Thursday, April 30, 2015

RESOLVED - Leo and Mahan Network Outage 4/30/15

The issue has been resolved. An accidental network loop was found and corrected.

We are aware of a network outage affecting the Leo and Mahan buildings. We are working to get connectivity to users as quickly as possible.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

RESOLVED - Wired Network Leo Outage 4/28/15 10:10AM

The wired network in Leo is currently not functional.  We are working to resolve the issue.  During the troubleshooting period the Wireless network may work intermittently.

This outage was resolved as of 11:35 am.  An accidental network loop was found and corrected.

Friday, April 24, 2015

JasperNet Account Security Check

Take a moment to run through Google's Security Checkup. The Security Checkup will insure that recent activity on your account is legitimate, that the add-ins accessing to your account are legitimate, and that the forwarding addresses that have been configured in gmail are legitimate:


If you see any strange account behavior, do not hesitate to contact us at: its@manhattan.edu or (718) 862-7973

Monday, April 20, 2015

Email Phishing Attacks - When to be suspicious and what to do before clicking that link.....

It's no secret that phishing attacks are happening more frequently and becoming more complex.  ITS reposted a Google alert in the fall showing how phishing attacks occur and what attackers do once they've obtained access to your account:  http://itsblog.manhattan.edu/2014/11/phishing-attacks-on-rise.html

A series of messages received over the weekend has generated a lot of questions to the ITS Client Services Helpdesk asking "Is this Legit?".  As with most messages, the message contained a warning about email quota or account security and was supposedly from "The Helpdesk".  The messages also directed users to click on a malicious link in an attempt to capture their account information.

If you receive a suspicious message, please contact ITS to verify authenticity before providing your account credentials or any personal information. 

A copy of one of these messages is below:


Clicking the link brings users to an unbranded page with some generic wording and solicits the username, email address, and password of the user:














Take a moment to run through Google's Security Checkup. The Security Checkup will insure that recent activity on your account is legitimate, that the add-ins accessing to your account are legitimate, and that the forwarding addresses that have been configured in gmail are legitimate:


If you see any strange account behavior, do not hesitate to contact us at: its@manhattan.edu or (718) 862-7973

Friday, April 17, 2015

Security Updates: The Delicate Balance....

As users of technology, we rarely see the tug-of-war that goes on behind the scenes attempting to balance security vs accessibility.  It's usually not until a feature "stops working" until we notice this struggle.

Earlier this week, a long-planned security update to the Google Chrome browser was introduced in the latest "stable" version of Google Chrome (version 42).  Chrome BETA users got this update earlier this winter.  The security update adjusted the default security settings to disable an antiquated way for your web browser to launch additional plugins (like JAVA - required for Banner users).  As per the Google Chrome development team, "NPAPI’s 90s-era architecture has become a leading cause of hangs, crashes, security incidents, and code complexity".

ITS has been monitoring developments related to this major change.  An interim solution has been developed and communicated to the campus community.  We are continuing to explore a permanent solution to this issue as other web browsers have introduced plans to follow the same path as Google Chrome.

SOLUTION:
The following link explains how to re-enable the NPAPI plugin required for JAVA after a Google Chrome update.  Banner users will need to complete these steps (or work with ITS) if they are affected by this issue:
https://manhattan.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/KB/ArticleDet?ID=5096

Users still experiencing issues accessing Banner from Google Chrome should contact ITS Client Services.



2013 Announcement of NPAPI end of support:
https://blog.chromium.org/2013/09/saying-goodbye-to-our-old-friend-npapi.html

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Important Settings Adjustment in Chrome for Banner

Chrome released a new version recently (Version 42) that disables the NPAPI protocol by default. This new default setting is affecting Banner users that prefer using Chrome. The fix is simple and only needs to be performed in Chrome (there is no need to make any changes in Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari).

This Knowledge Base Article will walk you through the process. If you do not see the Enable NPAPI section in the Chrome settings, you may still be using an older version of Chrome. Try updating Chrome and then making the adjustment.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

End of Support: home.manhattan.edu

Support for the "Home Server" system  home.manhattan.edu will end on 7/1/2015.   The Home Server system was originally implemented circa 2002 and represented a significant upgrade over the Novell Netware system that it replaced. Over the last 13+ years,  a number of enhancements, added features, and hardware upgrades have prolonged the usable life of the Home Server system; however, times have changed and numerous alternatives exists that offer more features at a lower cost.

Google Drive has been identified as the successor of the Home Server and ITS has already taken steps to provide campus users with a smooth transition.  Starting last year, new Home Server accounts were no longer created for new students and employees.  Instead, instructions were provided for accessing Google Drive.  ITS has also prepared a number of tips and tutorials on migrating to Google Drive and taking advantage of the additional features that it has to offer.

During the sunset period, users with additional needs related to home.manhattan.edu should contact ITS for assistance identifying alternative options.  Some of these special circumstances may include departments with shared drives and users/departments with web content hosted on home.manhattan.edu (http://home.manhattan.edu/~username).

Information about the Drive initiative can be found here:
http://go.manhattan.edu/drive

Questions about the Home Server end of support should be directed to ITS by calling x7973 or emailing ITS@manhattan.edu


Monday, April 13, 2015

RISA 3D Issue

We are currently troubleshooting an issue with the RISA 3D software in the labs.  We will update via this blog when the issue has been resolved.

Drive: Accessing your Google Drive via "drive.manhattan.edu"

The ITS department is working to make your Drive more accessible than ever before. You can now access your Drive by simply navigating to "drive.manhattan.edu" in any browser:


If you're already logged into a different JasperNet service, you will be brought directly to your Drive. If you have not authenticated yet, you will be brought to the expected JasperNet login page.

Give it a shot! Open a new tab in your browser, type in "drive.manhattan.edu", and then press enter.

Enjoy!

More information about the Drive File-Storage Initiative can be found at:

Monday, April 6, 2015

Drive: Setting Up a Shared Folder

Sharing folders and files is easier than ever with Google Drive. Soon it will no longer be necessary to contact the ITS department to get access to your department's "example_shared" drive. Watch the video below to learn the basics about sharing files and folders on Drive:


More information about the Drive File-Storage Initiative can be found here:
http://go.manhattan.edu/drive