More "spam" has gotten through the campus email filter lately. Someone has figured out a way to circumvent our filter. We are working on the problem. It might make you feel better to know that 96% of all the email received by this campus is filtered out as unwanted.

September 29 - Personal Wireless Systems Are Not Allowed

We're currently experiencing some problems with personal wireless access points on the campus. Access points not approved by the IT Department are not allowed as they may interfere with the campus wireless network access. Personal wireless systems need to be shut down immediately or IT will take action to locate and remove them. The following excerpts are from the UCCS wireless policy.
"…wireless technologies are by nature easy to deploy, but highly sensitive to overlapping frequencies. Because of these characteristics, all wireless use must be planned, deployed, and managed in a very careful and centralized fashion to ensure basic functionality, maximum bandwidth, and a secure network."
"The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs's Information Technology Department (IT) will be solely responsible for the deployment and management of 802.11 and related wireless equipment on the campus."

August 18 - Printing Large Files in Paw Prints Labs

One problem we've noted with Paw Prints pay-per-page printing is caused by large documents, not only due to the number of pages but the size of the file. Even a short document can be large in file size. Document size is measured in pages; file size is measured in bytes, typically a number of KB (kilobytes or 1000 bytes). Word documents save each character and typically aren't too large. PDF, photographs, PowerPoint, etc. are saved as graphics which means each pixel or dot must be saved individually and can result in large files. In order to print on a laser printer, all the information on a page must be passed to the printer before it can print. Large files can take too long to process when printing which causes problems in the computer labs, holding up or even stopping the print queues.
See webpage www.uccs.edu/~helpdesk/printsize.htm for more information.

July 10 - Printing Changes for Staff and Faculty

Paw Prints, the UCCS pay-per-page printing system, is now operational and there's a change for staff and faculty when they wish to print in Paw Prints labs. The following restrictions apply ONLY in labs controlled by Paw Prints.
Staff/faculty members that are ALSO current registered students are treated as students in Paw Prints. They will need to add print packages from the website and will be billed on their student accounts.
If a staff/faculty member is not a student, the member's department determines if s/he can print. If allowed to print, the department will be billed for the printing charges. A Paw Prints department manager can set a spending limit in Paw Prints or there are two methods to restrict printing in Paw Prints labs.
1. Each member can be listed individually with a "No Print" status.
2. The department account can be set to zero dollars which prevents all members of the department from printing.
If a staff/faculty member is prohibited from printing in Paw Prints labs by the department, s/he has at least three other options to print on campus.
1. Each department should have printers for their staff and faculty members.
2. There are four public computers at the Reference Desk in the Library that link to a pay-as-you-go printer.
3. The Print Shop in CSB can print from almost any electronic source (www.uccs.edu/printshop).
If a staff/faculty member is a registered student but doesn't wish to be charged as a student, the Paw Prints department manager can change the status from student to staff/faculty. Another alternative is to use one of the three options in the paragraph above.
See the Paw Prints website (www.uccs.edu/pawprints) for more information including
- Buying a print package (student)
- Staff/faculty department groups
- Location of Paw Prints labs
- General Paw Prints information

July 3 - Wireless WPA Working and Better

The secure UCCS wireless (WPA) is now back up and improved. The scan is client-based and much faster, and the product identification is accurate. For university-owned computers and students living in the dorms, they should run Symantec Endpoint Protection to provide both antivirus and antispyware protection. No other programs are needed or recommended. Other computers should use Norton Antivirus which provides the same protection as SEP. See www.uccs.edu/~helpdesk/wireless.htm

June 5 - Webmail Upgrade

The Information Technology Department upgraded the Webmail "skin" today. This will change the appearance but not the operation of Webmail. The upgrade is being done for security reasons. The new skin is called Viewpoint.
The only other skin available will be Aquinox. You can try Aquinox by choosing it on the login page. After you log out, it will return to Viewpoint. If you'd like to switch to Aquinox as your default, log into Webmail and choose Settings. Change the Layout (Skin) to Aquinox and click the checkmark next to the X.
The help sheets on the Help Desk website (www.uccs.edu/helpdesk) still reflect the old skin. We'll work on updating them tomorrow.

May 21 - Paw Prints Pay-Per-Page Printing

This is an update on the status of Paw Prints lab printing and how Information Technology will be handling the necessary details relating to student printing. Beginning May 20 all Paw Prints lab printers will be set up for pay-for-page printing. Between now and the first of July printing will be free. However, everyone will be required to go through the necessary steps to print on Paw Prints lab printers, and thus, become familiar with the new process. After July 1, 2008, Paw Prints will move to full production and all customers will be charged for their printing in Paw Prints labs.
When using Paw Prints lab printers during the testing phase, you will start with a $2.00 credit applied to your Paw Prints account. Once you have used the initial amount, you will need to go through the steps to place more paper onto your account. The website address you will use is pawprints.uccs.edu. After July 1, 2008, a variety of packages will be available and you will be charged for the printing packages you purchase on your university student account. The printing costs will be $.06 for simplex and $.08 for duplex printing.
If you have any questions or printing problems please feel free to contact the IT Help Desk at ext. 3536. For comments or problems with the Paw Prints website or for student billing, contact Kirk Moore at ext. 3418. For information about Paw Prints lab printers (locations, etc.) please go to the Paw Prints website.

February 22 - Auto-Archiving Files With SSNs

Due to the ever-increasing danger of identity theft and recent Federal laws that prohibit unnecessary use of Social Security Numbers, the Information Technology Department has been performing scans of computer systems looking for files with SSNs. These scans have discovered over 11 million SSNs on various servers and Windows-based computers on the UFP domain. (Macintosh computers and computers on the Engineering domain have not yet been scanned.) Most of these files were left over from before the conversion occurred from SSNs to Student IDs and Employee IDs. IT has been working with the owners of computers with a total number of SSNs greater than 500, but there are still vast numbers of SSNs left in smaller amounts on many computers and in many IT accounts (Enterprise and Excelsior servers, also known as your Z: drive).
The good news is that (for the most part) new SSNs are not reappearing on computers. This means that departments have done a great job in changing their business processes to use IDs instead of SSNs. The not-so-good news is that it is taking an extremely long time to work with computer owners to delete, archive or clean SSNs from the files. We realize now that we are going to have to take some automated means to more quickly reduce the risk of exposure of private data in case of a security breach.
IT has met with all the governance groups and it has been decided that we need to archive all files with SSNs to a secure location and then remove those files off the IT Servers. We have also found a large number of old files with SSNs in Recycle Bins (computer trash cans) that we need to archive and remove from local hard drives. Most of these Recycle Bins belong to previous users of computers who forgot to empty (delete) their "e;trash"e; before they left. So, even if the current computer user empties their Recycle Bin, the old files in the previous user's Recycle Bin will not get emptied.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a legitimate business need for keeping the SSNs in your account, please contact Christine Dellacroce, the IT Security Principal, at 262-3211. She will ensure that your files will not be affected and will work with you on properly securing those SSNs.
You will have three weeks to determine if you absolutely need to keep any of these files. If so, please back them up onto a CD or DVD and store them in a locked drawer or cabinet before Monday, March 24, 2008, for files in IT accounts, and before Friday, March 31, 2008, for files in Recycle Bins. The IT department will retain these archived files in a secure area for six months. If you feel you absolutely need to have any of these files restored after they have been archived, please contact Christine Dellacroce, 262-3211, or Scott Carter, 262-3171, before September 30, 2008.
A rescan will be performed after these initial cleanup phases. The number of SSNs still remaining will be evaluated, and we will notify you in the future if/when any of the following file types need to be archived and removed.
- Emails and email attachments on the Unix email server
- Files with SSNs on Macintosh computers
- Files with SSNs on the Engineering (EAS) domain
- Files with SSNs on Columbia
- Files with SSNs on individual hard drives
Please don't hesitate to contact Christine Dellacroce, 262-3211, or Jerry Wilson, 262-3594, with any questions or concerns.

February 21 - IT Security Website Announcement

The Information Technology Department has created a UCCS IT Security Website at www.uccs.edu/itsecure. It can also be accessed through the IT Help Desk website, the IT website and in the AtoZ directory under IT Security or Security. The website contains information on the UCCS IT Privacy and Security Campaign including links to other important sites.

February 18 - FrontPage Web Sites

If you manage a FrontPage website at UCCS and is not working correctly, please send us the website address (web.uccs.edu/???) and an explanation of what's not working and the webpage where the malfunction is. Click on Contact Us.

January 18 - Pay-For-Page Printing Postponed

The Paw Prints Pay-Per-Page printing system has experienced a technical problem and will not be operational at the start of the Spring semester on January 22, 2008. There will be more updates as we work out the problems.

January 17 - Paw Prints Pay-For-Page Printing

The campus pay-per-page print system begins January 17.
Initially there will be no cost for printing and all accounts will have a $2.00 balance. When the $2.00 is used up, you will be required to use the system to activate a free package to continue to print in the labs that are connected to the Paw Prints system. The system will remain free until March 1, 2008, to give everyone the chance to learn how to use the system before charging begins. To check out the system go to pawprints.uccs.edu. For questions call the Information Technology Help Desk at 262-3536.

January 15 - Symantec Endpoint Protection

When you start your university-owned computer on or after Tuesday, Janury 14, the Information Technology Department will download and install a new version of Symantec onto your computer. It's called Symantec Endpoint Protection and it includes both Antivirus and Antispyware. DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER DURING THE INSTALLATION or you risk corrupting your hard drive. A message will appear on your screen telling you that SEP is installing. It may take several minutes depending on the speed of your computer. After it installs, you'll get the normal log on window. DO NOT LOG ON at this time. In a few more seconds, your computer will restart and THEN you may log on.
If you feel the install is taking too long (20+ minutes), please call the Help Desk at 262-3536.
If you don't power your computer up on Tuesday, SEP will install the next time you turn it on.

December 20 - Refresh Computers Now Available For Priority 3 Users

All the information applies in the November 29 entry below except that the IT Help Desk will:
- perform a data transfer if needed.
- deliver and set up the computer(s) to your office.

November 29 - Refresh Computers Available

The IT Department is beginning its official distribution of refresh computers.
This initial round of distributions will be targeted at machines that
- were requested through the Computer Upgrade Request (www.uccs.edu/upgrade).
- have a CPU is at or below the 1Ghz speed limit.
- require no data backup by the IT Help Desk.
If you satisfy the criteria above, please call the IT Help Desk to set up a work order to build a refresh computer for you. Upon completion, you'll need to pick up the computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse from the Help Desk. (For this initial round, IT will not deliver systems.)
Important additional information:
- These computers come with Windows Vista and may not support some older software applications.
- These computers are desktops and do not support full height expansion cards.
- Individual users are responsible for having installation media and/or valid licenses in order to add additional software.
- IT recommends a memory upgrade from 512Mb to 1.5Gb which will produce a noticeable performance increase.

November 19 - Unapproved Wireless Networks

We've noted some problems with personal wireless systems interfering with access to the UCCS wireless network deployed by the Information Technology Department. Unauthorized wireless access points and bridge networks are not allowed on this campus. Bridge networks are likely Macintosh computers configured to allow others to access the network through that Mac. Most problems have been reported in the dorms and in the office side of Columbine Hall. IT can detect and identify all wireless systems on campus. If these systems are not removed, we will have to shut down the wall port.
The Campus Policy 700-004 "Wireless Networks" may be read at http://web.uccs.edu/vcaf/uccspol.html under Information Technology.

November 12 - UCCS Wireless Project

The Information Technology Department is happy to announce the UCCS Campus Wireless project is now live. Students, faculty and staff will be able to connect wirelessly to the campus network from all buildings on the main campus and most outlying buildings including University Hall. Please go to http://wireless.uccs.edu to read more about the project and how to gain access to the wireless network. We have implemented several measures to provide a secure wireless network. However, you should continue using a wired port for everyday work and all sensitive communication.

September 19 - Wireless Access at Jazzman's Cafe

Wireless access for laptop computers at Jazzman's Cafe is no longer working. It will be replaced when the new campus-wide wireless project is complete.
Wireless access in the Engineering Building is not effected.

September 14 - Information About the Security Quiz

This is not an exclusive UCCS program. The links that you see on the Blackboard website say UCCS because that's where you work. This is a CU system-wide requirement and all employees including student employees are required to take the quiz.
Taking the Quiz:
- Go to http://blackboard.cuonline.edu and use your 6-digit employee ID number as both the username and password.
- Under My Training Courses, you should see "Information Privacy and Security-General UCCS." (If you do not see it, see the information below on self-enrolling.) Click on this link.
- You'll see two entries. You need to take the Basic Course first. After it's completed, take the Acknowledgement of Responsibilities.
- When you completed the Acknowledgement, you'll return to the same screen and a third item will be available. This is the Quiz itself. Complete this and you're finished.
Self-Enrolling
- If "Information Privacy and Security-General UCCS" doesn't appear, click on the yellow UCCS Training tab.
- Click the Next button at the bottom to go to the second page. Find "Information Privacy and Security-General UCCS" near the bottom. Click the Enroll button to the right. Click the Submit button. Click the OK button.
- This will return you to the original webpage with "Information Privacy and Security-General UCCS" now available. Follow the instructions above to complete the quiz.
Problems
- However much we'd like to help, the Blackboard server is run by CU-Denver and there's little we can do from here. If you have problems, please contact the Denver help desk at 303-556-6505 or email help@cuonline.edu.

September 11 - Reminder Concerning University Property

Anything purchased with university money must follow state laws concerning disposal. It can be given to anyone else for university use. Otherwise you must work with Facilities for disposal. It's possible to give the property to another tax exempt entity if you work with Facilities.
Since we don't pay sales tax, the university can get into trouble (as can you) if any property is disposed of improperly.