• Jan. 22, 2008

Panasonic projector demo Wednesday
features wireless LAN, auto-rolling filter

by Kevin Shippy, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 22, 2008

Representatives from Panasonic and Kansas City Audio Visual will be on campus Wednesday to demonstrate the latest in projector technology, including improved wireless LAN and auto-rolling filters for low maintenance. Stop by 8:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, in 301 Hale Library to view the projectors and ask questions. The demonstration will feature the following models of Panasonic multimedia projectors:

  • Panasonic PT-FW100NTU
  • Panasonic PT-D4000U
  • Panasonic PT-DW5100U

There will not be a formal presentation. Everyone is welcome to stop by, view the projectors, and visit with the Panasonic staff. Questions about this equipment should be sent to (785) 532-3343, kshippy@k-state.edu.

Spring IDT Roundtable Series starts Thursday, Jan. 24

by Swasati Mukherjee, Office of Mediated Education
published Jan. 22, 2008

The first session of the spring 2008 series of the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) Roundtable Series will be "YouTube in/on/of/for the classroom" presented by Michael Wesch, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union.

There are now more than 100 million videos online. It would take more than 400 years to watch it all, and the collection is growing. Video content is being added 100 times faster than it can be viewed. Some of these videos can be great resources for your teaching and research. In this presentation, Michael Wesch will show you how to find them, download them, manipulate them, create them, and teach your students to do the same.

Registration and refreshments start at 10:45 a.m. RSVP by contacting the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, 785-532-7828, catl@k-state.edu. Coffee, tea, and water will be available, and you are welcome to bring your lunch.

Facebook users being targeted by phishing scam

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Jan. 22, 2008

Facebook users beware -- you are now the target of a phishing attack that attempts to steal your Facebook username and password. Wired.com reports this phishing scam uses a bogus but legitimate-looking message as bait to lure you into the trap. It appears in Facebook on your wall from one of your friends (who apparently has had their account hacked, or it is from someone you do not know who somehow got added as your friend). Since it's from a friend, people are easily duped into clicking on the included link, which is actually a fake Facebook log-in page hosted on a computer in China. Unsuspecting victims proceed to log in, thus giving the hackers their username and password before actually logging in to Facebook.

It appears that this phishing attack only steals Facebook usernames and passwords. What can a hacker do with your compromised profile?

  • Use it to try to trick others into divulging private information.
  • Use it to host malware (such as a keylogger) that could steal bank account and credit card information.
  • Make purchases with your credit card, since your Facebook profile can store credit card information (although the purchases are limited to what you can buy in Facebook).
  • Have access to a great deal of personal information about you that can be used in other social engineering attacks.
  • Use your personal information to send you and your friends more spam.
  • Access other accounts that use the same password.

Don't use your Facebook password for your online banking accounts, or even eBay and Amazon.com). Hackers may be able to discover information about other accounts from your Facebook message Inbox.

Detailed suggestions for protecting yourself are in this week's security tip, How to defend against Facebook phishing scams. And remember, it is against K-State policy to use your eID password for accounts outside K-State. See Requirements for Information, Computing and Network Security (item "g.") in K-State's information security policy.

Security tip of the week

How to defend against Facebook phishing scams

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Jan. 22, 2008

First it was floppy disks. Then e-mail. Then instant messaging. And now Facebook. It was only a matter of time before Facebook became the next target of hackers in their attempts to infect systems or defraud people. Hackers will always try to exploit the latest form of communication.

For details on the latest threat, read Facebook users being targeted by phishing scam (above). Then use the suggestions below to help keep you from becoming a victim of this latest type of scam.

  • Do NOT use your eID password for your Facebook account. That way, if a hacker does get your Facebook password, he won't have access to your K-State resources. Plus, it's against K-State policy to use your eID password for accounts outside K-State.
  • Do not click on a link unless you are SURE it is legitimate. Be suspicious, even if it appears to be from a friend. Check with the friend first to make sure he/she posted the message.
  • Scrutinize the actual address of a link before you click on it. In this scam, the link was http://www.facebook.com.profile.php.id.371233.cn, which looks legitimate but upon closer inspection reveals it is an address in China -- note the ending of "371233.cn". (That site has already been removed.) A legitimate Facebook address ends in "facebook.com".
  • Only log in to Facebook using the following addresses:
  • Change your Facebook password periodically, just like you do with your eID password.
  • Use a web browser with a phishing filter that warns you of suspected scam sites. The URL in this scam triggers a pop-up window in Firefox warning of a "Suspected Web Forgery". Heed those warnings!

If a new technology is popular, you can count on hackers finding ways to exploit it. Similarly, as defenses catch up -- such as good malware filters in e-mail systems -- hackers move on in search of other ways to trick people where the defenses are not as good and users are less cautious. Second Life users, beware -- you are probably the next target!

K-State Online

How to create online space for student group projects?

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 22, 2008

Is there a way I can create an online space that students can use to collaborate while working on group projects? I want to be able to pick who is in the groups.

Yes, use the Student Group tool in K-State Online.

  1. Under the Users section on the Course Tools page, click the Student link.
  2. On the menu, click the Create New Group link.
  3. From the Select a Section list, select the section containing the students you are placing in groups.
  4. In the Group Name box, type a group name (for example, Group A, Group 1, etc.)
  5. If desired, type a description in the Short Description box.
  6. In the Start Group On and End Group On date and time boxes, enter the date and time you want students to have access to the group tools.
  7. Choose the icon for the group, or upload your own icon by clicking the Browse button and navigating to your icon location.
  8. From the Select a color list, select the color for the group.
  9. If desired, select the checkbox next to Lock this group (prevents student access). If you lock the group, students will see their group link, but cannot open or access their group until you unlock the group by deselecting this option.
  10. Select or deselect the components you want the group to have access to and be able to use. The components are similar to your course components, but only students within a group have access to the group components.
  11. Click the Save button.
  12. On the menu, click Manage Members.
  13. Click the check box next to each student you want to add to the group and then click the Add Student link.

Repeat these steps for adding more groups.

iSIS Help website location, advisor training times?

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 22, 2008

What is the URL for the iSIS Help information?

It's www.k-state.edu/isishelp. There you will find FAQs, a glossary of iSIS terminology, training handouts, and PowerPoints from past iSIS presentations.

I understand that the iSIS advisor training sessions will be offered four times a day, but can't seem to find the start time in the HRIS links. Any ideas where to find this information?

iSIS training for advisors is generally four times a day, beginning Jan. 23. The sessions in the HRIS registration page are listed in the following order of start times:

  • 8:30-10 a.m.
  • 10:30 a.m.-noon
  • 1-2:30 p.m.
  • 3-4:30 p.m.

Note these exceptions for the Jan. 24-25 schedules:

  • Thursday, Jan. 24 -- There is no 3 p.m. class
  • Friday, Jan. 25 -- There is no 1 p.m. class
  • Friday, Jan. 25 -- There is no 3 p.m. class
Spotlight

What books are information technology staff reading?

by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Jan. 22, 2008

 

  • Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
  • Small is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin
  • The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
  • The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture by Andrew Keen
  • Knowledge Workers in the Information Society edited by Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco