February 20, 2013 New Spam Appliance

This past Fall the MSUDenver Department of IT Email Team installed a new Email Security Appliance built by McAffee called McAffee Email Gateway 7.0. This appliance is used to evaluate both incoming and outgoing email messages sent & received by the Faculty and Staff of MSU Denver for Virus, Malware, SPAM Phishing and other Malicious Content contained and transmitted by email. This appliance was installed to replace the aging Ironmail Email Security Appliance, that had been discontinued by McAffee in Spring 2012. Over the past several months the Email team has been monitoring email traffic into the appliance and has seen a drastic reduction in the amount of SPAM and Phishing attempts made to the university. Since January 2013, the new appliance has prevented more then 50,000 SPAM emails from being delivered to the Faculty and Staff of MSUDenver. The college has also seen a drastic reduction in the amount of Phishing attempts delivered to users mailboxes that results in fewer users having their mailboxes compromised. 

Users may have noticed the newly improved quarantine release digest messages that are delivered to them when ever a message that is destined for them is held, because of questionable content. The new digest gives users more control over their mailboxes and allows them to Whitelist or Blacklist email senders as they wish. The users are also able to release messages out of quarantine into their mailboxes, instructions for using the new quarantine digests can be found in the Knowledgebase article

These improvements to the Email Security at MSUDenver have been the result of over 5 months of work from the dedicated Email team in the Department of IT at MSUDenver. If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding Email Security at MSUDenver please contact the IT Service Center at 303-552-7548 on your campus phone or by submitting a ticket online awww.msudenver.edu/gethelp

January 28, 2013 Fake meeting invitation being sent to users on campus

Email users at Metropolitan State University of Denver are receiving a meeting invitation via e-mail that should just be deleted. Responding to this invitation will only result in your e-mail address being added to spam and phishing e-mail lists.

The Windows server administration team is working on our spam filters to help block this message, but in the meantime, please do not“accept” or “decline” this meeting or otherwise respond to the message. Please delete the e-mail.

As always, be wary of any offers of money or requests for usernames, passwords, or “click this link” content in e-mail.

January 22, 2013 Banner System Issues: Impacts on Delivery of Services to Students

Background:

Banner services, including online forms, jobs, and “My Services/Registration” have been running extremely slow, not allowing logins, or completely failing since 1/3/13. No cause or resolution has been identified at this time.

Impacts to Students: 

  • Difficulty getting into the “My Services/Registration” link from the “My Services / Registration” tab on ConnectU.
  • “External System Error” – the system is responding to slowly. - 
  • Printing of the Class Schedule results in a timed out session.
  • Delays in getting information at campus offices as staff are unable to login to the system to check records. 

If  you are experiencing these issues 

  •  Login to the system before 9:00am or in the evening when the system is not as busy.
  •  If a class schedule is needed for the RTD bus pass, go to the Advising Center in SSB-170 to have a schedule printed for you.
  •  For Registration issues, contact the Office of the Registrar in SSB-160.

What is being done:

Administrative Computing staffs have enlisted the help of the Banner vendor, the Oracle database vendor, and 2 consulting firms to help identify and solve the underlying issue that is causing the slowdowns and outages. A major database upgrade was completed on 1/19, but unfortunately this did not solve the problem. Monitoring is taking place to mitigate the problem.

Estimated Resolution Date:

At this time there is not an estimated date for resolution of the underlying problem.

January 14, 2013 Security Alert! – Critical Java browser add-on vulnerabilities

Oracle has announced that multiple vulnerabilities exist for version 7 of its Java browser add-ins.   The standard version installed by default in our environment is version 6, which is not subject to this issue. 

If you have administrative rights on your computer, you may have updated Java to a version that is unsafe.  Your home computer could also be at risk.  These vulnerabilities are severe, making computers susceptible to having malicious software installed by simply visiting a website that has an applet embedded in a web page.  It is highly recommended that you disable Java 7 in your Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox browsers.  Please note that both ConnectU and Banner require Java, but that version 6 should be installed for use on the MSU Denver network.  

Instructions for disabling Java in your browser can be found at: http://gizmodo.com/5975475/how-to-disable-java-in-your-browser?post=56138277 

More detailed information about the vulnerabilities can be found at:

https://blogs.oracle.com/security/entry/security_alert_for_cve_2013

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA13-010A.html

http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/oracle-patches-latest-zero-day-vulnerabilities-in-java-210762

Jan 4, 2013 Google Apps Password Sync for Students

Students are now able to use the same password they use to access their email, log into the student lab computers and access ConnectU also known as their Academia account, to log directly into their google accounts. This will eliminate the necessity to log into ConnectU to access your email, google docs & drive or other features of your Google Apps account.

Simply reset your  Academia account password the next time you are on campus in any of the student computer labs or if you have enrolled in Metro’s Self Service Password Reset Program, visit https://studentreset.msudenver.eduand reset your password. This will automatically synchronize your new password with your google account, allowing you to accesshttp://gmail.msudenver.edu for your google apps.

This new feature allows you to use your mobile devices with GMail as well, just follow GMail’s instructions for adding your email account, located in the settings window when logged into Gmail and be sure to use your username@msudenver.edu and your new password. For more information about using Google Apps Password Sync please visit the MSUDenver GAPSKnowledgebase article 

If you have any trouble or just have questions, please feel free to visit the IT Service Center Windows in West Classroom 241 or Admin Building 4th floor. You can also call the service center at 1-877-352-7548 and you can always visit Metro State’s Technology website, http://www.msudenver.edu/technology/. 

It is very important to know, that if you reset your Gmail password, that does not sync with your Academia password. The sync is only one way, so sync your Academia password first and use that with your Google Account.

Dec 20, 2012 New IT Website Design

Technology Service Teams at MSU Denver are implementing a new site Landing page and site organization. The New www.msudenver.edu/technology will launch 12/20/12.  The new navigation design will allow for customers to more quickly access resources and information, and consolidate resources for Faculty and Staff members. The reorganization of the site will also improve search results in the search tool, and leverage content sharing tools in site manager. 

A new IT communications process will increase the frequency of and aggregate News Items, Alerts, and Outages. Customers who wish to receive updates can now check the IT System Status page or follow updates on the new Twitter account. Users of up the old @mscdit twitter will now need to follow@MSUDenverIT

Dec 3, 2012 IT Strategic Planning Task Force prepares for survey

The 20-member task force supporting the strategic planning process for information technology services is getting organized to survey members of the MSU Denver community about their experiences with IT and how systems and services can better serve the goals of the University.

The task force, with representatives from all of the University’s constituencies, has been meeting weekly since early October to discuss and plan how this process is to be conducted. Now, it is preparing “to hear from a large, representative group across campus before we make big decisions,” says Sandra Haynes, dean of the school of professional studies, who co-chairs the task force with Management Professor Rajendra Khandekar.

The survey and other outreach efforts are aimed at developing a comprehensive blueprint for IT that further integrates technology services into the fabric of the institution, envisions IT as a full partner with the University and not simply as a support group, and advances the goals of A Time of Transformation, MSU Denver’s 2012-17 strategic plan...Read the full @MSU Denver article