Since January 2013 IT@Sam has been hard at work preparing for the implementation and launch of a new work order system, Cherwell. The goal is to have this new system ready for go-live on July 15th. 

Why the change?

The current IT@Sam Work Order System has some shortcomings in navigation and general work routing. This leads to work orders that have the potential to end up in the wrong place and action is not taken on them in a timely manner. Cherwell will alleviate those problems as well as provide additional benefits for you.

Benefits

Service Catalog: There will be no more questions that you will need to navigate and hope that your work order is getting to the right place. Instead you will be presented with a comprehensive list of IT@Sam services to choose from when placing your request. With one click of your mouse you’ll be at the appropriate screen to enter your request.

Knowledge Base: In addition to the Technology Tutorials that we currently provide, Cherwell will have an integrated Knowledge Base that contains information on how to fix common error messages and general “how-to” instructions for software and hardware. This will allow you to quickly research an issue and enable a quick resolution. We are starting out with over 50,000 knowledge articles and will be adding more. We hope to get to a scenario where we fix a problem once and then capture and share this information via the knowledge base, so others won’t have to duplicate the effort and re-invent the wheel.

Problem Management: Once IT@Sam becomes aware of a university-wide problem, you will also be made aware of it with the Problem Management module of Cherwell. This will allow us to write up information regarding the issue, along with any workarounds, and publish that information for everyone’s benefit by way of the Cherwell Portal.

Demos & Training Opportunities

We have created several Tech Tutorials for you to become familiar with this new system and we will offer several training sessions as well. If you’d like to attend a training session, please sign up in the Talent Management System. 

What will happen to my work orders in the current Work Order System?

On July 15th, no new work orders will be able to be placed in the current IT@Sam Work Order System. Any Work Orders that are already open and in progress, will remain in the current system and will be completed as normal. Work Orders that will take more than 6 months to complete, will be transferred to the new Cherwell system by IT@Sam staff.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us! 

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights beginning at 6pm, we will update systems each night. On Thursday night, we will update the Banner ERP system, and estimate that the system will be unavailable for about 15-30 minutes as we reboot the servers.

On Saturday, May 18, beginning at 8am, the campus network will be down for maintenance. We anticipate the outage to last only 4 hours. However, it is possible that the outage may last all weekend if problems arise.  If you need notification as when the network is back up, please let me know.   Off campus resources and remote.shsu.edu will be available from off campus, it is only the on-campus resources that will not be available.

We appreciate your assistance during this time.  Please let us know if you have any major concerns about this outage or these changes as scheduled.

Adobe Creative Suite CS 6
Upgrade for all classrooms and labs scheduled between Spring – 2013 and Summer I – 2013 for both Windows and Macintosh.

SAS 9.3
Upgrade of existing SAS 9.2 to 9.3 for Windows computers on campus.  An expanded license agreement has been completed which will allow for SAS to be installed in all labs and classrooms on campus with optional installs available for faculty computers via the SHSU Program Installation Menu.  Upgrade is scheduled between Summer II – 2013 and Fall – 2013.

Microsoft Office 2013
Upgrade for all campus Windows computers scheduled between Summer II – 2013 and Fall – 2013.

Autodesk 2013 (AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, Electrical, and Mechanical)
Upgrade for all campus Windows computers scheduled between Summer II – 2013 and Fall – 2013.

To ensure adequate time for installation and testing of new network software, the requests must be received and the software delivered to IT@Sam by the specified cutoff dates. However, the sooner, the better! A significant level of testing is needed to assure the application will not impact other programs—and that your students can access it as you intended. After it is installed you will be notified and asked to test the software. Therefore, please leave sufficient time for installation and your testing phase.

• Spring: October 1
• Fall : May 1
• Summer March 1

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail the Service Desk or call (4-HELP).

• Mac OSX Security Updates
• Adobe Flash Player  will be upgraded on PC workstations
• Adobe Shockwave Player will be upgraded on PC workstations
• Mozilla Firefox will be upgraded to version 17.0.5 on PC workstations

April 26

• ODS will be  reloaded  starting at 9pm on April 26 and will finish by 2pm on April 27. It is not advised to run a Cognos report during this time period. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Service Desk at x4-1950.

If you have any questions, please contact the Service Desk at x4-1950.

http://www.shsu.edu/~ucs_www/newsletter/Apr_2013/techtips.html

Many people depend heavily on their smartphones, and it may be hard to remember what we did before we had them. If you have a smartphone, you now carry a fully functional computer in your pocket or purse. That’s a tremendous amount of information at your fingertips! Therefore, it is paramount that you safeguard the smartphone.

Common Risks for Smartphones

Take a moment to consider each of these areas:

• Loss of device and information theft. Smartphones are small and can easily be lost or stolen. Unauthorized users may access your accounts, address lists, photos, and more to scam, harm or embarrass you or your friends; they may leverage stored passwords to access your bank and credit card accounts, steal your money or make credit card charges; gain access to sensitive material, and more.

• Social Engineering. A common mobile threat is social engineering. Whether via text message, image, or application to download, an incoming communication may be an attempt to gain access to your information.  A current example consists of a text message that comes from an unknown number, telling you that if you click on the link provided, you’ll have access to thousands of free ringtones.  If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is.  The link is in fact a malicious link.  Clicking on it will compromise the security of your smartphone.

• TMI (Too Much Information). Guidelines for protecting privacy, safety, and reputation when sharing via computers also apply when sharing via smartphones. Mobile devices enable instantaneous capturing, posting, and distribution of images, videos, and information. They may also broadcast location information.

• Public Wi-Fi. Smartphones are susceptible to malware and hacking when leveraging unsecured public networks.

• Bluetooth and Near Field Communications (NFC). Bluetooth is a wireless network technology that uses short-wave radio transmissions to transmit voice and data. NFC allows for smartphones to communicate with each other by simply touching another smartphone, or being in proximity to another smartphone with NFC capabilities or a NFC device.  Risks with using NFC and Bluetooth include eavesdropping, through which the cyber criminal can intercept data transmission, such as credit card numbers.  NFC also has the risk of transferring viruses or other malware from one NFC-enabled device to another.

Simple Steps to Protect Your Smartphone:

1. Update the operating system. Smartphones are computing devices that need to be updated. Updates often provide you with enhanced functionality and enriched features, as well as fixes to critical security vulnerabilities. Your smartphone manufacturer should notify you whenever an update is available.

2. Use of security software is a must.  As the smartphone market is increasing, so too is the amount of malware designed to attack smartphones. The software security solutions that are available for desktops and laptops are not as widely available for smartphones. A key protection is to use mobile security software and keep it up-to-date. Many of these programs can also locate a missing or stolen phone, will back up your data, and even remotely wipe all data from the phone if it is reported stolen.

3. Password-protect your device. Enable strong password protection on your device and include a timeout requiring authentication after a period of inactivity. Secure the smartphone with a unique password – not the default one it came with. Do not share your password with others.

4. Think before you click, download, forward, or open. Before responding, registering, downloading or providing information, get the facts. No matter how tempting the text, image, or application is, if the download isn’t from a legitimate app store or the site of a trusted company, don’t engage with the message.

5. Understand the terms of use. Some applications claim extensive rights to accessing and leveraging your personal information.  If the app requires more access to your account and/or device than is needed to run the service, do not continue. In addition, be aware that terms can change over time.  Review your terms of use often.

6. Be cautious with public Wi-Fi. Many smartphone users use free Wi-Fi hotspots to access data (and keep their phone plan costs down). There are numerous threats associated with Wi-Fi hotspots. To be safe, avoid logging into accounts, especially financial accounts, when using public wireless networks.

7. Disable Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities when not in use. Capabilities such as Bluetooth and NFC can provide ease and convenience in using your smartphone. They can also provide an easy way for a nearby, unauthorized user to gain access to your data.  Turn these features off when they are not required.

8. Enable encryption.  Enabling encryption on your smartphone is one of the best ways to safeguard information stored on the device, thwarting unauthorized access.

9. Securely dispose of your device.  With the constant changes and upgrades in the smartphone market, many are upgrading their devices on a regular basis.  It is important that you wipe the information from your smartphone before disposal.  Additionally, make sure any SD cards are removed and erased. If you are not redeploying the SIM card to another device, then make sure your personal information stored on the SIM card is erased or destroyed.

Brought to you by:

Organizations have permission and are encouraged to brand and redistribute this newsletter in whole for educational, non-commercial purposes.