Category: Featured
Secure Paper Shredding June 13
BUMC IT and BU IS&T Information Security will be sponsoring a paper shredding day, Thursday, June 13 from 10am to 1pm along the Talbot Green. Bring any work related or personal documents that you would like to have securely shredded on site at the shredder truck. We will also have an area nearby where you can drop off computer equipment you would like recycled as well as hard drives you would like destroyed.
Technology Now: Cloud Computing
The GIR recently produced a new Tech Brief for the community. Click here for the full collection of Tech Briefs.
This Tech Brief, "Technology Now: Cloud Computing," explores the entire spectrum of cloud computing programs that offer potentially lower cost, easy-to-use services with high reliability and rapid startup times are now widely available online. These services, provide computing resources as an online service, not as a physical product. Researchers and users are demanding access to the capabilities that these services provide, but security officers are reluctant to give them access and academic IT organizations are not typically resourced to provide them locally.
Information Security Awareness Student Video & Poster Contest
Win cash, gain experience, and earn international recognition with one short video or a poster!
The EDUCAUSE & Internet2 Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) is conducting a contest in search of short information security awareness videos and posters developed by college students for college students. The contest seeks creative, topical, and effective videos (two minutes or less) and posters that focus attention on information security problems and how best to handle them.
Winners will receive cash prizes, and their videos and posters will be featured on the HEISC website (www.educause.edu/security). The winning videos and posters may be used in campus security awareness campaigns.
A gold, silver, and bronze prize will be awarded in three categories—training films of two minutes or less, 30-second public service announcements (PSAs), and posters—for a total of nine cash prizes. Honorable mention prizes will also be awarded.
Cash prizes for videos
- Gold: $2,000
- Silver: $1,500
- Bronze: $1,000
Cash prizes for posters
- Gold: $1,500
- Silver: $1,000
- Bronze: $500
Deadline: March 8, 2013.
For more information, visit http://www.educause.edu/SecurityVideoContest.
Good luck!
How Can I Protect Myself from Phishing?
- If an e-mail asks for your password, it is a scam. Delete it!
A popular phishing technique asks you to reply to a message and send your password. As an example, you could receive a message claiming to be from some seemingly official (but non-existent) entity, e.g., “The BU.EDU Upgrade Team,” saying that the mail system is being upgraded and your account will be deleted unless you respond immediately and provide your password. Please keep in mind that Boston University will never ask for your login and password information. - Don’t follow links, and never provide personal information.
You should never follow links offered to you in unsolicited mail or provide any personal or financial information, just as you wouldn’t when you receive an unsolicited phone call. This should be your guideline no matter how tempting, frightening, or persuasive the mail seems. Remember that, given an awareness of the problem of phishing, legitimate companies won’t use this method of approaching you. If you do feel compelled to respond or that you must check out something sent to you in an e-mail, don’t use a link in the e-mail message to do that. Use your browser to go to the known and trusted website (PayPal, for example) by typing in the URL/web address yourself and log in there.You can tell where a link is going by hovering over it with your mouse. Don’t click. Hover. As a general rule, if the e-mail message is lying to you about where the link wants to send you, it is a scam. - Don’t open attachments that you weren’t expecting.
Many viruses are designed to send out spoofed e-mail messages. This message could be originating from any infected PC in the world which happens to have your address in a file (e.g., the address book) or which happens to have auto-generated your address in some fashion. Some, although not all, of these messages will come with an attachment designed to spread the virus to you. Viewing such an attachment puts your computer at risk. - Filter out spam.
Spam is always annoying, and it can be dangerous too: spam e-mail often contains virus, spyware, or phishing exploits. You can protect yourself from many of these hazards by filtering spam. - When in doubt…
If you are unsure whether an e-mail is real or if you receive an e-mail messages that is abusive or harassing in nature, report it to abuse@bu.edu. If possible, it is helpful to include full headers when forwarding a message. If you have questions, contact the Service Desk at (617) 638-5914.
If it’s too late…
If you responded to a suspicious e-mail message and provided your password, you should immediately change your password and scan your computer for spyware and viruses. Depending on what information you provided, you may also need to take steps to protect your credit card and bank information.
Contact the BUMC IT Service Desk if you believe you have been a victim of phishing at (617) 638-5914 or bumchelp@bu.edu.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PHISHING:
- Phishing IQ Test: http://www.sonicwall.com/furl/phishing/index.php
- Phishing Awareness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0yWWqX0L4g
- "Phishing" Internet Security PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPCPU5UpPG4&NR=1
Remember, Boston University will never ask for your login and password information via e-mail.
FreezerPro Software Now Available to the BUMC Community
Boston University Medical Campus is pleased to announce a fully supported, enterprise class biospecimen repository management system, FreezerPro 2012 Enterprise. FreezerPro is a web-based system that will be run on campus by BUMC IT. It will have full technical support including data and system backups.
FreezerPro allows users to track their frozen samples through an intuitive, fast, reliable and secure Web-based application. Features include automatic alerts of low number of sample aliquots, sample expiration date, sample volume or freeze-thaw count along with reporting.
FreezerPro has been independently validated and certified to be fully compliant with HIPAA and the FDAs current GLP/GMP requirements.
More information about FreezerPro 2012 Enterprise can be found at:
http://www.ruro.com/software/freezerpro/freezerpro-2012-enterprise
The centrally subsidized cost will be $199 per user per year, a fraction of an individual license.
If you would like to sign up for a license or would like more information about FreezerPro, please call the BUMC IT Service Desk at (617) 638-5914 or submit a ticket asking for a license at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it/support/bumc-it/request/.
Phishing Scam: “Boston University IT Help Center – Please Upgrade Today!”
Be on the lookout for a new phishing email that is circulating through the BU community. The email appears to come from ithelp@bu.edu and has the subject "Boston University IT Help Center - Please Upgrade Today!" A full transcript of this phishing message can be found below.
THIS IS A PHISHING EMAIL AND NOT FROM BOSTON UNIVERSITY.
As long as you disregard these e-mails and do not click on any of the links you should be fine. You can learn more about phishing e-mails on our website: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it/comm-collab/e-mail/unwanted-email/phishing/.
As a reminder, BU will never ask you for personal information or your password.
Here are a few simple tips to avoid being hooked by a phisher:
- If the email asks for your password, it is a scam. Delete it.
- If the email is about a financial account you don’t have or an order that you don’t know anything about, it is almost certainly a scam.
- If you feel you must check out something sent to you in email DON’T CLICK THE LINK. It is completely possible to make a link lie to you. Instead, use your browser to go to the known and trusted website by typing in the URL/Web Address yourself.
- You can tell where a link is going to take you by hovering over it with your mouse. Don’t click. Hover. If you do this for the link above you will see yahoo pop up in a box by your pointer or in a space at the bottom of your email client or browser. General rule: if the email message is lying to you about where it wants to send you, it is a scam.
As always, forward any e-mails you are unsure about to abuse@bu.edu and then delete them. When forwarding an e-mail to abuse@bu.edu, it is helpful to include the full headers if possible. If in doubt, call the BUMC IT Service Desk at (617) 638-5914 or the IT Help Desk (Charles River Campus) at (617) 353-4357.
Transcript of Phishing Scam:From: Boston University IT Help Center [ithelp@bu.edu] Dear Colleague, Due to congestion in our webmail database, we will be shutting down some unused accounts. You will need to confirm your account as soon as possible so we can upgrade your account before the deadline. To Upgrade your account, kindly CLICK THE UNIVERSITY LINK BELOW and fill out the form. ***************************************************** http://www.123contactform.com/form-353182/Boston-University After following the instructions on the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thank you for attending to this request. We apologize for any inconvenience. |
CANCELLED: Host On-Demand Upgrade – Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Host On-Demand upgrade could not be completed successfully, so all changes were reversed and the service has been returned to version 10.0.1. We will post an update when the upgrade has been rescheduled.
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(See original article from 6/17/12)
Early Sunday morning, IS&T will upgrade the Host On-Demand service (used to connect to and use GALAXY) from version 10.0.1 to version 11.0.5. The new version will be available by 8:00 a.m. on the 17th. This update fully supports modern browsers, operating systems, and Java plugins, and it does not require any action on your part; the next time you launch HOD it should operate normally, although it may update a few files before opening.
Supported Browsers
Windows
- Internet Explorer 6.0 or newer
- Mozilla Firefox 1.5 through 12.0
Mac OS X
- Safari 1.2 or newer
- Mozilla Firefox 2.0 through 12.0
Supported Java 2 Plugins
- Sun, IBM, and HP Java plugins 1.5.0. Sun 1.6.0
- IBM 32-bit runtime Environment for Java 2, 1.5 and 1.6.
Though this new version of HOD will work on older browsers and Java versions, we highly recommend updating to the newest possible version of each to take advantage of important security updates. If you use any other applications that need Java, please check TechWeb for browser and Java compatibility.
For assistance updating your browser and Java plugins, contact the IT Help Center online, via e-mail at ithelp@bu.edu, or by phone at (617)353-HELP (4357). If your computer is managed by IS&T’s Desktop Services, the appropriate updates will be pushed to your computer during the next change window. If your school or department has dedicated IT support,contact them for help installing updates.
Change to Apple BU Computer Standards
With the release of new Ivy Bridge based systems from Apple, our BU standards have changed. These standards have been posted already, and can be found here:
http://www.bu.edu/sourcing/how2buy/computers/apple/
In addition, a new standard has been added, the MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display. Also added is the Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
No changes have been made to Apple desktop and iPad selections.
BUMC IT Launches New Website
The new website of Boston University Medical Campus Information Technology (BUMC IT) is now live. The new BUMC IT website, which can be accessed at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it, offers quick and easy access to information about BUMC IT services and answers to many common technical questions.
The new website features a new WordPress visual theme, better organization of content, and incorporation of social media. Another feature is an advanced search bar that has options to search within BUMC IT’s site as well as within the websites of Information Services and Technology (IS&T), BUMC and all of BU. Ultimately, BUMC IT hopes that the new website will promote easier access to answers for common technical questions.
The website redesign is one of several initiatives BUMC IT is taking to make information more available to the Medical Campus community. BUMC IT is now present on popular social media sites including Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/bumcit) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/bumcit), which can provide up to the minute information that will be easier to broadcast and available if BU services are ever down. BUMC IT social media pages will provide immediate information about known issues and service outages, as well as useful technical tips. In addition, BUMC IT is developing new marketing brochures that can serve as a quick reference guide for common IT issues on the Medical Campus.
Visit the new website at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it. BUMC IT welcomes users to submit feedback about the site through the “Feedback” link, which is located on the bottom of every page. For additional questions or comments about the new website, contact the BUMC IT Service Desk at (617) 638-5914 or bumchelp@bu.edu.
BUMC IT aspires to provide the highest quality of service to facilitate, support, and advance the missions of the BU Medical Campus community through the application of information technology. The Service Desk is the single point of contact for questions and inquiries. Learn more about BUMC IT at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it.
BUMC IT Service Desk Accepting Applications for Fall Student Employment
Boston University Medical Campus Information Technology (BUMC IT) is currently accepting applications from Boston University (BU) students who have strong computer knowledge and excellent customer service skills for student employment at the BUMC IT Service Desk to begin in the Fall, 2012 semester.
Student employment at the BUMC IT Service Desk is the perfect position for students who are good with computers and looking for a fun and challenging part-time job. Applicants must currently be enrolled at BU as an undergraduate or graduate student. Entering freshmen are welcome to apply. Candidates should have an in-depth knowledge of Windows and/or Mac personal computers, experience with a wide variety of software, and the ability to communicate technical knowledge to people of all levels of technical understanding. In addition, this position requires excellent English language communication skills, in person and on the phone. Applicants should be enthusiastic about improving their technical skills and have the ability to work independently.
To be considered for employment, students must be able to commit six or more hours per week in blocks of at least three hours. The pay rate is $12 per hour. Work-Study funds are accepted but not required. The BUMC IT Service Desk is located on the fourth floor of the Crosstown Building (801 Massachusetts Ave.) at the BU Medical Campus in Boston’s South End. Transportation to the BU Medical Campus is available by the BU Shuttle and several MBTA bus lines.
Additional details about the position and an online application form are located at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it/support/bumc-it/student-employment/. For questions about the position, contact Frank Furnari at 617-638-5914.
BUMC IT aspires to provide the highest quality of service to facilitate, support, and advance the missions of the BU Medical Campus community through the application of information technology. The Service Desk is the single point of contact for questions and inquiries. Learn more about BUMC IT at http://www.bumc.bu.edu/it.
