Since this is the first TechTalk for the academic
year, let me greet all new members of our community
and welcome all returning faculty, students and staff.
Miami is a great place to live, learn and work and
there are exciting things happening in information
technology across our university. I'd like to take
a few moments to share a few clear successes that have
occurred over the summer and early fall as well as
to discuss the recently discovered data exposure incident
and how the university is addressing it both short-
and long-term.
38
Classrooms Receive Upgraded Presentation Equipment
During Summer ‘05
Between May and August 2005, Classroom Services
upgraded the electronic presentation equipment
in 38 classrooms to the Standard Technology level.
The 38 classrooms were selected by the Classroom
Enhancement Council and include 27 classrooms on
the Oxford campus, 8 on the Middletown campus,
and 3 on the Hamilton campus.
Alert!
New Policy to Delete “Sent”E-mail
Older than 30 Days
Due to a huge increase in the number of e-mail
messages stored in myMiami ”Sent”folders,
a new deletion policy will go into effect on October
10, 2005. Email stored in the “Sent”e-mail
folder that is more than thirty days old will be
deleted. This will allow the university to recover
over 660 gigabytes of e-mail storage space.
E-mail
Tip: Using Spam Scoring to Filter Junk E-mail
Miami’s incoming e-mail server uses a spam
scoring system that provides the option of configuring
e-mail applications (myMiami, Outlook, Eudora,
etc.) to filter e-mail identified as spam, so it
is not delivered to the in box.
FY06
Operational Plan and Portfolio Rebalancing
IT Services recently finalized the FY06 Operational
Plan. This plan was developed through the first
IT Services’project planning cycle that included
a university-wide nomination process.
Hardware
Repair Service Brought In-House
In March 2005, IT Services began performing hardware
repair services for university-owned computers.
Bringing the hardware repair operation in-house
has doubled the resources for this service while
lowering the cost to the University.
I Wish
I Knew: Student Voices of Experience
Who knows best what students need to know about
technology to survive and thrive? Students, of
course!
During spring 2005, IT Services asked students
what technology advice they felt would be most
valuable to other students. We received lots of
great responses which we’ll be sharing in
this new feature column in the student edition
of TechTalk.
IT
Services Wants to Hear from You!
This October, IT Services will be seeking feedback
on the state of IT at Miami and we want to hear
from you. As part of our annual IT Strategic Plan
renewal, we will be conducting forums and an online
survey to gather valuable feedback and your input
is important to us.
Information
Security Series: Are You Harboring a Bot?
A bot (short for robot) is a program that is placed
on a computer without the knowledge of the computer
owner and is used by a hacker to launch attacks
on other computers. For instance, on June 16, 2004,
a large network of botnets attacked several major
web sites (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple Computer)
by blocking access to their sites.
Miami
Notifying Students, Alumni of Data Exposure Incident
Miami University is notifying all students who
attended Miami during the fall 2002 semester that
a report containing their names, Social Security
numbers and grades had been inadvertently placed
in a file accessible through the Internet. (See full
press release.)
Laptops & iPods:
the Fine Arts Mobile Community
By Brad Myers, Computer
Services Coordinator, School of Fine Arts
Over 3 years ago, student-owned laptops & iPods
invaded Architecture & Interior Design and
the mobile community never looked back! Was it
innovation at its best? Almost! The program was
actually adopted to compensate for diminishing
equipment budgets…crunches we’ve all
had to deal with.
Lights,
Camera, Action!
“Loaner”Digital
Camcorders now available from the Gaskill LTC
The Gaskill Learning Technologies Center (LTC)
in 200 Gaskill Hall recently acquired four new
Canon camcorders for student use. Currently enrolled
students can borrow these digital video-cameras
for up to 2 days. To use the camera, students must
have a mini-DV tape which can be purchased from
the Bookstore or off-campus.
Making
myMiami Yours
Over this past summer, IT Services enhanced both
the myMiami portal and Blackboard. Changes were
made in May and again in August that merged myMiami
and Blackboard into one easy-to-use application
with new functionality and many new, client customizable
features.
New
Credit Card Payment Feature Available on Miami’s
Pay Online Service
By Karen McIntyre, Assistant to Bursar, Office
of the Bursar
As of July, 2005, Miami University began accepting
MasterCard, Discover, and American Express payments
for tuition and fees through our secured web-based
payment service. This service is provided through
CASHNet, an Alameda, California, company that has
provided Miami University’s cashiering system
since 1999.
Update
on Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Miami implemented a ban on Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
file sharing applications in spring of 2004, due
to the virus activity on ports used by P2P applications.
When the ban was lifted for 30 days in fall of
2004, the university was deluged with ‘copyright
infringement’ notices from RIAA and other
copyright holders. Miami reinstituted the ban on
P2P so that staff time could be spent on service
improvements, not on reacting to potential law
suits.
Update
Your Desktop E-mail Application to Use SSL!
As of Spring 2005, Miami’s incoming e-mail
server began supporting SSL connections. SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol that creates
a secure connection between two computers and encrypts
the data exchanged between the computers. SSL was
put in place on Miami's incoming e-mail server
so that the MUnet password would be encrypted when
transmitted between the server and desktop e-mail
applications (like Eudora, Outlook, Outlook Express,
Mac OS X Mail, etc.)
Wireless
Available Everywhere (Almost) on Miami’s
Campuses!
As of Fall 2005, Miami’s students, faculty,
and staff have access to Miami’s wireless
data network, known as MU Wireless, in every building
on all four of Miami’s campuses. Wireless
coverage is also available in popular outdoor areas
on the Oxford, Hamilton and Middletown campuses.
Outdoor coverage maps can be found on the MU Wireless
web site at http://www.muohio.edu/wireless.
