Student Corner: Facebook Security
Lots of us use Facebook these days! We know that it's a good way to keep in touch with family and friends. What you may not know, are some of the security risks you are taking and may not be aware of. Let me fill you in on some issues to watch out for.
It is great to have a long list of friends, but try to limit adding people you do not know. Having your personal information out there is definitely a risk for strangers to find your phone numbers, housing, and everything else about you and your personal life! If you are going to add people you do not know, limit the information posted to just a certain group of people such as your close friends and family or you could not list your information at all. You can change how your personal information is posted by going into the privacy settings. Removing yourself from Facebook search results is an option. This option is available in your privacy settings under the "search" category.
Applications, Facebook games and surveys are rather addicting at times. However, they can be a risk for hacking, malware, and viruses. Be careful! Some applications serve no purpose other than making you click on a link and infecting your PC or posting a rather strange and embarrassing story all over the Newsfeed! This can be especially hurtful to professional contacts you have listed as a friend. If an application is sent to you from a friend, watch for misspelled language or jargon that does not make sense. If it looks strange, trust your gut and block the application from further contacting you.
For more information related to these issues and more, you can visit Facebook's Help Center on FAQ's, Security, and Ways to Report Suspicious Links.
Microsoft Office and Windows Update
Office 2007
There are only about 350 computers left on campus that still have Office 2003. If you or your department needs to be converted, you can contact the Help Desk to make arrangements. If arrangements have not been made before the end of the Spring semester any computers that have not be converted will be converted automatically. New computers are being delivered with Office 2007 and Office 2003 will no longer be available on lab computers in the Fall of 2010.
Windows 7 Update
New computers are still being deployed with Windows XP but ITS does have plans to transition to Windows 7 by early Spring. We are currently making changes to our servers and customizing the standard installation for best performance. Once we make the switch, only new computers will be loaded with Windows 7. We are not planning on converting existing computers to Windows 7 for at least another 18 to 24 months. With Windows 7, your Desktop will be very similar to Windows XP so any training needed will be minimal and can be done at the time of installation.
What's New and Improved In Windows 7
Windows 7 looks very similar to Windows Vista. But there are enhancements and feature which make it better and faster than Vista. Below are some of the new features and options which make Windows 7 unique.
1. Performance and Reliability
Windows 7 performance has trounced XP and Vista on just about every measure. Even more important than raw speed, though, is reliability. Also impressive is its ability to sleep and resume reliably. The Windows 7 power management tools are easy to get to, and the estimates of remaining battery life are generally quite accurate, which certainly wasn�t the case with Windows XP.
2. Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer has also changed a bit. The new command-bar; new left-side pane containing Libraries, Favorites, etc.; new Details Pane; a few new options in "View" menu like Content; and, at last a re-sizable Search-bar.
Overall, the new Explorer looks better and is simple to use. The group "Group By" arrow is now on the left.
3. Desktop Context Menu
Desktop context menu is similar to Vista but you get 3 new options: Share with, Display Settings, and Gadgets.
"Share with" is used for new Home Groups; Display Settings directly launches the Graphics card Properties tab; and, Gadgets launches the Sidebar Gadget list.
4. New Control Panel
The Control Panel window has also been modified. The left sidebar takes very less space and resizes itself whenever any control panel item is opened in the window. It provides more space. You can also switch to Small Icons view by clicking "View by" in the upper right area and selecting that option.
5. System Tray
Now icons in the System tray are highlighted when you move the cursor over them. Also, you can see a little difference in icons when you click on them. The little arrow at start shows the hidden/inactive icons.
The empty space of the taskbar is the new "Show Desktop" shortcut. It minimizes all open window and shows the Desktop. Very handy and a cool feature.
6. New Taskbar Options
The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties contain a few new options and have a re-designed interface.
As you can see, now you can change the taskbar location directly from the drop-down box. The Classic Start Menu has been removed as well.
7. Ribbons in MSPaint and Wordpad
Both MS Paint and Wordpad now use the Ribbon interface.
MSPaint
Wordpad
8. Re-designed Calculator
The Calculator has also been re-designed. It provides new options: Programmer, Statistics and more.
After Hours and Emergency Help is Available.
The ITS Help Desk is open Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. We realize that to provide excellent service, we need to be available outside of normal business hours. Therefore, the Help Desk offers additional phone support hours:
Monday - Thursday: 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday: Noon to 5:00 pm
Sunday: Noon to 9:00 pm
You can call the ITS Help Desk and leave a message at any time. Your call will be returned during our phone support hours or the next scheduled business hours. ITS Help Desk Phone Number: 814-871-7501.
ITS is prepared to respond to an emergency.
Examples of an emergency are:
- Gannon network is down
- Gannon Phone system not operational
- GUXpress or Angel or myGannon portal is down
If there is an emergency, please follow these simple steps to contact us:
1) Call Security, 871-7000 and the operator will verify that the Help Desk is closed.
2) Give the operator your name, phone number and the nature of your emergency.
3) The operator will contact the emergency on-call technician and provide them with the details of the emergency.
Non-emergency Issues:
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Resetting your password is not an emergency. To reset your password, use the 'Activate My ID' link on the my.gannon.edu page. |
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Not being able to access the internet on your computer is not an emergency. Contact the Help Desk during business hours for assistance or leave a voice mail message if you are calling after hours. |
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Class not listed in Angel, is not an emergency. Contact the Help Desk during business hours for assistance or leave a voice mail message if you are calling after hours. |
The on-call technician will respond to true emergencies.
Tip of the Month: Are Remanufactured Toner Cartridges a Better Value?
Reliability means you save time and money!
The proof is in the printing. In independent testing, more than 33% of tested remanufactured toner cartridges experienced problems:
- Nearly 7% of tested remanufactured toner cartridges failed prematurely - some right out of the box!
- For more than 25% of the tested remanufactured cartridges tested, 50% or more pages inspected were of limited or no use.
Is it really "good enough"?
Lower-priced laser printer toner delivers just what you'd expect. Lower quality. QualityLogic asked real business printing customers about the level of print quality they require for different business purposes. Often, remanufactured cartridge print quality degrades, resulting in pages that are not good enough for distribution to customers and others outside the company - or even for circulation within the company. Frustration you don't need:
- Reprinting poor-quality pages.
- Wasted supplies.
- A drain on productivity.
- Increased cost of printing.
A better value by up to $76!
A set of Original HP Color LaserJet printer toner cartridges can cost up to $76 less than remanufactured cartridges when you factor in the costs of reprinting pages that don't meet business customers' standards for external distribution. If you want to truly measure the affordability of printer toner, take into account the reliable performance you get with Original HP supplies:
- Fewer complications.
- Less downtime dealing with leaky remanufactured cartridges.
- More success.
Choose wisely and save time and money!
Original HP Supplies are known for their superior reliability. But did you know you can save up to 10% over the cost of single cartridges when you choose an HP multipack. HP also offers high-capacity cartridges featuring everyday savings of up to 35%. Paying less for discount toner sounds like a simple way to save on printing supplies, until you consider the additional costs. The price for poor quality printing adds up:
- paying for extra paper.
- reprinting documents a second or third time.
- buying replacement discount toner cartridges for the one in every three that have a problem or fail.
http://www.hp.com/sbso/product/supplies/toner-cartridge-refill.html
http://www.hp.com/sbso/product/supplies/toner-choice.html
Staff Focus
Joe Walker, Junior AV Technician
Joe graduated from Gannon University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2008. Prior to graduating, he was an intern with Gannon SBDC and also a work study at ITS.
Joe is responsible for updating and maintaining hardware and software technology in the labs. He supports all of the classrooms on campus with podiums, Extron equipment, projectors, etc.; as well as the audio visual rentals for faculty and staff and portable setups for conferences or events. He is Dell certified on desktop and laptop hardware to fulfill the maintenance needs for faculty and staff computers.
Joe also maintains the Scantron machine which some instructors use for test scoring. Completed test forms are fed into the Scantron which reads the answers using lasers, and calculates the test score.
Joe's favorite technical gadget is his Nerf USB Missile Launcher which shoots little foam darts. He is able to take control of the airspace in and around his cubicle, using his PC to aim and launch the 3 foam missiles to secure his borders and defend his homecube. During lunch, you can usually find Joe in his office defending his borders.
Top 5 Help Desk Calls
As expected, student computer calls greatly increased in January. Cisco Clean Access (CCA) was updated over break and now requires 64-bit computers to authenticate through CCA. The main reason for connection issues, was the fact that the computers did not have current service packs and/or software updates. Student computer calls accounted for 40% of the Top 5 Help Desk with 247 calls.
In preparation for the extra volume of calls that we expected, the Help Desk provided additional technical support hours on Sunday, 1/10/10 and evenings from 4:30 to 9:00 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for the first week of semester. During those days, the Help Desk assisted a total of 143 student computers.
In January, we had a total of 1,050 new work orders opened. The Top 5 calls were Student Computer with 247or 40% of the top 5 calls; Password calls of 162 for 27% of the top 5 calls; Software with 79 calls or 13% of the top 5 calls; Email with 71 calls for 12% and Network calls with 51 or 8% of the top 5 calls.
From The Director's Desk
'"Unblock LimeWire, it's our choice to download what we want" - that comment was submitted by a student on the recent SGA Technology Survey. Although this is just one student's opinion, I have heard similar comments and fear that it's an opinion held by many. While it is true that you can download what you want, there are consequences to your actions. By downloading a song or movie without paying the copyright holder you are violating Gannon policy and federal law. Many college students have been sued by the recording and motion picture industries, fined thousands of dollars, and faced both civil and criminal penalties.
Also, LimeWire as well as other popular file-sharing programs like BitTorrent, KaZaa, Ares and many others may contain viruses and malware that can compromise sensitive information on your PC or risk other PCs and servers on Gannon's network.
It is important that you educate yourself about this issue, never download illegal materials, and consider using one of the many legal ways to download music, movies and TV shows. Much more useful information is posted on the ITS website at http://www.gannon.edu/resource/compctr/P2P.ihtml. |
- Mark Jordano
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