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NEWSLETTER FOR LINCOLN UNIVERSITY STAFF AND POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
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Issu 0
10
bITS is published
monthly by
Information Technology
Services
To submit or request articles or
to amend the mailing list,
contact the editor:
David Hollander, extn 8036
Email: [email protected]
bITS is available on the Web at:
http://ithelp.lincoln.ac.nz/bits
Information Technology Services
PO Box 84
Lincoln University
Canterbury
Phone (03) 325 2811
Fax (03) 325 3865
…is presumably a hecto-bIT, or something similar. This is the one hundredth issue
of bITS. For the last nine years ITS has produced bITS as a regular newsletter to
keep Lincoln people informed about IT-related news and developments on-campus.
Before that the publication was called CERcular (September 1998–February 2000)
and before that Pass Word. In fact, ITS or its equivalent grouping at Lincoln has
published a regular newsletter since 1983. The Library has copies of them all if
anyone is interested in tracing the development of computing resources at Lincoln
or simply in having a giggle at what were once (not so long ago!) considered highquality computer specifications.
Each month (except January) we print 650 copies of bITS which are circulated to all staff and
postgraduates in faculties, departments and service groups around the university. We also post
a few copies to other institutions and individuals associated with the university. Any left-over
copies are kept at the IT Service Desk for people to take one if they wish. bITS is also available
online — from the staff homepage, click on IT Services|bITS Newsletters.
Since 1995 the ITS publication has been a monthly production with a nominal publication date of
the first of each month. In recent years this timeline has become increasingly difficult to meet.
One option for the future is to return to a bi-monthly format. With computing and other IT-related
technologies becoming increasingly part of the infrastructure of life and work on-campus, there
is a need to ensure good and timely communication of news and developments amongst the campus
community. ITS will continue its commitment to open and effective communication in the future.
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March 2009
NUMBER
100
P.S. Many people around the university appreciate bITS. I would like to express my thanks to David
Hollander, the person who makes sure that bITS happens. David looks for opportunities for articles,
encourages (or even cajoles) ITS staff to contribute when he identifies things that people should
know about and chases up contributors around deadlines. He makes sure the newsletter is well
presented and interesting. He does all of this with calm efficiency — thank you.
John Buckler
LUCAS & Online
Enrolment
Office 2007
In the February bITS I wrote an article about the
deployment of Office 2007 to all computer suites and
lecture theatres. A number of technical issues arose with
the ‘bubble’ application that was originally installed in
the computer suites. To solve these issues ITS have
deployed the full Office 2007 application in most computer
suites — the ‘bubble’ is still available in H143.
LUCAS stands for Lincoln University Campus
Administration System and comprises PeopleSoft’s
Student and Human Resource modules. We recently
upgraded from version 7.6 to version 9.
Crunch time for the upgrade was enrolment for semester 1
2009. The registration event was hosted in the Library for the
first time due to the fact that hundreds of both new and
returning students completed their enrolment online using
LUCAS. So the enrolment experience this year has been very
different from previous years for both students and staff.
Students have been able to enrol online, anytime between 1
December 2008 and the start of semester 1 this year, from
almost anywhere in the world!
What does this mean for me? There is not a lot a difference between
the two applications of Office 2007 for users. Remember that both
Office 2003 and 2007 are available in all computer suites and lecture
theatres. In both areas, the file associations default to Office 2007,
so if you double-click an Office document it will open in Office 2007.
If you wish to open a document in Office 2003, first open the Office
2003 application and then click File|Open and navigate to the file.
Online enrolment raises issues about how and when we
communicate with students and what information we make
available, but as far as students go, it can be a real benefit and
a positive introduction to their Lincoln experience.
Andrew Frapwell
Halls Network
For some time now Hudson and Southland Halls
have enjoyed cabled network access for residents.
This network is called ResNet and last year the
decision was made to extend ResNet access to all
the other halls and student flats. At first it was
planned to install a wireless mesh network solution.
However due to the sturdy construction of the halls
buildings, the cover provided by the wireless mesh
did not consistently provide 100% coverage to all
areas.
The decision was made to cable these areas and work
commenced at the end of semester 2 2008. The cabling company
and the ITS Infrastructure team had yet another hectic summer
break! The cabling was completed just before the start of
Semester 1 this year.
Students living in the halls are embracing the new ResNet
connections and already more than two hundred connections
are online from the newly-connected halls.
Student flats in the Crescent and Farm Road remain wireless
as these areas are too far from the physical network to make
cabling a feasible solution. The wireless mesh network solution
will be deployed to improve access in these areas and provide
ResNet coverage in common areas of the halls.
Andrew Frapwell
Andrew Frapwell
Report-it
People using the computer suites may notice a new screen saver.
The screen saver is part of the university’s involvement with a
new anti-harassment program being developed by a range of
government and local agencies. These agencies include:
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Christchurch City Council
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Human Rights Commission
Lincoln University
New Zealand Police
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu
University of Canterbury
The program has a website (http://www.report-it.org.nz) where people can
learn more about their rights and get help if they feel they are being subjected
to harassment at their place of study.
Andrew Frapwell
Student Webmail System
All students now have a new mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange
Labs system, except for existing postgraduate ‘departmental’
mailboxes which will move from Pegasus to the new system on
a to-be-advised date in March or April. The system includes
calendaring and other features, and is accessible from almost
any web browser on or off-campus.
For up-to-date information, click on the IT Projects link accessible under
Planning and Projects on the Staff Intranet home page.
Martyn Brown
Security Notes From The
Trenches
Sometimes it feels that as computer users we are on the losing
side of a very lopsided war. In fact you could be forgiven for
being scared off using a computer for life, what with all the
phishing scams, trojans, worms, botnet armies, viruses and
more assailing us from all directions.
Storage of Colour
Slides
Despite the large-scale shift to digital
photography in recent years, many groups and
individuals on campus still hold collections of
35 mm colour slides. These are mostly stored
in PVC plastic sheets which hang in filing
cabinets. This is a convenient storage system
as it enables quick access to locate and view
slides, but it is not a good long-term storage
option; PVC is not suitable for long-term
photographic storage as the plastic breaks down
over time and releases gasses which accelerate
changes in the photographic emulsion - that
part of film which comprises the image.
Safe, archival-quality storage materials are now available
for housing colour slides. They are not expensive, and
are available in the same format as the old materials; a
see-through sheet, holding 24 slides which can be stored
in a filing cabinet (using the same hanging bar system
as before). The difference is that these materials will not
affect the long-term stability of your images.
So if you wish to maintain your slide collection in good
condition, you should make the change to a safe storage
option. If you would like more information, please contact
me ([email protected]).
David Hollander
Can you do anything about it? Should you simply stop using a computer?!
What about using an Apple Mac instead of a Windows PC? Life would get
pretty inconvenient if you stopped using a computer completely, and even
Apple Mac users aren’t immune from viruses, trojans and other malware —
they are just less common. And don’t get me started with holier-than-thou
Linux users; the simple fact is, if you use a computer you have to be careful.
In this series of columns I will try to highlight some of the current issues in
the online security world, providing information and practical tips on keeping
yourself safer online. There is a lot of syndicated content out there, and this
month we feature content from the Ouch! newsletter published by
www.sans.org. It usually makes good reading and they also allow us to republish their content. So here are some of the highlights from the latest
February newsletter.
Royston Boot
Is my home computer infected with a virus? What
should I do?
Be alert! After you open and run an infected program or attachment on your
computer, you might not realize that you’ve introduced a virus until you
notice something isn’t quite right. Here are some signs that your computer
might be infected:
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Your computer runs more slowly than normal.
Your computer stops responding or locks up often.
Your computer crashes and restarts every few minutes.
Your computer restarts on its own and then fails to run normally.
Applications on your computer don’t work correctly.
Disks or disk drives are inaccessible.
You can’t print normally.
You see unusual error messages.
You see distorted menus and dialog boxes.
These are common symptoms of infection, but they might also indicate
hardware or software problems that have nothing to do with a virus.
Be smart! Do not ignore the symptoms. Write them down, especially the text
of any unusual error messages. Look for a pattern, and make a note of it. For
example, are all of your applications affected? Is the problem only with
printing? When does your system crash?
Contact your network administrator (computer help desk) or your Internet
Service Provider, or call the technical support number provided by the
manufacturer of your system. The technician may advise you to stop using
your computer. If so, follow that advice. Short-term inconvenience is better
than losing all your data or having your identity stolen.
Make sure your anti-virus is up to date (see ithelp.lincoln.ac.nz/virus to get
access to the free Sophos antivirus program), and that you run malware
scanning programs such as Adaware, Spybot Search and Destroy or the
Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool. This latter tool gets updated
every month through Windows Update and runs in the background. You can
also run a scan from the Microsoft website, or download a stand-alone copy.
You do have Windows Update running don’t you?!
continued over page...
Security Newsbytes
• Downadup or Conficker Worm Bores into 20 Million PCs
An estimated 20 million Windows PCs have been infected by
the “Downadup” or “Conficker” worm in just a few weeks.
Although Microsoft fixed the flaw with an out-of-cycle update
in late October, about one third of all PCs have not yet been
patched, according to Qualys Inc., a security company.
Those PCs are the ones being hijacked by the worm. Once
it’s gotten onto a PC, Downadup generates a list of possible
domains, selects one, then uses that URL to reach a malicious
server from which it downloads additional malware to install
on the hijacked computer.
• Mac Malware Tide on the Rise
Less than a week after researchers spotted new malware
targeting naive Mac users, two additional titles have been
spotted. Trojan-horse software dubbed
OSX.Trojan.iServices.B hitches a ride on pirated copies of
Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac. A program used to generate
a valid serial number to unlock the Adobe application installs
a backdoor on machines that makes them part of a botnet.
Another Trojan piggybacks off illicit copies of Apple’s iWork
09 productivity suite.
Trojans aren’t the only threats preying on OS X users. Two
new rogue applications that claim to offer malware
protection for Mac users have recently been spotted. Rogue
anti-virus programs have long been the bane of PC users.
Now they’re becoming increasingly common on the Mac
platform, too.
• Spam Rises 150% in Two Months
The number of junk emails being sent to computer users
around the world has risen more than 150 percent in two
months, as spammers fight back against efforts to shut
them down. According to data compiled by Google, computer
users can expect to receive more unsolicited emails this year
than ever before. Spammers use networks of compromised
computers, known as botnets, to amass enough computing
power to send millions of messages a day. The vast majority
of owners of those systems do not know they are being used
for this purpose.