Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

Telstra gives many people The Pips! You know - the pips that you get when you answer a long distance phone call made from a land line.

Once upon a time long distance phone calls had to be connected manually with the assistance of a telephone operator. When long distance phone calls began to be made automatically, and the operator assisted service was withdrawn, Tetstra added The Pips such that callers would know that the call would incur higher charges.

No more.

During June 2009 Telstra will remove this service and such calls will be connected silently thereafter.

So, Telstra won’t give you The Pips ever again. Well, …, at least not the long distance phone call Pips.

This information is directed at those UNE staff members who have, as a job function, the role of managing and supporting network connected devices in academic and administrative areas.

As most people will have heard me say, many times, the new network will implement contemporary best practice for security and, from the end-users perspective, is role-based. That means that devices connected to the network will be authenticated to the network with an assigned role. Eg desktop computers will have a client role, servers (central and departmental) will have a server role, MFDs have an MFD role, etc. [In the main I’m talking about core-UNE devices; non-core entities like ABRI, Services UNE, UNE Partnerships, will be dealt with differently].

In most cases it will be extremely obvious which role a device will fall into. But, as we come closer to moving to this long-awaited new network, you need to think about network connected devices that you might currently think of as being “client” but, from a security perspective, are really “server”. You need to identify devices that wait for incoming connections from external users and serve data (whether it be web pages, files or database requests).

If such a service is running on a desktop machine then you need to think of it as a server and ensure that UNE’s server policy is being applied. If a device is a “server” then it can’t also be a “client” — different security policies will apply. Where possible, consider moving services to a central servers (whether web server or file server or whatever).

I don’t need to know which devices are “servers” just yet – I just need you to think about it and identify them in your minds.

Also, for your information, “client” devices in your department will operate on different subnets to those “servers” in your department. To ensure a smooth transition on the new network, you should ensure - right now - that whenever a client device refers to a server, it does so by hostname (eg exchange.une.edu.au) rather than by IP address (eg 129.180.3.56).

In preparation for the introduction of the Equitrack authentication system staff are encouraged to swipe their ID card.

UNE’s new Multifunction Devices are ready to go and the next step will be the introduction of the Equitrack system for charging and printing.

Once Equitrack is switched on you will need to identify yourself in order to photocopy or print. The easiest way to identify yourself to Equitrack is by swiping your ID card through the reader attached to the device.

To enable your ID card to work as your Equitrack identifier you will need to link your ID card to your Equitrack account. Instructions for linking your ID card to your Equitrack account can be found at

http://www.une.edu.au/it-services/staff/pdfs/MFDCardAssociation.pdf

Some cards don’t work. And some staff don’t have an ID card. If you’re in this situation please fill in a form for a new ID card. There is no charge for replacement or new cards.

ttp://www.une.edu.au/fms/links/campus-services/staff-card-application-11-04-08.doc

Scam emails regularly ask UNE users to verify personal information by email. These emails represent a threat to your security and the UNE network. Here’s what to do.

UNE has received a lot of emails over recent weeks requesting that staff or students ‘confirm’ their personal details by email. Such scams are common and present a serious threat to the security of UNE’s network. Recently UNE was blacklisted by some anti-spam filters as a result of a breech of UNEs network.

Be highly suspicious of any request to reveal your username or password. ITD will never request your login details by email. ITD may need to request your details in relation to a problem we are dealing with but this will only ever be done verbally by an authorised ITD support representative.

Please do not respond to any emails requesting your login information. Disclosing your account details is a breech of the IT Conditions of Use for Computing Facilities. If you are in any doubt please contact the Service Desk on x5000 or servicedesk@une.edu.au

ITD’s next user forum will be held soon. Send us your ideas and have your say.

ITD is currently planning our next User forum. This is where we give you the chance to have your say, ask questions and get the latest information about ITD projects.

If you have anything you would like to see on the agenda - just let us know by posting a comment to the ITD News blog.

The next stage in the roll out of UNE’s new fleet of MFD’s (Multi-function Devices) is the introduction of the Equitrack authentication system.

Last year UNE began a project to replace its ageing fleet of photocopiers, faxes and scanners with the latest generation Multi-function Devices or MFD’s.

The roll out of the MFD’s began late last year and was completed early in 2008. UNE now has around 100 MFD’s available to staff and students.

The next step in the upgrade will involve the introduction of the Equitrack authentication service. This will allow users to use features such as ’secure’ print and for users to be appropriately charged for photocopying and printing (scanning is free)

You can use your UNE staff or student card as authentication for printing and photocopying. This will allow you to simply swipe your ID card to release jobs from the print queue or photocopy.

In preparation for MFD Equitrack printing and copying we ask that over the next couple of weeks you take the time to link your staff or student ID card to your MFD Equitrack account. Linking your ID card to your Equitrack account is a simple one-off process and will not need to be repeated unless you change your card or password.

Instructions for linking your ID card to your Equitrack account for staff can be found at: http://www.une.edu.au/it-services/staff/pdfs/MFDCardAssociation.pdf Instructions for students are coming soon.

In testing the new systems we have discovered that a number of staff do not have an ID card and that some ID cards will not work with Equitrack. If you do not have a UNE staff ID card or if your card does not work with Equitrack you will need to fill out an application form for a new ID card at http://www.une.edu.au/fms/links/campus-services/staff-card-application-11-04-08.doc

There will be no charge for new or replacement cards as part of this process.

The next step in the process is to provide training for staff and students in using the MFD’s and how charging works. This training will be provided by Ricoh trainers on site. Training will be run over several days to allow everyone to attend. Details will be provided over the coming weeks. Charging will not be introduced until after the training sessions.

Please contact the IT Service Desk on x5000 if you have any questions regarding the MFD’s or the features above.

UNE staff and students are receiving emails asking them to send in personal information to an external website. The email titled ‘urgent email revalidation notice’ is a scam. Anyone receiving the email should simply delete it.

If you have received the email and are concerned - contact the Service Desk on (x 5000) or servicedesk@une.edu.au

It’s been banned in British schools (and for good reason) but this traditional children’s game is alive and well in ITD

It’s a game that has been enjoyed by British kids for generations. Now some of those British kids are working in ITD. The result is that the ITD Conker Challenge is now in it’s third year.

Rob Hale, an experienced conker player has assessed the conker situation in Armidale and is optimistic that this years’ competition will be fierce (really fierce)

“The increased rainfall has led to a bumper crop so there are plenty of prime conkers available which should lead to a fairer and no doubt more bruising contest…”  Mr Hale says.

The rules of the game are simple. Two players each with a conker (horse chestnut) on a string (see picture), attempt to hit their opponent’s conker. The first person to score a hit then gets a further chance to smash their opponents conker to bits. Anyway you get the gist. It is a somewhat dangerous game and is usually (at the very least) painful. So anyone wishing to participate - it’s at your own risk!!

The ITD conker challenge will be held on Friday 14th March at 1pm. If there are any participants from outside of ITD who are prepared to take on ITD’s dedicated conker nuts - just get in touch with Rob Hale rhale@une.edu.au

It can be more than a wee bit stressful when you’re computer is having problems so I thought it would be a nice idea to introduce your friendly IT Service Desk staff.

The IT Service Desk is your first port of call if you’re having difficulty with computing at UNE. The Service Desk is physically located on the ground floor of the ITD building and there is also an IT Service Desk in the new learning commons on the ground floor of the Dixson library.

IT Service Desk staff can be difficult to track down due to the fact that they’re a little bit shy and quite a lot busy. Today was so busy in fact that I was only able to track down three. Nevertheless here they are….

Fahad Talib (right) is not only a service desk superhero but is also a student (Comm/law). Fahid does lots of late shifts over at the new learning commons IT service desk in the library.

 

Jen Mitchell (here on the left) is also spending a lot of time at the new learning commons IT Service Desk in the Dixson library and with loads of new students to help out - Jen is flat out.

And last but by no means least, back at base (but very often in the library too) is Mike Hillard (Just down there - yep that’s him).

This year the Service Desk hours have been extended. That means that students can now get IT support between 8:30 am and 7:00pm Monday-Friday during term time. The IT Service Desk is also staffed on Saturday afternoon (1-5pm) and Sunday afternoons (1-5pm)

Blogging is big - and not just at UNE. The Top 100 Australian blog index will point you to blogs about cars or photography, fashion or even running a small business.

Its been just over a year since ITD set up this blogging software for UNE staff and students. In that time the number of blogs has grown to around 50. UNE blogs have become a popular tool for communicating with the UNE community.

If you’re new to blogs and blogging you might want to get a bit of an idea of the kind of blog diversity that’s out there in the blogpond. Whether you’re interested in food, finance, cars or just about anything else you’re bound to find a blog community that shares your passion.

The following blog, called dipping into the blogpond http://blogpond.com.au publishes a monthly list of the top 100 Australian blogs. You can find the list here: http://blogpond.com.au/top-100-australian-blogs-index/ It’s a great way to start exploring Aussie blogs.