• Sept. 11, 2007

Deadline for eID password change is Wednesday, Sept. 12

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007. updated 1:40 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007

Wednesday, Sept. 12, is the deadline for all K-Staters to change the password on their eIDs for fall semester. This includes individual eIDs as well as group accounts. To change your eID password, go to the eid.k-state.edu site, sign in to your eProfile, and under Password Settings, click "Change your eID password or password-reset options." For security purposes, passwords cannot be reused within a two-year period. See the Password FAQs for more details. If you need assistance, contact the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722, helpdesk@k-state.edu.

Central e-mail service issues being addressed

by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Sept. 11, 2007

Last week, K-State's central e-mail service was unstable and periodically unavailable. Information Technology Services (ITS) staff worked with vendors to resolve the stability and outage issues. A campuswide committee has been established to identify current e-mail requirements and the next generation of messaging and collaboration technologies to meet the needs of K-Staters. More information about the details of this campuswide effort will be forthcoming as ITS engages the campus in this process. ITS appreciates the patience of the campus community.

TechBytes Sept. 13: Free Amazing Internet Tools

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007

"Free Amazing Internet Tools" is 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, in 501 Hale Library (Hemisphere Room), presented by: Cathy Rodriguez, iTAC, and Gerry Snyder, Department of Communications. Would you like to see some of the latest tools available on the Internet? Many applications exist that are helpful, easy to use, and best of all, free. This session covers several tools such as

  • Google Picasa (photo editing)
  • ZoHo (online presentations and documents)
  • personalized homepages
  • online to-do lists
  • integrating RSS feeds
  • helpful Firefox extensions

TechBytes seminars are free and open to the K-State community. The series is also video streamed live for off-campus viewers and others who wish to view it from their desktop. See the TechBytes site for a link to the next live video, plus handouts, videos, and resources from previous seminars.

Big changes to iPod line, plus new iPod touch

by Eric Holderness, K-State campus student Apple representative
published Sept. 11, 2007

Another Tuesday and another update from your Apple campus reps. If you haven't seen it yet, there has been a great renovation of the entire iPod line. Not only has the iPod nano been redesigned aesthetically, but video playback capabilities have been added to the fit-in-your-palm iPod. Apple has also incorporated the multi-touch technology that was pioneered by the iPhone into the new iPod touch. For more information on the new iPod touch and other iPod revisions, visit Apple's iPod + iTunes site.

And don't forget that Justin Anderson and I are always available via e-mail at ericholderness@mac.com and Anderson.ksu@mac.com. We are still taking e-mails for those interested in another Mac 101 session, so let us know!

Grad students: ETDR open forums scheduled Sept. 13, Oct. 10

by Marty Courtois, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007

If you're a graduate student, you should be aware that you need to submit your dissertation, thesis, or report in an electronic form. To learn about the process for submitting your electronic thesis, dissertation, or report (ETDR) and to get tips on effective techniques for producing your document, plan to attend one of the open forums:

  • 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, Union Little Theatre
  • 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, Union Little Theatre

No registration is necessary, and there will be plenty of time for questions. Even if you're not graduating this semester or haven't started writing your paper yet, it's a good idea to attend an open forum now. The tips and techniques covered will help you work more effectively from the very beginning of the process and save a lot of time and stress as graduation nears.

Security tip of the week

Why you have to change your password

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Sept. 11, 2007

This time of year always evokes the question of why K-Staters have to change their passwords twice a year, a question often asked with a tone of frustration and irritation. As a general rule, the longer you have the same password, the greater the risk that someone else will learn that password and gain access to your personal information. This can happen through:

  • A keylogger (software that captures keystrokes). K-State has had an instance of a keylogger stealing passwords on campus, and Internet cafes are notorious for hosting nefarious keyloggers.
  • Intercepting your computer's network traffic, which is particularly easy to do in an insecure wireless network. Beware of public WiFi hotspots and unsecured home wireless networks!
  • "Shoulder surfing" -- where someone looks over your shoulder while you type your password.
  • Sharing your password with someone you know, which also violates K-State IT policy.
  • A phishing attack and other forms of social engineering that trick you into providing your password
  • "Brute force" password cracking that systematically tries to guess your password using different combinations of words, letters, and numbers
  • A compromised computer that can use many of the above techniques. (K-State has had about 125 computers compromised since January.)

In most of the above cases, you would not know your password had been stolen. So, changing your password regularly minimizes the time a hacker has access to your personal information.

While there is debate within the IT security community about the need to change passwords regularly and how frequently that change should occur, this requirement is still considered a best practice and is part of every IT security standard. When combined with using strong passwords, it provides a formidable barrier for hackers to hurdle and thus helps keep your personal information safe.

K-Staters are also reminded that the password-change policy applies to all K-State passwords, not just the eID password.

K-State Online

Don't forget about Assignment Groups

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007

One of the many useful features of K-State Online is the ability to apply Assignment Groups to course assignments. Assignment Groups are a great way to organize the assignments in your course. If you've applied Assignment Groups to your assignments, when you view Adjusted Scores in the Gradebook, all your assignments will be grouped by Assignment Group.

In addition, if you want to apply Assignment Group Rules to groups of assignments, such as dropping X number of lowest quiz scores, you'll need to apply an Assignment Group to those assignments. There are a number of Assignment Groups already created for your use, but you can also create your own by by doing the following:

  1. Go to online.ksu.edu and sign in.
  2. Click the course name link of the desired course.
  3. Under Assessment Tools, click Assignments.
  4. On the Assignment Listing page, click the Assignment Groups link.
  5. Click the Create Groups link.
  6. In the Enter Group Name box, type a name for the new assignment group and then click OK.
  7. If desired, type a description of the new assignment group in the Enter Group Description box, and then click OK. Otherwise just click OK.

What ID number to use on Scantron test forms?

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007. updated 1:38 p.m. Sept. 11, 2007

Help! I'm a new student at K-State. What ID number should I use on my Scantron test forms?

Scantron test-scoring forms use the Wildcat Identification number (WID) as the student identifier. It's the number that starts with "8" in the top left corner of your student ID card.

Wildcat ID number marked on K-State ID card

Also see:

Spotlight

K-State cable channel gets new website, name, programming

by Traci Taylor, Educational Communications Center,
  and Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Sept. 11, 2007

Along with a name change to "K-State TV", K-State's homegrown cable channel got a new website at www.k-state.tv that went live Monday, Sept. 10. The new site's logo is shown below.

screenshot of K-State TV logo on new website

"The site is new, the name is new, and the fall programming starts today," said Traci Taylor, marketing director for the Educational Communications Center in Dole Hall, where K-State TV originates. "We're building up this station incrementally."

Expanding to Wamego and Fort Riley?

K-State TV is available 24 hours a day via Cox and Wildcat cable channel 8 (formerly known as KST8). The name change is part of a plan to expand into other markets, such as Wamego and Fort Riley, where the former call letters might no longer reflect the channel assigned to it.

The channel currently can be seen in Manhattan and Junction City, "but we have hopes of broadening to other local cable markets, and even nationally," Taylor said.

Expanded programming

The new, expanded programming includes:

  • A 10-episode retrospective of the university's prestigious Landon Lectures series, with introductions and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Charles Reagan, lecture series chair
  • "Kids A-Cookin," a family nutrition program by K-State Research and Extension
  • The "Magic of Painting" with local watercolorist Jim Rigg
  • Two programs produced by K-State journalism students: the "Manhattan Matters" news magazine and "Purple Power Hour," which covers K-State sports
  • "ThinkTalk," a newly acquired, career-oriented show in which students interview successful actors, entrepreneurs, politicians and other professionals about their career paths
  • A series from Annenberg Media that aims to improve teachers' expertise in their specialties and their delivery; some programs are also intended for students

"This is the only place in town where any local programming is being produced," said Jim Mock, director of production services for the center. ECC also provides editing and production facilities that rival those in Kansas City and similarly large markets.

"This is niche programming," Mock said, "and we're very aware of that. But that's the beauty of it." The channel, adopting the motto "educate, inform, enrich," can afford to offer programs that will have a limited audience. As Mock said, "They won't find it anywhere else."