mail cathyr@k-state.edu
by 9 a.m. Wednesday for instructions.
Reminder: Electronic Grade Submission training starts next week
by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 3, 2007
Electronic Grade Submission system training begins next week.
Instructors who want to use the system to submit their
full-semester final grades this spring, including anyone
designated by instructors to submit grades on their behalf, and
who have not previously completed training, must attend an
instructor-led session or complete the online tutorial before
noon May 4. The online tutorial will be available beginning
April 9, and the first instructor-led orientation session will be
9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 10, in K-State Student Union, Room 206.
See the Electronic Grade Submission training
page for details.
Google Search Appliance presentation May 2
by Dale Askey, K-State Libraries
published April 3, 2007
In July 2006, the K-State Libraries acquired a
Google Search Appliance.
A presentation is scheduled 3-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room, 5th floor
to get to know the appliance, see what K-State Libraries is currently doing with it, and
learn about its capabilities.
As something of an enticement, in addition to indexing the various library web servers (both local-mounted and
remote-hosted), the search appliance has indexed the vast majority of
web servers on the K-State campus, although that index is not currently in public release.
Input requested on proposed data-classification policy
by Rebecca Gould, Information Technology Assistance Center,
and Harvard Townsend, interim IT security officer
published April 3, 2007. updated 9:09 a.m. April 6, 2007
The proposed Data Classification and Security Policy and Standards
is now available for review and comment. As stated in the purpose section, "Data and information are important assets of the
university and must be protected from loss of integrity, confidentiality, or availability in compliance with university policy
and guidelines, Board of Regents policy, and state and federal laws. A data classification system serves as a foundation for
protecting university data assets."
The Vice Provost for Academic Services and Technology is seeking university-wide
input on this proposed policy. Please review it and provide feedback
by May 11.
Security tip: Beware of malicious IE7-update hoax
by Harvard Townsend, interim IT security officer
published April 3, 2007
Malicious e-mails and websites emerged late last week that try to trick people into installing malware
by advising them to "upgrade to IE 7.0 beta 2". The e-mail comes from "admin@microsoft.com" with a subject of
"Internet Explorer 7 Downloads". The messages and websites show the following authentic-looking image that,
if you click on it, will download and run a malicious file named "ie7.0.exe" or "DirectX-10.exe" that will compromise your computer.
There is no "beta 2" update to Internet Explorer 7. This is another attempt by hackers to control
your computer and, in this case, use it to send out more spam. Do not click on this or any similar image. Delete
any e-mail with the image. If you do accidentally click on the image, Trend Micro antivirus software does detect
and remove this malware, which it labels as
PE_GRUM.B-O.
IT by the numbers: Vista PCs with Trend Micro; IT softball stats
by Anthony Cobb, Rebecca Gould, Information Technology Assistance Center
published April 3, 2007
35 = Number of personally-owned Windows Vista computers that the IT Help Desk has installed
Trend Micro antivirus software on as of Monday, April 2.
Softball stats: April 2 marks the beginning of play for the all-IT intramural team, The Office.
The team won its first game 32-2. Greg Dressman hit a home run. Pitcher Anthony Cobb allowed only one walk.
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