Unlimited Storage on Drive (for Apps for Education accounts)

It's Halloween!  Here’s a #treat from Google.

Google began rolling out one of the best Halloween treats ever: unlimited storage space on your Manhattan College Drive account.  In the bottom left hand corner of your drive, it used to show "X.XX GB (XX%) of 30 GB used".   It no longer says anything about a percentage used or a storage limit.

A recent announcement explained that Drive would soon allow Google Apps for Education users to "put an end to worrying about storage limits".  Today is the day when you no longer have to worry about reaching the 30 GB limit on your Manhattan College Drive account.

Enjoy the unlimited storage space on your @manhattan.edu Drive.  And have a Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween @ManhattanEdu

#jackolantern #scary #scaryfast - Wishing you a safe and spooky day.  This may be the scariest thing that we've seen this #Halloween.....

Good thing JasperNet WIFI is #scaryfast.  What's your top speed?

Mac users report WIFI issues with Yosemite upgrade

A number of Mac users are reporting WIFI issues after upgrading to the latest OSX 10.10 Yosemite.  ITS has verified that users who have upgraded to OSX 10.10 Yosemite are now experiencing WIFI issues and has validated this information with other colleges and universities where students there are experiencing the same issues.

A quick Google search returns a number of results with purported fixes - some of which are below:

• http://bgr.com/2014/10/27/experiencing-wi-fi-issues-in-yosemite-heres-how-to-fix-them-yourself/
• http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/os-x-yosemite-wi-fi-bugs-reported-no-universal-fix-out-yet/
• http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/25/fix-wi-fi-problems-os-x-yosemite/

Students and faculty experiencing WIFI issues after upgrading to Yosemite should report the issue to its@manhattan.edu as well as contact Apple support http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628

System Maintenance Notice

Information Technology Services will be providing system maintenance to the Manhattan College administrative servers (Banner, DegreeWorks, Self-Service) on October 18th between 9:00pm - 10:00pm.  You may experience intermittent connectivity during this time.

Client Services Closure Monday 10/20/14 6:00PM - 7:30PM

Client Services will be closed from 6:00PM - 7:30PM on Monday 10/20/14 so that our staff may attend the Mandatory Title IX training.

SSLv3 POODLE Vulnerability

 

October 14th, 2014, Google security researchers have disclosed a new vulnerability regarding the SSL protocol. Fortunately, this vulnerability only impacts the 1996 version of SSL, SSLv3.

What's SSL?

It is the standard security technology for an encrypted link between a web server and a web browser.

Browsers display a lock icon if communication is encrypted.

What's the POODLE vulnerability?

An attacker could exploit a seemingly encrypted link between a web server and a web browser such that the attacker could read private data.  For example, when passing username and password credentials to a web server.

More information:

http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.fr/2014/10/this-poodle-bites-exploiting-ssl-30.html

How can we fix this?

ITS will be disabling SSLv3. Be aware that web servers that the College does not own (e.g., example.com, yahoo.com, etc.), might be vulnerable.

What uses SSLv3?

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, which is an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.

ITS Releases Updated Digital Signage System

New Installs in Student Commons Complete; Retrofit of Existing Campus Installations Taking Place This Week

ITS is pleased to release an updated version of its Digital Signage System service offering. The update consists of an upgrade to the open-source Concerto digital signage software (player software and content server) from Concerto I to Concerto II. The update also consists of rollout to the new display devices in the Student Commons, as well as replacement of the older device players (or mini-computer) for existing units.

Most folks will recognize Digital Signage (electronic signs) around campus as the flat-screen displays - or TV's - which show posters of upcoming events and other news items. The electronic signs have been primarily used by Student Life, and are placed in strategic locations on campus. By providing an alternative to paper posters, Digital Signage allows for paperless advertising and is an effective and attractive way to communicate what's happening on campus. Hence better than print for green reasons.

 

A key component of Manhattan College's new implementation is the automatic retrieval and display of current event information from the college's calendar via feeds, part of ITS's Create Once, Publish Everywhere model. Current news is similarly retrieved and displayed from a variety of sources, including college and world news. Once the process is set up, no user interaction is required to keep events and news up-to-date as the items are automatically retrieved from the published events and news sources. Content feeds are matched to each screen's owner and audience. The system also supports the older poster upload method for items that do not lend themselves to this publishing model. Screen and content owners are being contacted to transition custom content to the new system. Emergency feeds from the college's e2Campus system will also be displayed, as applicable. The system is being expanded to include college twitter feeds, as well as athletics news, schedules, and scores.

As part of this upgrade, ITS now provides a supported hardware player - the computer which powers the display - and peripherals. Departments continue to provide their own display device / monitor, selected from a list of recommendations. This new service model will enable ITS to better monitor and support this system going forward.

Java 8 upgrade is affecting access to Banner

If you have not yet updated to Java 8, we suggest holding off on doing so for the moment.  If you have already updated, are you receiving the following error message when attempting to access Banner?


Java recently released a new version (Java 8).  If you have updated in the last few days, you are likely receiving the error message displayed on the left.

We have a temporary work around in place.  Basically, uninstall Java 8 and reinstall Java 7.


We created a Knowledge Base Article with directions for how to fix this issue.  The Knowledge Base Article can be found here:

Java 8 issues (ClassNotFoundException - oracle.forms.engine.Main)

ITS Celebrates Global Handwashing Day #IWashMyHands

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day.  ITS is joining the over 200 million people in over 100 countries who are taking steps to ensure a healthy and productive learning/working environment by raising awareness to the benefits of handwashing and promoting ways to practice good hygiene when using shared computers and electronic devices.  There are also steps that you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

http://globalhandwashing.org/ghw-day -
Global Handwashing Day is an internationally celebrated day to promote good hygiene through handwashing with soap.  At Manhattan College, we are doing our part to extend the concepts of Global Handwashing Day and apply them to the ways that we operate in ITS and handle electronic devices and computers.

With smartphone and personal computing devices embedded in our daily routines, we may forget to practice good hygiene when using these devices.  Computer keyboard, mice, and phones can be a hotbed for germs - especially in shared environments.  Besides disinfecting these surfaces between uses, handwashing before and after use can significantly reduce the spread of germs when using these devices.  For information on cleaning your electronic devices:  http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/assets/1/Page/Computer%20Cleaning.pdf


References:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3988 - "How to disinfect the Apple internal or external keyboard, trackpad, and mouse"
http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/assets/1/Page/Computer%20Cleaning.pdf - "American Cleaning Institute - Computer Cleaning - Hotspots for germs in the office'
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/story?id=4774746 - "ABC News - Your Keyboard: Dirtier than a Toilet" 

Client Services Closure 10/15/14 8AM - 11:30AM

All Client Services Offices will be closed today from 8AM - 11:30AM today 10/15/14 in order to support the technology needs for the Commons Ribbon cutting.

RESOLVED: JasperNet Services - Sporadic Network Issues

ITS has replaced the faulty hardware identified while troubleshooting this AM's network issues.  ITS will continue to monitor network and systems.  Please report any additional issues to ITS@manhattan.edu

JasperNet Services - Sporadic Network Issues

ITS has received reports of sporadic network issues affecting most JasperNet services.  Users may experience slow access to JasperNet services.  A failed hardware component has been identified and replacement is underway.  An update will be provided by 11AM.

Turnitin Scheduled Maintenance on October 11, 2014

Turnitin service may be briefly unavailable during a scheduled system maintenance on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 from 10:00 AM till 2:00 PM EDT.

Times for scheduled maintenance windows are the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10:00 AM till 2:00 PM EDT.

• Instructors are encouraged to set assignment due dates that avoid these scheduled maintenance windows for Turnitin services.
• Students are encouraged to submit assignments in advance of assigned due dates.

See the Turnitin website for more on System Status.

RESOLVED: Horan Hall Network Issue

WIFI access restored in Horan Hall.  Wired access to devices in the lower-north quadrant (25%) will be offline for the remainder of the evening, however, all other wired access has been restored.

ITS will be working Thursday AM to restore access to the remaining wired devices in the lower-north quadrant.

Horan Hall Network Issue

ITS is investigating a network issue in Horan Hall.  The cause of the issue has been identified and measures are being taken to resolve the issue.  An update will be provided by 10:00PM.