April 18, 2012

Protect your Mac from Flashback--run Software Update!
Posted in: CFANS IT Alerts

Apple released a security update on April 16 that removes the most common variants of the Flashback Trojan horse. People with Macs running OS 10.6 and higher should run Software Update right away to install this update.

NOTE: If your Mac runs an OS older than 10.6, the safest thing is to turn off Java in the Java Preferences app in your Mac's Utilities folder.

For more information, see: http://oit.cfans.umn.edu/support/safecomputing/flashback/index.htm

Posted in CFANS IT Alerts by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 4:00 PM | | Comments (0)

September 27, 2011

Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2, 2011: IT services outage includes home drives, Peoplesoft, more
Posted in: CFANS IT Alerts

Audience: University of Minnesota Community
Action: Plan not to use University-based email, shared drives, Moodle, student labs, printing, file servers, and other electronic services
URLs: http://systemstatus.umn.edu/view/Main/OutageInfo
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Outage Description

There will be a planned twelve-hour interruption to IT services at the University of Minnesota beginning on Saturday, October 1, 2011, at 6:00 p.m., with service restoration beginning on Sunday, October 2, 2011, at 6:00 a.m. Some notable systems that will be affected are Active Directory File shares including faculty and staff Home drives, ImageNow, Peoplesoft, Pharos, NTS Service Gateway, Netfiles, and Moodle. CFANS services will also be affected (see below). Please plan accordingly.

Gmail and Google Apps will be available during this time.

The Outage Information webpage will be continually updated as University OIT plans for and executes this maintenance outage.

Affected University Services

A complete list of affected University Services is available here: http://www.oit.umn.edu/prod/groups/oit/@pub/@oit/@web/documents/content/impacted-services.pdf

Top Applications


  • Email: University-based email down (Gmail available)

  • WebVista: Down

  • Moodle: Down

  • Netfiles: Down

  • OneStop Self-Service Web Applications: Down

  • OIT Software License Servers for MATLAB & ArcGIS: Down

Affected CFANS Services


  • Student Computer Labs

  • Active directory file shares

  • Linux Web Hosts

  • SQL (college databases) Server

Process

A detailed description of the process is available at the Outage Information webpage.

During the outage, you can visit the Outage Information webpage for information about the progress of the construction and system restart activities. In addition, the System Status page will be updated throughout the weekend to reflect the status of individual applications.

More Information

For more information, visit the Outage Information webpage. If you have questions, contact cfans.help@umn.edu.

Posted in CFANS IT Alerts by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 4:21 PM | | Comments (0)

June 14, 2011

Sunday, June 26: NetFiles upgrade
Posted in: Outages/Maintenance

Audience: University Community
Action: Recreate any tickets for sharing files
URLs: System Status: http://systemstatus.umn.edu/view/Main
Contact: 612-301-4357 (1-HELP on campus) or netfiles@umn.edu

The University Office of Information Technology released this information about the NetFiles 7 upgrade

On Sunday, June 26, NetFiles will be upgraded to version 7. The upgrade includes several new features and improved functionality in a new, easier-to-use interface. Updates on the progress of the upgrade will be posted throughout the day on the System Status page.

New features include:


  • A new share feature that makes it easier to share files

  • Advanced upload feature allows for uploading multiple files or entire folders at once with drag and drop

  • LDAP groups which allow IT staff to manage groups for departments and colleges

  • Users no longer need to sign up to use NetFiles

Some users create a "ticket" in order to share documents in NetFiles. This ticket creates a URL/link providing people access to a file or folder stored in NetFiles. Password-protected tickets will not work after the upgrade and will need to be recreated (which is easier with the newshare feature).

An introductory video is available at https://uttc.umn.edu/training/tutorials/netfiles/index.htm.

For more information about the NetFiles service, visit http://www.oit.umn.edu/netfiles/.Questions or comments should be directed to the OIT help desk at (612)301-4357 (1-HELP on campus), or netfiles@umn.edu.

Posted in Outages/Maintenance by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 8:20 AM | | Comments (0)

March 25, 2011

Friday, March 25: Google conflict messages not virus
Posted in: CFANS IT Alerts

Audience: University of Minnesota Community
Action: No action required
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Messages not a virus

On Thursday evening, March 24, a message went out to a large group to let them know they have a commercial Google account whose name conflicts with the new Google infrastructure being implemented this morning. A percentage of people hit "reply-all" to this message, and everyone on the list got every reply. Some people reported over 200 messages. This is not a virus, nor is there anything to do other than to delete the unwanted messages.

When 1-HELP was contacted, they said a fuller explanation may be coming from them later this morning.

Posted in CFANS IT Alerts by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 7:58 AM | | Comments (0)

February 2, 2011

Update your wireless configuration to avoid interruption
Posted in: CFANS IT Alerts

Notice from University OIT.
Audience: University Community
Action: Update your wireless certificate
URLs: http://www.oit.umn.edu/wireless/setup-guides/index.htm
Contact: For help, call 1-HELP, or see OIT support

This applies to UMTC, UMR, and some extension sites. Those who use the U of M Secure wireless network on the Twin Cities campus will need to make a slight configuration change to continue connecting to the network. In February, OIT engineers are installing a new security certificate, used to authenticate the network, "wireless.netaccess.umn.edu." This means users must change their computer configuration settings to "trust" the "AddTrust External CA Root" certificate authority. After February, users may remove trust configurations for the previously used "Thawte Premium Server CA" certificate authority. For help configuring your computer, see wireless setup guides. For help, call 1-HELP, or see OIT support.

Posted in CFANS IT Alerts by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 1:57 PM | | Comments (0)

November 8, 2010

Tuesday, Nov 9, 2010: Java 6 update 22
Posted in: Software Deployment

Audience: CFANS Community, Windows Only
Action: No Action required
URLs: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/6u22releasenotes-176121.html
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

On Tuesday, November 9, 2010, CFANS OIT will begin the installation of Java SE 6 update 22 for CFANS computer systems that do not have the latest version of Java.

Process

SCCM will be used to install the Java SE 6 update. The installation will occur in the background with no interruption to service.

Explanation

This update will address a number of security vulnerabilities present in the previous release.

More Information

Information about the issues addressed in the Java 6 update is available at this website:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/6u22releasenotes-176121.html

Posted in Software Deployment by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 1:43 PM | | Comments (0)

October 27, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010: Update Adobe Reader via SCCM
Posted in: Software Deployment

Audience: Adobe Reader 9.3-9.3.4 users
Action: No Action Required
URLs: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/837/cpsid_83708.html
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

On Thursday, October 28, 2010, CFANS OIT will begin the installation of the Adobe Reader patches for CFANS computer systems that currently have Adobe Reader 9.2-9.3.4.

Process

SCCM will be used to install Adobe Reader 9.4 patch. The installation will occur in the background with no interruption of service.

Explanation

Updating Adobe Reader 9.4 will address a number of customer workflow issues and security vulnerabilities.

More Information

Information about the issues addressed in the Acrobat Reader 9.4 patch is available at this website. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/837/cpsid_83708.html
If you have questions, contact cfans.help@umn.edu.

Posted in Software Deployment by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 1:13 PM | | Comments (0)

October 7, 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010, 0600 to 1000: CFANS Server Maintenance
Posted in: Outages/Maintenance

Audience: Users of CFANS server resources
Action: No action required
URLs: None
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

CFANS server patching and maintenance for October will take place on Sunday, October 10, 2010, between 0600 and 1000.

During the maintenance window, all servers will be updated with the latest patches for their respective operating systems and may be rebooted.

An "all clear" will be sent once the maintenance is completed.

Posted in Outages/Maintenance by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 4:25 PM | | Comments (0)

September 14, 2010

Tuesday, September 14, 2010: Adobe Acrobat Professsional 9.3.4 Update
Posted in: Software Deployment

Audience: Adobe Acrobat Professional 9.0-9.3.3 users, Windows only
Action: No Action Required
URLs: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/837/cpsid_83708.html
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

On Tuesday, September 14, 2010, CFANS OIT will begin the installation of the Acrobat Professional 9.3.4 patch for CFANS computer systems that currently have Windows Operating system and Acrobat Professional 9.0 thru 9.3.3. MAC users will need to manually apply the update if you have Acrobat Pro.

Process

SCCM will be used to install the Acrobat Professional 9.3.4 update. The installation will occur in the background with no interruption to service.

Explanation

Updating Acrobat Professional 9.0 - 9.3.3 to 9.3.4 will address a number of customer work flow issues and security vulnerabilities.

More Information

Information about the issues addressed in the Acrobat Professional 9.3.4 patch is available at this website

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/837/cpsid_83708.html

If you have questions, contact cfans.help@umn.edu

Posted in Software Deployment by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 9:00 AM | | Comments (0)

August 4, 2010

Sunday, August 8, 2010, 0600 to 1000: CFANS Server Maintenance
Posted in: Outages/Maintenance

Audience: Users of CFANS server resources
Action: No action required
URLs: None
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description
CFANS server patching and maintenance for June will take place on Sunday, August 8, 2010, between 0600 and 1000.

During the maintenance window, all servers will be updated with the latest patches for their respective operating systems and may be rebooted.

An "all clear" will be sent once the maintenance is completed.

Posted in Outages/Maintenance by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 2:29 PM | | Comments (0)

June 23, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 0600 to 1200: CFANS Server Maintenance
Posted in: Outages/Maintenance

Audience: Users of CFANS server resources
Action: No action required
URLs: None
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description
CFANS server patching and maintenance for June will take place on Sunday, June 27, 2010, between 0600 and 1000.

During the maintenance window, all servers will be updated with the latest patches for their respective operating systems and may be rebooted.

An "all clear" will be sent once the maintenance is completed.

Posted in Outages/Maintenance by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 8:48 AM | | Comments (0)

June 8, 2010

DATE CHANGE: June 18, 2010: 30-day-old E-mail in Trash will be Deleted
Posted in: CFANS IT Alerts

Audience: University of Minnesota Community
Action: Do not store important e-mail in Trash; University OIT will not restore it
URLs: http://www.oit.umn.edu/email/autofiling/
Contact: 1-HELP (612-301-4357)

DATE CHANGE: Beginning June 18, 2010: trash older than 30 days to be deleted, trash no longer archived

The e-mail trash deletion date originally scheduled for May has been rescheduled for June 18. Please be aware that effective June 18, all messages marked as Trash that are older than 30 days will be permanently deleted. Please see http://www.oit.umn.edu/email/autofiling/ for more information.

Do not store important e-mail in your trash folders. Once trash e-mail is deleted, the University OIT will not restore it.

University Services

* E-mail

Explanation

This practice will make available a significant amount of additional storage space and enhance system performance and user response time for the central e-mail system. In addition, it will also better align University practices with general best practices for e-mail services followed by Google and service providers in the education and public sectors.

More Information

If you have questions, http://www.oit.umn.edu/email/autofiling/ or contact 1-HELP (612-301-4357).

Posted in CFANS IT Alerts by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 10:58 AM | | Comments (0)

April 29, 2010

Wednesday, April 28, 2010: Adobe Acrobat Professsional 9.3.2 Update
Posted in: Software Deployment

Audience: Adobe Acrobat Professional 9.3 users, Windows only
Action: No Action Required
URLs: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/539/cpsid_53951.html
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, CFANS OIT will begin the installation of the Acrobat Professional 9.3.2 patch for CFANS computer systems that currently have Window Operating system and Acrobat Professional 9.3 or 9.3.1. MAC users will need to manually apply the update if you have Acrobat Pro.

Process

SCCM will be used to install the Acrobat Professional 9.3.2 update. The installation will occur in the background with no interruption to service.

Explanation

Updating Acrobat Professional 9.3 or 9.3.1 to 9.3.2 will address a number of customer work flow issues and security vulnerabilities.

More Information

Information about the issues addressed in the Acrobat Professional 9.3.2 patch is available at this website

*http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/539/cpsid_53951.html

If you have questions, contact cfans.help@umn.edu.

Posted in Software Deployment by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 11:11 AM | | Comments (0)

April 28, 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010: Java 6 update 20
Posted in: Software Deployment

Audience: CFANS Community, Windows Only
Action: No Action required
URLs: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u20.html
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

On Thursday, April 29, 2010 CFANS OIT will begin the installation of Java SE 6 update 20 for CFANS computer systems that do not have the latest version of Java.

Process

SCCM will be used to install the Java SE 6 update. The installation will occur in the background with no interruption to service.

Explanation

Updating Java 6 will address a number of security vulnerabilities that are present in the previous release, Java SE 6.

More Information

Information about the issues addressed in the Java 6 update is available at this website:

* http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u20.html

If you have questions, please contact cfans.help@umn.edu.

Posted in Software Deployment by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 8:28 AM | | Comments (0)

April 23, 2010

Sunday, April 25, 0600 to 1200: CFANS Server Maintenance
Posted in: Outages/Maintenance

Audience: Users of CFANS server resources
Action: No action required
URLs: None
Contact: cfans.help@umn.edu

Description

CFANS server patching and maintenance for April will take place on Sunday, April 25, 2010, between 0600 and 1000.

During the maintenance window, all servers will be updated with the latest patches for their respective operating systems and may be rebooted.

An "all clear" will be sent once the maintenance is completed.

Posted in Outages/Maintenance by Tracy Thomas Wilson at 3:16 PM | | Comments (0)