RESOLVED: Apporto (Virtual Lab Environment) Outage

UPDATE: As of 3:30PM, issue has been resolved. Apporto is up and running again.


ITS is currently experiencing an outage for our virtual lab environment, Apporto. Use of Apporto is momentarily down until further notice.

An update will be provided here when the issue has been resolved.

Google Hangouts Classic Deprecation Transition to Google Hangouts Chat Today! ***ACTION REQUIRED***

Google Hangouts Classic will no Longer Work

We’re excited to share that Google will be transitioning to its newest collaboration product, Google Hangouts Chat.













Beginning June 2020, Google will officially deprecate the Google Hangouts Classic feature in Gmail. This will be replaced with the new and improved Google Hangouts Chat feature, which supports many great features aimed towards productivity such as Chat rooms, modern interface, file uploading while chatting, adding Drive files, and much more.

As a result, any group chats that happen with Google Hangouts Classic will not be shown in the new Google Chat, so be sure to use Google Hangouts Chat to keep track of your messages. We recommend viewing this article on the interoperability of Google Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Classic.

To switch from Google Hangouts Classic to Google Hangouts Chat, all you have to do is navigate to chat.google.com and start chatting there! You can also download the new mobile app for Android or iOS, as well as download the new standalone desktop app. You'll be able to access the desktop app from a prompt that will appear inside chat.google.com.

For more help with getting started with Google Hangouts Chat, please view this resource on Getting Started with Google Hangouts Chat.

RESOLVED: Thomas Hall - Network Outage

RESOLVED: ITS was able to come in early this morning, Nov 20, and replace all failed network equipment. All computers, phones, registers, and wireless access points should be back online. If you are still having network connectivity issues, please contact ITS.

UPDATE8: ITS has received the new network equipment replacement this morning. We will be coming in tomorrow, November 20th, at 7am to remove the old failed equipment and install the new equipment. All of wireless throughout Thomas and most of the wired connections on the 3rd and 4th floor will be affected during this maintenance period. We will try to keep the high priority connections online for as long as possible during this move, but they will have a short downtime while we migrate these temporary connections to the newly installed equipment. Due to the extent of this equipment replacement, some roaming outages may occur into the working hours, but we will do the best we can to avoid this.

UPDATE7: As of 1:15pm, after some lengthy troubleshooting, ITS was able to bring a majority of wired and wireless connections back online, including computers and VoIP phones, however, there is still numerous devices down. ITS is still troubleshooting and working with our vendor to get the remaining devices back online. We apologize for this inconvenience.

UPDATE6: As of 11:10am, we received the replacement part from our vendor for the switch failure in Thomas Hall 3rd floor, unfortunately, this did not resolve the original issue. ITS is in contacts with the vendor for next steps. Only emergency computers, phones, and wireless on the 3rd floor has been restored since last Friday. Remaining computers, VoIP phones, and wireless will remain offline. We apologize greatly for this inconvenience, however, are working as hard and as fast as we can to fully restore network capabilities to the affected areas.

UPDATE5: As of 2:50pm, we were able to restore the wireless network for APs located on the third floor only. The remaining APs will stay offline until the replacement equipment has been received. We apologize for this inconvenience.

UPDATE4: As of 12pm, all critical phones and computers in Thomas 3rd floor has been reconnected. ITS has put in a ticket with our vendor to have the original network equipment replaced. Wireless and any remaining connections that are currently down will stay down until we have the replacement equipment.

UPDATE3: As of 10:50am, all POS registers should be online. ITS is working on phones and high priority computers in Financial Aid office.

UPDATE2: As of 9:45am, the temporary network equipment is in place. ITS is slowly migrating connections from the old equipment to the new equipment. We are prioritizing the POS registers, cameras, and phones at this point. Things will start to come online, but slowly.

UPDATE1: As of 9:00am, it has been determined that a piece of network equipment has failed. ITS is currently in the process of bringing a new piece of equipment to Thomas Hall to temporarily replace the old one.

ITS is aware of a network outage in Thomas Hall and is currently working on troubleshooting and fixing the issue.

All POS registers and all wireless networks are affected throughout the building. The wired connections for the 3rd and 4th floors are also affected. Wired connections for the rest of the building are not affected.

ITS will update the community by 9am. We apologize for this inconvenience.

How Can Higher Ed Better Prepare Cybersecurity Students for a Hot Job Market?

The 2018 (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study estimates a global shortage of cybersecurity professionals of around three million workers. This shortage of skilled job seekers is having a real-world impact on companies and the people responsible for cybersecurity at those companies. The study also points out that Gen X and Baby Boomer workers make up about half of the current cybersecurity workforce, leaving many entry-level opportunities for new college graduates and pathways for growth as these more experienced workers approach retirement age.

The need for trained cybersecurity professionals is not going to go away. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 28% growth in US employment for cybersecurity consultants between 2016 and 2026. How can we help our students go beyond the theoretical concepts taught in computer science or cybersecurity classes and make themselves more attractive to future employers? We need to take the lead to encourage students to take the initiative to learn more about current issues in cybersecurity and take advantage of the many cybersecurity resources available.

Here are some ways you can help your students and contribute to narrowing the cybersecurity skills gap:

• Hold informational sessions on cybersecurity. Help spread the word on your campus about the cybersecurity skills gap and job opportunities. You could ask your CISO or information security team to conduct a cybersecurity seminar or invite local experts to share their knowledge and expertise with your students. The Enterprise Security Team at The Ohio State University has already implemented this idea, and they sponsor an annual and free on-campus Cybersecurity Days to expand knowledge of security and data protection for their entire college community.
• Sponsor or encourage membership in student associations. There are two student cybersecurity organizations for your students to explore—NationalCybersecurity Student Association and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS. The National Cybersecurity Student Association has a number of resources on their website, and you can sign up for their newsletter or follow their Snapchat account to view a day in the life of a cyber student or industry professional. The WiCyS is dedicated to bringing together women in cybersecurity from academia, research, and industry to share knowledge, experience, networking, and mentoring. You can also explore setting up a local WiCyS student chapter on your campus.
• Offer campus internships. In addition to knowledge of advanced cybersecurity concepts, the most important qualification for cybersecurity employment is relevant work experience. You can help your students by hiring them as interns in your institution's information security department. This offers students real-world experience while providing supplemental staffing for your department. For suggested qualifications and responsibilities, use the Information Security Intern Job Description Template on the EDUCAUSE website as a starting point.
• Identify scholarship opportunities. The CyberCorps: Scholarship for Services, funded by the NSF, provides up to $22,500 per year for undergraduates and $34,000 per year for graduate students. In return, students commit to work in a for a federal, state, or local agency for a period matching the length of their scholarship. The Cyber Security Degree website provides a comprehensive list of additional cybersecurity scholarships and other career resources.
• Encourage students to deepen their knowledge. The NICCS Education Training Catalog is a central location where cybersecurity professionals across the nation can find more than 3,000 cybersecurity-related courses. Anyone can use the interactive map and filters to search for courses offered in their local area to add to their skill set, increase their level of expertise, or earn a certification. You could also direct your students to take advantage of the free online courses offered through edX, US Department of Homeland Security, Cybrar, or SANS Cyber Aces Online.
• Attend cyber competitions. Institutions with an information assurance or computer security curriculum can give their students an additional way to hone their skills and have fun by participating in regional events hosted by the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition(NCCDC). The top regional teams can then go on to the National Championship, which was won by University of Virginia in 2018. Another cybersecurity competition for high school and college students is the National Cyber League (NCL), is a defensive and offensive puzzle-based, capture-the-flag style competition. All participants play the games simultaneously and are tested with real cybersecurity challenges they will likely face in the workforce.
• Participate in cybersecurity conferences. Students may be interested the educational and networking opportunities from attending the annual conferences for the National Cybersecurity Student Association or Women in CyberSecurity. For additional conferences in your area, InfoSec publishes a comprehensive list with hundreds of cybersecurity events in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Partially reposted from: How Can Higher Ed Better Prepare Cybersecurity Students for a Hot Job Market?

Computer Lab Software Request Deadline for Spring 2020 is December 6, 2019

If you would like to request an upgrade of a software already installed in the computer labs or if you would like us to install a new software in the computer labs on campus, please fully read through the information on the link provided and fill out the Software Request form here. (click the big green box that says “Request Service”)

Note that software listed here is already scheduled to be installed, it is not necessary to submit requests for software, unless updating to a new version.

Please note that fully completed forms are required for any change to the labs, even for free software. All software installation media and licenses are also required by the due date.

Requests for the Spring 2020 semester should be submitted by December 6, 2019. Requests submitted after the deadline may not be installed in the labs for the Spring 2020 semester. This is because we need time to develop an installation procedure and test the software in the lab environment before deploying the software. We also require a number of weeks to deploy the lab images across campus, which means our solutions need to be complete and tested several weeks prior to classes beginning.

Please submit your Software Request forms ASAP.

Training Coordinator Opening

ITS is looking for a new Training Coordinator. Please check out the position and apply if you think you are a good fit or send it to colleagues that you think will be successful. The ideal candidate has years of experience teaching in an educational environment. This person also has a solid background in multimodal learning and pedagogy.

Windows 8.1 End of Life Schedule

Every Windows product has a life cycle. The life cycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported. Knowing key dates in this life cycle helps you make informed decisions about when to update, upgrade or make other changes to your software. 

Windows 8.1 Mainstream support will end January 9, 2018
Windows 8.1 Extended support will end January 10, 2023

Microsoft Support Reference to determine: Which Windows operating system am I running?

Solution

Manhattan College ITS loads Windows 10 on all ITS supported compatible devices.

Next Steps

If you happen to have a computer with Windows 8.1 please upgrade your computer to Windows 10 before January 9, 2018.  You can contact ITS for assistance.

• Email: its@manhattan.edu
• Call: 718-862-7973

Further details:  Microsoft Support Windows LifeCycle Fact Sheet.

Windows 8.1 End of Life Schedule KBA.

Partially reposted from Which Windows operating system am I running? and Windows lifecycle fact sheet