Forefront Replacing McAfee

8 03 2011

Just a reminder to everyone that IR is deploying Microsoft Forefront as new antivirus software (replacing McAfee) on campus computers.  This is great news – McAfee is pretty resource-intensive and often slows down machines.

The week before your computer is scheduled for deployment, you’ll get an email from IT Services.  Installation will happen overnight, starting at 7pm and completing by 4am the following morning.  You won’t be able to use or access your computer during the installation time.  Your machine must be left on during that time since the installation will happen through KBOX.

While Forefront is being installed, your computer name will be changed, so if you use your computer name for peer to peer use, contact the Technology Support Center prior to the day your computer is scheduled for deployment.

This update is only for Windows machines – there will be a change in Mac antivirus software, but that won’t happen until sometime in the future.

TAG has asked IT Services for an implementation schedule, which we’ll post here when we get it.

Let us know if you have any questions, and we’ll do our best to answer!


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Categories : Outages, Security

IT Matters Winter 2010 Issue

30 11 2010

The new issue of IR’s IT Matters newsletter is available in PDF format.

As in the last issue, many of the articles deal with issues we’ve already been discussing here on the TAG site, but there’s a few new items of interest:

  • See p. 1 for a note from VP Jerry DeSanto on the email transition.
  • P. 3 has a quick update from the Mobile Applications team about the upcoming University mobile app.
  • On p. 4, Jim Franceschelli reminds everyone that completed Microcomputer Budget Forms need to be in by December 13 — so faculty members need to get any requests to their department chairs ASAP!
  • Also on p. 4: Some notes about Microsoft Forefront, which will be replacing McAfee Anti-Virus.  IR is beginning deployment this December, and McAfee will be removed from University computers by May 2011 at the latest.
  • P. 6: The Computer Maintenance Center has set a goal of having all four computer technicians Apple Certified by the end of December 2010.  So far, two of the four (Glen and Karl) have passed their certification tests.
  • Standard user accounts are mentioned on p. 7, but no further details on what kinds of software we will and own’t be able to install on our own computers.
  • My.Scranton is being updated – there will be a brand new version out, with an “improved user interface,” around Fall 2011 (p. 9).
  • Vince Merkel explains thin clients on p. 11.
  • Gus Fernandez goes through the steps of how the Computer Security Incident Response Team responds to infected computers (p. 14).
  • Information Security Manager Tony Maszeroski has some pointers for us on phishing scams on p. 15.  This is a must-read for faculty — TAG has heard from IR that faculty members have fallen for phishing scams in the past.
  • On p. 16, Cal Krzywiec reports that the University is planning to increase our wireless coverage from 300 wireless access points to closer to 1000. Wahoo! And the wireless network will be upgraded to accommodate higher demand. Wahoo again!
  • There will be a new Employee Applications tab on my.scranton.

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Categories : Announcements

IT Matters Fall 2010 Issue

16 09 2010

The new issue of IR’s IT Matters newsletter is available in PDF format.

Many of the articles deal with issues we’ve already been discussing here on the TAG site, but there are a few important items relevant to faculty.  Some quick highlights (take a look at the newsletter for more details) —

General:

  • Big news for Mac users — the U is now an Authorized Apple Service Center!  Glen Pace is our first Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.  The Laptop Support Center can now service University-owned faculty and staff Macs.
  • During the summer, over 58 faculty/staff computers were quarantined due to infections.  Make sure you’re browsing safely and that you’re backing up your files!
  • New antivirus software is on the way – Microsoft Forefront Client Security has been chosen as the replacement for McAfee.
  • Windows 7 deployment is in the works.
  • There’s a reminder about the new network authentication (aka CNAC deployment) that will be taking place.  See Jeremy’s post on this for all the details.
  • Files stored on Royal Drive are now encrypted so they’re more secure – but this is a back end change. As a user you won’t notice anything different.
  • We’ll soon be upgrading Royal Drive to a new Xythos server (before the end of fall semester).
  • You can use a tool called KeePass in Royal Drive to securely store a list of usernames and passwords.  Find a PDF of instructions here.
  • The Project Tracking system will slowly be streamlined with the use of Numara’s Change Management software.
  • IR is encouraging the campus to use Firefox instead of IE, except for accessing University systems.

Classroom Mediation:

  • OIT is slowly updating classroom technology.  Hyland 305, Leahy 1011, McGurrin 302, St. Thomas 209, and St. Thomas 563A were done over the summer.  You’ll notice a new control panel (that you can use to freeze images and mute sound).  You might also notice that any video you’re displaying from your laptop, smartphone, or iPad will be automatically formatted to accommodate the projector’s resolution.

Computer Labs:

  • OpenOffice is now on lab computers (along with Microsoft Office 2007).
  • Lab machines are now equipped with Deep Freeze, a program that restores the machine to a “fresh state” each time it’s rebooted.  Several labs got new equipment over the summer.
  • In addition to the standard software found in all computer labs, KSOM lab computers have the following software:  Eviews 7, Maple 14, MATLAB R2010, MS Office Pro, Minitab, MPL, MyITLab, Crystal Ball, Oracle SQL Plus, Peachtree Complete Accounting 2010, ProSeries 2009, Research Insight, SAP, PASW 18.0, Visual Studio, XLMiner, EconoMagic, Weka2, WireShark, and FrontPage.

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Categories : Royal Drive, Security, Upgrades