News from the WVU Office of Information Technology
MyID.wvu.edu will not be available on Sunday, March 10 from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. due to routine maintenance. During that period, users will not be able to activate their account, change their password, or reset a forgotten password. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The Office of Information Technology offers a variety of free hands-on sessions and online webinars to WVU faculty, staff, and students. Learn how to create a flyer or brochure using InDesign, how to edit images with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, how to create and edit Acrobat PDF files, how to create web pages using Dreamweaver and HTML, or how to use Microsoft Office 2010.
Instructional technology workshops and webinars for faculty include WVU eCampus, i>clicker2 student response systems, Turnitin, and Wimba Classroom.
The Spring 2013 workshop schedule is now online. Pre-registration is required. For more information, go to http://oit.wvu.edu/training/ or email workshop@mail.wvu.edu.
WVU Office of Information Technology will perform maintenance on the campus telephone system and systems related to IP Contact Centers on Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20. Work will begin at 9:00 p.m. on January 19 and conclude by noon on the following day.
During the maintenance period, campus Cisco phones may occasionally reload when idle, however calls in-progress should remain connected.
In addition, the OIT Service Desk at 304-293-4444 will have reduced capacity to accept phone calls. If you require assistance and receive a busy signal when calling, please try your call again later or contact the Service Desk via email at OITHelp@mail.wvu.edu.
This maintenance is a necessary software upgrade and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience.
On January 10, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) released an advisory that Java 7 Update 10 contains “a vulnerability that can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.” Java is a programming language and is part of the underlying technology that drives many of today’s computer programs, including WVU enterprise systems. WVU users may continue to use Java version 6, which does not have this vulnerability.
Scammers can exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to personal data through spam and phishing email. Alex Jalso, director of information security services and interim director of project management, suggests, “If you receive a suspicious email containing unknown links in the body of the message, do not click on the link, do not reply, and forward the message as an attachment to defendyourdata@mail.wvu.edu. After that, delete the email from your inbox.”
Oracle just released a software update (Update 11) to address the Java 7 vulnerability. Staff that support WVU enterprise systems are reviewing the update for compatibility and more communication will follow as they complete testing.
Kate Hazen, assistant vice president for administrative technology solutions, said, “Users should be alerted that some browser vendors like Firefox are attempting to automatically disable your Java plugin. At this time, the WVU enterprise systems need the Java plugin to remain enabled and the version to remain at version 6.”
For instructions on how to re-enable plugins, please contact the OIT Service desk at 293-4444 or email oithelp@mail.wvu.edu.
WVU students, faculty, and staff who received computers as gifts over the holidays and were introduced to the newest version of Microsoft Windows may be asking when the University will move to Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10. WVU IT staff will continue ongoing testing of these new releases with key University systems and will keep the community informed as the various application vendors certify their products for Windows 8 compatibility.
“We know Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 are upon us, but many of our web-based applications such as eCampus, MyAccess, MAP, and STAR are not certified for Windows 8 compatibility and may not be fully compatible with the recent releases,” says Cara Pietrowski, director of OIT client services.
The new system features touch screen capabilities and a markedly different interface that runs on tablets as well as PCs. While some software functionality may work using Windows 8 or the newest web browser, Internet Explorer 10, we recommend users install Firefox version 17 until vendors certify their systems for Windows 8 compatibility.
Brice Knotts, director of student system management says, “Based on our initial testing, Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 are compatible with STAR. There may be some incompatibilities that our testing has not uncovered, but we have successfully used common features and functions with Internet Explorer 10. If individuals experience compatibility issues with Internet Explorer 10, we recommend trying Firefox version 17.”
Amy Kuhn, director of OIT academic and instructional technology, said that WVU eCampus is researching compatibility with Windows 8 and will post updates to ecampus.wvu.edu. Currently, eCampus is certified with Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8. Initial testing shows that Internet Explorer 10 with special configuration (found at ecampus.wvu.edu) can be used with eCampus.
If you have any questions, contact the OIT Service Desk at 304-293-4444, or email oithelp@mail.wvu.edu for help.
Two messages, now circulating around campus, contain harmful attachments that if the unsuspecting user opens, will trigger a virus. Both emails appear to come from a valid “mail.wvu.edu account,” either “Fax Server
Do not open the attachment. Forward the email to DefendYourData@mail.wvu.edu and delete.
Dr. John Campbell, currently an associate vice president for information technology at Purdue University, has been named associate provost for information technology and chief information officer at West Virginia University, effective Jan. 28, 2013.
As associate provost and chief information officer at WVU, Campbell will oversee a staff of 150 and manage an annual budget of $21 million. He will be charged with helping the university attain national research prominence by 2020 by better defining IT services, improving institutional alignment, completing the IT infrastructure and enhancing technology solutions and modernizing customer services.
“I am delighted to bring Dr. Campbell to campus in this role,” said Provost Michele Wheatly. “His areas of expertise align perfectly with our needs going forward. Moreover, he is an experienced leader and will work well with our talented IT staff across campus to realize a number of ambitious goals. In particular, he is steeped in use-inspired IT in higher education and how it can improve teaching, learning, and research.” More online: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2012/12/11/campbell-named-chief-information-officer-at-wvu
The Classroom Technology (CTec) offices at Oglebay Hall will close on Monday, December 17. They will reopen Monday, January 2 at a new location in Hodges Hall room 210.
Telephone and email support will be unaffected during the relocation. If you need to contact CTec about support, training, or Spring semester access, please call the CTec hotline at (304) 293-CTEC or email CTEC@mail.wvu.edu.
Apple and Verizon invite faculty and staff to an executive briefing on how iPhone and iPad work in a business environment. Topics include integration, security and deployment as well as apps for business. The event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. – noon at the Waterfront Place Hotel. More information is available at http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/
You must register to attend this event.
Go to https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e624n02n04b81a07&oseq=
An email is now hitting WVU email accounts claiming that unless the unsuspecting user “confirms” their account information, their Amazon account will be suspended. Users are directed to click on a link that resembles the UK website of Amazon and provide their email address and password. Once there, users are taken to a second page and asked for more information.
Ignore and delete this email. Merchants like Amazon do not communicate account information in this form. Stay skeptical and Defend Your Data! More information is located at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=15835501