INFORMATION SERVICES
August 2004
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to Information Services
Announcements from the Bulletin, Today, Notification-L
08/31/04, Web Access Problem
An upgrade of the Academic file server on Sunday, August 29 is
unexpectedly interfering with access to some Web sites. Specifically,
those whose home directories are on the Academic server and who maintain
personal Web sites whose file names contain capital letters may find
portions of their personal Web sites to be inaccessible. Since this
includes many course sites, we are giving the problem high priority. It
is impractical to roll back the upgrade but we might be able to program
an automatic rewrite of file names to lower case. In the meantime,
manually changing Web site file names to all lower case will solve the
problem if the site in question is of a size to make that practical.
Dreamweaver users may have to change their locally maintained files. We
will keep you posted and apologize for this problem. [Notification-L]
08/31/04, Apple Recalls Lithium Batteries
Apple Computer is recalling some lithium ion rechargeable batteries that
were sold with 15" PowerBooks between January 2004 and August 2004,
inclusive. There have been isolated reports of defective batteries
overheating; there have been no reports of damage or injuries. This
recall applies only to 15" PowerBook models and only to a small number
of lithium ion batteries for those computers. See full details at
https://depot.info.apple.com/batteryexchange/index.html.
If you purchased or were awarded a 15" PowerBook from college funds
(including the Micro Fund, startup or FTR,you will be contacted via
e-mail with information about the recall and how to determine whether
your battery is eligible. If you purchased a 15" PowerBook with personal
funds through the customized Apple Web Store for Macalester College, you
will be contacted via e-mail or paper mail, as appropriate, with the
same information.
If you have questions about whether this recall may apply to your 15"
PowerBook battery, please consult David Sisk at x6745 or your academic
information associate. [Bulletin]
08/27/04, Academic Server Downtime: Sunday August 29
The Academic server will be down for maintenance the morning of Sunday,
August 29, from 8:00 AM until around noon. If you plan to use the server
that day, you can call the Help Desk at x6525 to check for status
updates on the voicemail. The only services that will not be available
during this time will be access to files stored on the Academic server.
[Notification-L]
08/27/04, New Search Engine for Macalester Web Site
The search feature on Macalester's Web site now uses the Google search
service. Google provides its Public Search Service free of charge to
colleges, universities and not-for-profit organizations. To use the new
search engine, type a search query in the box on the Macalester home
page at http://www.macalester.edu. Results are displayed in the familiar
Google format with Macalester header and footer. If you have questions
or comments, contact the Web Coordinator at webmaster@macalester.edu.
[Bulletin, also 8/31]
08/27/04, Study: Unpatched Computers Compromised
in 20 Minutes
Don't connect that new PC to the Internet before taking security
precautions, researchers at the Internet Storm Center warned Tuesday.
According to the researchers, an unpatched Windows PC connected to the
Internet will last for only about 20 minutes before it's compromised by
malware, on average. That figure is down from around 40 minutes, the
group's estimate in 2003.
The drop from 40 minutes to 20 minutes is worrisome because it means the
average "survival time" is not long enough for a user to download the
very patches that would protect a PC from Internet threats. http://news.com.com/Study
%3A+Unpatched+PCs+compromised+in+20+minutes/2100-7349_3-5313402.html?tag
=nefd.top. [Bulletin, also 8/31]
08/27/04, Windows XP Service Pack 2
Microsoft is in the process of releasing service pack 2 (SP2) for
Windows XP and it might soon be installed through Windows Update. This
update contains myriad security fixes. In addition it changes several
settings on your computer to take a tougher stance against the viruses
and worms that have plagued computer users recently.
We in CIT have had success in testing SP2 in the campus environment and
you are welcome to install it as well.
Our 'How-To' document (http://www.
macalester.edu/cit/docs/howto/sp2/) contains detailed information on
installing SP2 and on how your computer will behave after installation.
In the coming semester we plan on rolling out SP2 in a more official
manner, so expect more information from us on this topic.
[Bulletin, also 8/31]
08/27/04, Denise Tyburski is the New Media Resources Specialist
Please welcome Denise Tyburski to Macalester. She replaces Kristi
Wheeler at Media Services as Media Resources Specialist. Her
responsibilities include management of the media collection and media
reserves. Please call on her for all your media reference needs.
Denise comes to us from Dakota County Library and received her masters
degree in Library and Information Science from the College of St.
Catherine.
Kristi Wheeler is retiring, but will continue to volunteer at Media
Services as media archivist. [Bulletin, also 8/31]
08/27/04, Network Threats
Over the summer, CIT worked at clarifying policy and practice on
three issues that surely will reappear in September. These are the
reports of possible copyright violations due to file-sharing,
compromised computers threatening the network, and disruptive network
devices, such as unauthorized wireless access points.
The three policy statements we have developed are posted on the Web, in
PDF format:
08/27/04, Telecomm Tip of the Week
You had changed your voicemail greeting to reflect your summer hours,
right? And have you changed it back? To change your voicemail
greeting, access your voicemail box, then press 4 (personal options),
then 3 (greetings), then 1 (personal greeting), and follow the prompts.
If you will be away from your desk for a half day or more, we suggest
you record an extended absence greeting, stating when you'll return.
The beauties of this type of greeting are (1) when you return, one
keystroke deletes it and puts your personal (daily) greeting back in,
and (2) callers cannot bypass it.
And as a bonus tip - did you know you don't have to listen to someone's
entire personal greeting? You can bypass (skip past) a voicemail
personal greeting by pressing the # key.
If you have a phone or voicemail question that you'd like to see
answered in this column, please contact Telecommunications at x6566 or
e-mail borke@macalester.edu. [Bulletin, also 8/31]
08/27/04, Library Announcement: Changes in Interlibrary Loan
The library will be using a new Interlibrary Loan management system this
fall called ILLiad. ILLiad will enable you to easily track all of your
ILL requests, including live updates anytime the status of one of your
requests changes. It also will improve processing time, filling your
requests faster. ILLiad requires that each individual user has his/her own
ILL account. Information about how to create your account will soon be
on the Interlibrary Loan page of the library's Web site,
http://www.macalester.edu/library/about/policies/interloan.html.
The Library plans to "go live" with ILLiad on August 30. We are certain
this new system will significantly enhance our ILL service. If you have
any questions or comments please contact Aaron Albertson at x6530 or
albertson@macalester.edu. [Bulletin]
08/20/04, CIT Summer Projects: Updated Status Report
CIT staff continue to work through our long
list of summer 2004 projects. We have updated
our goal statement again to reflect current
progress, as of August 18. Please have a look.
www.macalester.edu/infoservices/planning/summercitstatus8-18.html [Bulletin]
08/20/04, Notice a Decrease in Spam?
You should, and here's why.
Part of Macalester's e-mail infrastructure is a device called the 'qmail
server.' One of the qmail server's major duties is to scan incoming
e-mail to identify spam. Messages known to be spam, based on their
origin from chronic professional spammers, are deleted immediately.
Messages that may be spam are 'tagged' and delivered to you for your
review. (See "Spam Control at Macalester," posted October 7, 2003:
www.macalester.edu/infoservices/planning/spam.html)
On August 3, the qmail server began experiencing serious problems, such
that e-mail from off-campus addresses was not being delivered. Faced
with a choice between receiving no e-mail from beyond campus, and
receiving lots of spam in addition to legitimate e-mail, we opted for
the latter course - taking the bad with the good. This was done by
rerouting e-mail around the qmail server. Most people at Macalester saw
the amount of spam in their Inboxes rise dramatically.
The qmail server has been fixed and tested. It was put back into
service on August 18. You should see less spam, as well as questionable
messages being tagged as potential spam. [Bulletin]
08/20/04, Mark Rose Lewis Hired as Interim AIA-Humanities
I am pleased to announce that Mark Rose Lewis has accepted the position of
temporary Academic Information Associate in the Humanities. Mark will
handle these responsibilities through May 2005 while Michael Nelson is
on leave. (Michael will be teaching this academic year at the American School of Classical Studies
in Athens, Greece.)
Mark graduated from Carleton College with a cum laude B. A. in
Mathematics. He has a substantial background in Latin, and is currently
doing graduate work toward a Master's degree in architecture through the
University of Michigan. Mark comes to us with extensive skills in
consulting and supporting academic uses of technology, at
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Carleton College and
most recently at Mounds Park Academy.
Please join the Information Services staff in welcoming Mark to our
community! [Bulletin, also 8/13]
08/19/04, Windows XP Service Pack 2
This Notification-l message only concerns users of Windows XP. Microsoft
is in the process of releasing service pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, so
you can expect to see it soon through Windows Update. This update
contains myriad security fixes. In addition it changes several settings
on your computer to take a tougher stance against the viruses and worms
that have plagued computer users recently.
We in CIT have had success in testing SP2 in the campus environment and
you are welcome to install it as well.
http://www.macalester.edu/cit/docs/howto/sp2/ contains detailed
information on installing SP2 and how your computer will behave after
installation.
Two things will be obvious after patching. One, your computer will
block some network applications and ask you if you would like to
continue blocking them. The first one you will be prompted with is
"dpmw32." Please choose the "Unblock" option as you need this
application to print to network printers. Two, Windows will tell you
that "Your virus protection status is unknown." Rest easy, if you have
our campus-licensed Symantec AntiVirus installed you are still
protected, but Windows doesn't yet realize it. This should be fixed by
an upcoming virus update. How to turn off this warning message is
covered in the above link.
In the coming semester we plan on rolling out SP2 in a more official
manner, so expect more information from us on this topic. [Notification-L]
08/09/04, CLICnet Upgrades Delayed
The planned changes to the CLICnet web interface are being postponed due
to some technical difficulties being experienced by our vendor in
California. We now plan to make the changes to CLICnet on Tuesday,
August 10th after 4:30 PM. See the Bulletin article from 8/6,
below.
Please remember: the planned changes to CLICnet WILL NOT require any
downtime. They will, however, result in a new web interface for CLICnet.
[Notification-L]
08/06/04, New Look for CLICnet
On Tuesday, August 10th, the CLICnet catalog will have a new look. We
anticipate making the changeover during the business hours on Monday,
but the exact time when the new catalog will be in place is currently
undetermined. CLICnet will be accessible before, during and after the
change and there should not be a disruption in service. However, with
the web OPAC facelift, there may be some unanticipated glitches that
will have to be corrected after the new OPAC is brought up. This new
look has been developed based on focus groups, feedback from users, and
a team that has been doing usability testing. We will look forward to
hearing feedback from you when the new version is in place.
[Bulletin]
08/03/04, Update on E-Mail, 3:45 PM
As noted in today's earlier Notification-L posting, e-mail from
off-campus is not being delivered. Mail from within Macalester is not
affected. Networking staff have traced the problem to that portion of
the e-mail system which filters out annoying spam and threatening
viruses. If they are unable to quickly fix this difficulty, all incoming
e-mail will be re-routed around the blockage. As a result, you will
likely see more spam in your Inbox than normal - along with messages
from beyond campus.
This will be a temporary fix while the original problem is corrected.
Given a choice between receiving both real e-mail and spam, or receiving
neither, we believe most of our community would prefer to take the bad
with the good.
We will send out more information as it becomes available. We regret
the serious inconvenience this e-mail problem is causing. [Notification-L]
08/03/04, Incoming E-Mail Messages
The Macalester e-mail server has been having problems receiving e-mail
today from non-Macalester addresses. Most mail from off-campus accounts
has not been received by our server. Mail sent from Macalester addresses
is not affected by this problem. Our network staff has been working on
the problem all day, but has yet to find the solution. They will send an
update when the problem is resolved or when they have any details to
report. [Notification-L]
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