News from the ITS Help Desk at The University of Iowa

ITS Help Desk Thanksgiving Recess Hours

Scott Leeman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:03:16 +0000

The ITS Help Desk will be open modified hours during the Thanksgiving recess.

The Help Desk will be closed on Saturday, November 21st through Sunday, November 22nd and Thursday, November 26th through Saturday, November 28th.
The Help Desk will be open Monday, November 23rd through Wednesday, November 25th from 8AM-5PM.
The Help Desk will resume regular hours of operation on Sunday, November 29th, from 6PM-10PM.

The ITS Help Desk is available for assistance by telephone (319-384-4357), email (its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu), online chat (http://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/hdl/) and in person at 2800 University Capitol Centre (second floor of the Old Capitol Mall) during all hours of operation.

Forwarding Your University E-mail

Scott Leeman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:15:16 +0000

Every student, faculty, and staff member at The University of Iowa is provided an e-mail “alias”, which is usually some form of “firstname-lastname@uiowa.edu”. Students, faculty, and staff are also eligible for a Hawkmail e-mail account. What’s the difference? Your e-mail alias is just a “pointer” to your real e-mail account. That account could be Hawkmail, or it could be another e-mail account like Gmail, AOL, etc.

Beginning November 9, 2009, if you have a University Hawkmail account and choose to “point” or forward your University alias to another e-mail account, your Hawkmail account will automatically be closed, to prevent you from missing important emails and ensure that all email is forwarded to your non-Hawkmail account. Click here for more information about email aliases and routing addresses.

Xythos Changes for Healthcare Users

vdrake — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:22:06 +0000

On Wednesday, November 4th, 2009, Xythos will become a HawkID 2.0 service (only Iowa domain logins allowed). If you have a Heathcare domain Xythos account and have files/folders that you would like to preserve, you can find directions for this process here: http://its.uiowa.edu/apps2/support/article/500 .

Blackberry Phones Security Vulnerability

yoder — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:22:11 +0000

There is a security vulnerability in what appears to be all BlackBerry phones running 4.5 to 4.7. More details can be found on their KB article.

RIM recommends that BlackBerry device users exercise caution when clicking on links that they receive in email or SMS messages. If a user visits a site that causes a BlackBerry Browser dialog box to warn the user about continuing the connection, the user should select Close connection.

Users should check with their service provider for an OS update or patch.

Protecting against “phishing” scams

Scott Leeman — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:15:26 +0000

Recently, the University of Iowa e-mail system has been inundated with fraud attempts, which are known as “phishing” scams, against members of the UI Community. These fraud attempts use e-mails designed to lure users into giving access to their Hawkmail accounts, as well as other personal information.

Your HawkID is used to access Hawkmail and other University systems and resources that can potentially impact research and service for thousands of our users. It is very important that you exercise caution when using your e-mail account to prevent malicious users from using your mailbox as a launching pad for further attacks.

There is NEVER a legitimate need for anyone to ask for your password in an e-mail
Websites that ask for your HawkID legitimately will always end in “uiowa.edu”

Compromised accounts lead to targeted scams involving your University credentials. With your help and vigilance we can continue to maintain a higher level of service for all University users.

For more information regarding phishing scams and how to identify them, see the ITS Phishing Support Center or contact the ITS Help Desk at its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu or 384-4357 (4-HELP).

Reminder: UI Remote Access (Dial-Up) Service to be Retired

Scott Leeman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:27:54 +0000

After careful consideration, ITS has decided that it is no longer economically feasible to offer the University of Iowa campus the ability to dial in to the campus network. The UI Remote Access (Dial-Up) service will be retired as of September 30, 2009. The costs of supporting the service continue to rise, despite the dramatic decline in the number of dialup users over the last several years. We recognize, though, that for some of you dial up is the sole or most reasonable means of connecting to the UI campus network. In order to help you find a new Internet Service Provider (ISP), we have compiled a list of the alternatives available both in the Iowa City area and nationwide. For more information about this decision and details on alternative options for accessing the Internet from off campus, see the UI Remote Access Support Site.

How to Backup your Data

Scott Leeman — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:54:58 +0000

Pictures, home movies, music, school work, financial information, and more are all now regularly stored on our computers. With this greater digitization of our life style comes the greater possibility of a catastrophic loss. Sometimes it may be the loss of just a few documents from school or work. But in the worst case it could be an entire hard drive containing gigabytes worth of pictures, movies, school work, and important financial information. Fortunately, there are a multitude of tools available today to help you keep your data from being lost. See the ITS Personal Data Backup Support Center for options and instructions for backing up your important information.

ITS Help Desk Labor Day Holiday Weekend Hours

Scott Leeman — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:07:00 +0000

The ITS Help Desk will be closing on Friday, September 4th at 5:00PM for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Help Desk will be open for telephone support only on Monday, September 7th from 5:00PM – 9:00PM. The Help Desk will resume regular full-service hours (telephone, walk-in, email, and online chat support) on Tuesday, September 8th at 8:00AM.

Blue Screen Error on Vista 64 Computers

Scott Leeman — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:27:57 +0000

A recent Windows Update has caused many people with a Vista 64 computer to crash and exhibit a blue screen error message. Many newer model laptop computers are impacted by this issue. The issue can be fixed by booting into safe mode and removing the update or performing a system restore. More information about the issue and step by step instructions for the fix can be found here: http://www.techerator.com/2009/08/fix-windows-vista-64-bit-gets-blue-screen-after-windows-updates/.

Connecting to UI Wireless

Scott Leeman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:43:49 +0000

ITS has implemented a new method for configuring your laptop to connect to the UI Wireless network. Simply connect to the UI Wireless Setup network, open an Internet browser, and follow the on-screen instructions at http://wireless.its.uiowa.edu. You will be prompted for your HawkID and password, then migrated to the secure, UI-Wireless-WPA2 network. More information about the UI Wireless service, along with a map of campus hot spots, can be found on the UI Wireless Support Center.