Category: Changes
Sunday June 12, Annual Wireless Certificate Update
Information Services & Technology will perform its annual wireless certificate update on Sunday, June 12. This certificate renewal is part of our continuing effort to improve wireless security across campus.
Wireless devices may prompt users to accept the new radius.bu.edu certificate. Some devices may need to manually reconnect to the wireless network to accept the certificate. We recommend connecting to the eduroam wireless network and use your BU email as your username.
Please plan your use of the campus Wi-Fi accordingly. For questions or concerns, contact the BUMC IT Service Desk at 617-358-4540.
On Tuesday March 15th, BUMC Wireless Networks will be unavailable from 5 am to 5:30 am
On Tuesday March 15th, the BUMC wireless networks will be unavailable starting at 5 am for 15 to 30 minutes while routine maintenance work is completed.
This will impact campus Wi-Fi in all Medical Campus facilities that have the "BU (802.1x)", “BU Guest (unencrypted)” and "eduroam" wireless networks, including the Medical Student Residence at 815 Albany Street.
Please plan your use of the campus Wi-Fi accordingly. For questions or concerns, contact the BUMC IT Service Desk at 617-358-4540.
BUMC IT Windows XP Upgrade Initiative
BUMC IT is beginning a project to upgrade as many University-owned machines as possible from Windows XP to Windows 7, since support will end on Windows XP from Microsoft on April 8, 2014. XP machines will still function, but they will no longer receive critical patches from Microsoft, including security updates, making these machines vulnerable. We are beginning an initiative to reach out to members of the community who have Windows XP computers so we can evaluate them and begin the upgrade process. If you have questions about this project, please feel free to call the Service Desk at 617-638-5914.
To find out if you are running Windows XP, visit the following link from Microsoft: http://amirunningxp.com/
If you are running Windows XP, we now have a form available for you to fill out that will help us prepare to consult you about your upgrade: Windows XP Upgrade Request
Upgrade to BUMC VPN starting July 25
On July 25, 2013 we will be releasing an upgrade of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux. After July 25 any login to VPN will automatically upgrade to the new version. The current version has vulnerabilities that could be exploited as well as an expired application certificate that might give errors during installation when new clients connect to the VPN for the first time. A few things to note about this upgrade:
- The Windows interface is unchanged and will look similar to the previous VPN client.
- The Mac version has changed and now mimics the Windows version. The functionality will be virtually the same, but the look and feel of the application interface has changed.
- The VPN client is now branded with BU logos within the user interface.
- For advanced VPN users, we have enabled population of VPN endpoints in the client's drop down list. If you login to multiple groups to connect to several applications (for example work2.bumc.bu.edu/Slone), you will notice that the drop down list will automatically populate with the names of the different groups that you login to after you connect to them for the first time. From that point on you can select the group from the pull down instead of typing it in each time you connect.
If you have any questions or concerns about this VPN upgrade, please contact email The BUMC IT Helpdesk or call us at 617-638-5914.
BUMC Computer Maintenance Overnight on February 13th
On Thursday, February 14th from 2 a.m. – 6 a.m. all BUMC Desktops set for Standard Patching will be rebooted to perform updates on Windows, Mac OS X, Microsoft Office, and various third-party software. For a complete listing of the patches applied, see the Patch Listing page on Tech Web.
Please leave your computer on Wednesday night so patching can occur. You will be reminded with a pop-up (see below) on your desktop Wednesday afternoon. If you do not receive a pop-up then your computer is excluded from updates or does not have BUMC Asset Management software on it (Dell Kace). If you have questions please contact BUMC IT Service Desk (617) 638-5914
Our standard patching window going forward will be Thursday mornings from 2 a.m. - 6 a.m. (note that reboots should only happen once a month during Windows updates).
McAfee Update to BUMC computers
When will this change happen?
Monday 10/29 through Friday 11/2
*Due to Hurricane Sandy this update will only take place Tuesday 10/30 through Friday 11/2
What is changing?
McAfee is being upgraded from an unmanaged installation to a managed installation using McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO)
If you do not have McAfee installed it will not be installed on your system this is only an upgrade to existing McAfee installations.
Why is this change happening?
- McAfee ePO allows BUMC IT to set the same antivirus policies on all Windows computers
- McAfee virus definition updates can be pushed out and updated to ensure your computer has the most recent version instead of relying on a set schedule that requires your computer to be on when it is scheduled
- Virus infections will be reported back to a central server so threats can be analyzed by BUMC IT staff
- New versions and patches to McAfee can be quickly deployed to all computers to reduce errors and improve the functionality of McAfee
- Computers which have McAfee disabled and/or who have outdated virus definitions can be identified then updated by BUMC IT staff before they are infected
What change will I see?
In the lower right corner of your computer (near the clock) you will see the following icon meaning your computer has McAfee antivirus installed. 
After the upgrade, the icon will change to this. 
*If you don't see either McAfee shield above on your computer please contact the BUMC IT service desk at 617-638-5914
What computers are affected by the change?
All Windows computers that have been setup and are managed by BUMC IT will have McAfee Antivirus installed. Computers that have been setup and are managed by BUMC IT will have one of the following tags on them. If you are on a BMC computer you are not affected by this change.
If you have any questions about the change please feel free to contact the BUMC IT Service Desk at 617-638-5914
