All posts by Randolph Pfaff

Viruses and malware: Not just for Windows anymore

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We know that many people on campus make Macs their first choice when purchasing a new laptop. We also know that Apple has long had a reputation for being impervious to viruses, malware, and other malicious code, and that people sometimes think only computers with Windows become infected with viruses. Unfortunately, that’s just not true.

In the last few weeks, Apple has been at the center of a security controversy because of a piece of malicious software called the Flashback Trojan. This software was installed without people’s knowledge, on an estimated 600,000 Macs via a security defect. This was the largest known infection of Macs to date, and a good reminder that everyone should be aware of the importance of security, no matter what brand of computer you own.

Luckily, Apple has responded quickly to develop a tool to remove Flashback and there is also a website (created by antivirus software maker Kaspersky Lab) where you can check to see if your Mac has been infected.

These are great solutions to this particular outbreak, but there are a couple of things you can do to keep your Mac safe all the time. First, make sure that your Mac’s software is up to date (Click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your screen, and then click “Software Update”). Frequently, Apple releases security updates and other important improvements to software, and letting the Software Update tool download and install these updates makes your computer safer. Secondly, you should have up-to-date antivirus software running on your Mac. Simmons offers a free download of Sophos antivirus for all students, staff, and faculty.

Remember, computer security is important no matter what kind of computer you have. If you take simple steps now to protect your computer, it will save you time, effort, and money in the long run.

Keep it secure with Xfer

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A quick reminder from Simmons Technology: When you need to send confidential information, don’t use email, use Xfer, the Simmons Secure File Transfer service.

Xfer allows confidential information to be uploaded and downloaded from an encrypted website here at Simmons. You upload a file, enter the recipient’s email address, and then they receive a link to download the file. You can even send information securely to non-Simmons recipients.

Xfer is the perfect way to send files that contain sensitive personal or financial information and it conforms to the Simmons Security of Sensitive Information Policy.

To get started, go to xfer.simmons.edu and enter your Simmons user name and password. There is also a “Getting Started” link with information on how to use Xfer.

Gmail and Google Apps for Students are on the Way!

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At Simmons Technology, we are always looking for ways to provide our customers with the best technology and to do so in ways that increase efficiency and value. As part of these efforts, we are constantly assessing our current services and upgrading them when it is clear that we can improve performance and customer satisfaction. This is one of those moments.

In late May, following the conclusion of spring semester and graduation, we will be introducing Google Apps for Education (including Gmail) to all students as part of our Simmons Connection project. At that time, all student email will be migrated from Webmail to Gmail, including any email you have stored in Webmail. We recognize that this will be a big change and we want to take this opportunity to let you know what will happen, when it will happen, and how it will impact and improve your use of technology.

First, we’d like to tell you why we are making this important change. We’re aware that many students at Simmons already use Gmail for personal email and that many also forward their Simmons email to Gmail. This alone presents a distinct advantage over our current Webmail client. In addition, Gmail includes services like integrated chat, voice, and video conferencing, as well as simple syncing with mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, etc.). These are all significant upgrades to our current service. Google also provides a range of other services beyond Gmail, which will be useful to students, including Google Calendar and Google Docs.

On top of the direct benefits to students, moving to Google Apps represents an important organizational and budgetary improvement. Google Apps for Education is free and it is hosted and supported by Google. This means that we will be able to free up resources at Simmons for other significant technology initiatives and to refocus the work of our support staff on other services important to you. A practical example of the savings is reflected in the storage quota that will be included with Gmail. Students will soon have a 25 gigabyte storage quota. This is more than one-hundred times the amount of storage we are currently able to provide based on our budget and server capacity.

We do recognize that there will be many questions about this change and how it will work. To help answer those questions, we will be including more information in the April and May newsletters, creating an informative website that will help you navigate Google Apps, providing training sessions in April, June, and September, and having technology staff host information sessions on both the Academic Campus and the Residence Campus. Of course, you are always welcome to call or email the Service Desk to get answers to your questions directly.

Right now, we are in the process of testing Google Apps and we are looking for students to use the service and provide feedback. Clicking this link will take you to a sign-up form where you can volunteer to be an early adopter. Based on your availability in the coming months, we will choose volunteers from this list and help you switch to Gmail and begin using other Google Apps. It is very important to us that we get feedback from students before we open this new service to the entire student body. Your questions and comments will help guide us as we move forward. If you currently have a Gmail account for personal use, your new Simmons Gmail account will work alongside it and you can switch between accounts at any time without having to log out of one account and log in to the other.

Our goal is to make the transition to Google Apps on May 25th. Making this change between semesters will minimize any disruption in email services and allow students time to adjust before a new semester begins.

We hope you will also read the other two articles in this month’s TechNews. They will address data security and privacy concerns at Google and our plans for faculty and staff email and calendaring.