Over the last month, Simmons Technology has seen a sharp increase in spam containing malicious attachments. Opening infected files that you receive via email can install unwanted and dangerous software on your device. Some files even contain malware that will lock you out of your device and demand a ransom in exchange for unlocking it.

We don’t want to see anyone at Simmons end up in these types of situations. Here’s what we’re doing—and what you can do—to stay safe:

• We adjusted Gmail’s spam filtering tool to enhance our ability to detect and quarantine spam and malware.
• We are available to help you identify potential problems with attachments.
• You should be cognizant of who has sent you an email with an attachment and the name and file type of the attachment. If it looks unusual or suspicious, don’t open it.
• You should install antivirus software on your computer. If you’re using a Simmons-owned computer, antivirus software is already installed and running.
• You can learn to look for signs that your device has been compromised by a virus or malware.

If you have questions about information security or concerns about a specific email or attachment, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

The new VoIP telephone system at Simmons makes it easier than ever to connect to a colleague or department using a voice-activated directory. To access the directory, dial 3411 on campus or 617-521-3411 from off campus. The directory is also available from off campus when calling 617-521-2000 outside of business hours.

Using a speech recognition tool, the directory can look up and connect you with any department or employee on campus when you say their name. You can also search for departments by saying department guide or using common synonyms such as help desk to reach the Technology Service Desk. There is a full list of department extensions and synonyms available, along with instructions for updating department information.

If the system is unable to match the employee or department name, there is also an operator available during normal business hours.

For more information about the voice-activated directory, visit the Service Desk website. If you need additional assistance, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

Following a complete overhaul of in-room technology equipment, the Career Resource Center in SOM 106 is now the Career Resource Center Meeting Room.

The space is available for meetings of up to fifteen people and features a complete suite of media technology, including:

• Built-in projector and screen
• Windows computer with wireless keyboard and mouse
• HDMI and VGA video/audio connections for laptops
• Blu-ray player
• Audio conferencing equipment (coming soon)

You can reserve the Career Resource Center Meeting Room directly through events.simmons.edu (R25).

Supporting Trans* Students
The Department of Public Safety often shares information with the Simmons community to help ensure our safety. What we don’t often see is the commitment to continuing education that helps the officers and civilian staff better understand the needs of a diverse campus.

On March 7th, Public Safety held a team workshop, entitled “Supporting Trans* Students at Simmons College: Understanding for Safety and Empowerment.” The workshop was conducted by Merrimack College professor Susan Marine. Dr. Marine is an expert in empowering women and gender non-conforming students, and she brings years of experience in violence prevention, diversity initiatives, and LGBT advocacy—issues that are vitally important to our community.

R.A.D. Self-Defense Classes
During February and March, Sgt. Jarrad Farrington and Inspector Michael Legee taught R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) self-defense courses in Alumnae Hall. The R.A.D. system is a comprehensive course consisting of 12 hours of strategies to help develop awareness, increase prevention, reduce risk, and learn physical self-defense. To learn more about R.A.D. and upcoming classes, please call 617-521-1112 or email[email protected].

New Academy Graduates
We would like to congratulate Blake Coleman and Phillip Dimanche on their graduation from the Police Academy. Officers Coleman and Dimanche recently completed the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Training Alliance #9 course.

Funded by a generous grant from the Ruby W. and LaVon P. Linn Foundation, Technology and Advancement have partnered to significantly upgrade the technology available in the SOM Executive Dining Room (M513).

The Executive Dining Room is available for events that require advanced web conferencing and teleconferencing capabilities. With built-in support for presentations, screen and webcam sharing, GoToMeeting and Skype conferencing, and assistive listening devices, the space can accommodate events with up to 24 attendees.

To make things even easier, basic presentations can be set up without the support of Technology. Just follow the touch screen prompts to connect your device and display your presentation. For events requiring the use of conferencing features, please contact Technology two weeks in advance to ensure the proper configuration of equipment in the space.

If you would like to reserve the Executive Dining Room for an upcoming event, please contact Conferences and Special Events ([email protected]) to discuss available dates and times.

While many of our interactions with colleagues have moved to email, chat, web conferences, and other online communication tools, the telephone is still an important part of our day-to-day lives at Simmons.

In an effort to provide telephone service that integrates with our larger technology infrastructure and creates significant cost savings over time, Simmons Technology installed Voice Over IP (VoIP) phones across campus this year.

VoIP phones replaced our legacy phone system, which experienced frequent outages and was nearing a point at which we could no longer make repairs to keep it functioning at an acceptable level. As an alternative, VoIP represents a stable, long-term solution that maintains our previous phone functionality and provides new features, such as voicemail-to-email (available now), plus mobile phone twinning—forwarding calls from your office phone to a mobile or home phone—and a voice-activated directory (coming soon).

The Technology team’s primary goal is to implement new products and services in a way that ensures their long-term success. We recognize that moving to VoIP has been a significant transition for Simmons employees and we appreciate your patience. Your cooperation and participation are vital to the success of this project and everything we do to support business and strategic objectives.

For employees who need assistance with their VoIP phones, we have created FAQs and videos covering the most commonly used features. If you have additional questions about using your VoIP phone, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

Though we still spend time on campus, in our classrooms and offices, we also move around. A lot. And we take our computers, phones, and tablets with us. Often, this means encountering unique challenges when using services on various devices.

Fortunately, many services provided by Simmons Technology have high-quality mobile versions or apps to help you work no matter where you are or what device you’re on.

Google Apps

• Gmail app (iOS / Android) + Setup instructions for iOSand Android
• Calendar app (iOS / Android)
• Drive app (iOS / Android)
• Docs app (iOS / Android)
• Sheets app (iOS / Android)

Workday

• Apps available for iOS and Android
• Login instructions for iPhone and Android
• Login instructions for iPad

Moodle

• Mobile site available and fully functional on most tablets and phones

VPN

• Apps available for iOS and Android
• Setup and login instructions

Simmons Connection

• The Technology team is developing upgrades to Simmons Connection and AARC that will provide a better experience on mobile devices. The updated mobile interface (coming soon) will allow students to check course schedules and grades on-the-go as well as the student events calendar, directory, campus map, and important phone numbers.

While most Simmons students were away from campus enjoying the winter break, the Buildings & Grounds team was hard at work preparing our campus for the spring semester. While many of us never see this work being done, we all reap the results.

Among the campus improvements completed during the break were:

• Installation of hydration stations across both campuses
• Replacement of heating and cooling infrastructure in buildings on the Residence Campus
• Installation of 150 energy saving LED light fixtures on the Residence Campus
• Repairs to infrastructure under the Academic Campus quad
• Improvements to the Sports Center locker rooms and refinishing of the gym floor
• Completion of cleaning projects in almost every building on campus

We’d like to thank the Buildings & Grounds staff for their year-round work and dedication to keeping our campus running smoothly.

Downloading and installing software can be a time-intensive and expensive proposition. And finding a computer on campus that has specific technical or creative applications is not much fun either.

What if you could solve this problem by logging into a computer on campus and then choosing the set of tools you need? This is, in essence, what Simmons Technology has worked with the Department of Computer Science to do for their faculty and students.

In room 214 in Palace Road, every computer has been virtualized. Virtualization is a process that shifts all of the software and actual computing power to a centralized computer called a server.

The computers in P214 allow instructors to set up virtual environments and share them with students, who can download and run the environments while in class and access them from any location on their personal computers. Students can then work within the virtual environment to write, install, and test new applications.

Virtualization also provides flexibility in the classroom. When P214 is used for other SLIS classes, students and instructors can log into a separate virtual environment tailored to their needs.

This informal partnership with Computer Science faculty and students provides Simmons Technology with a valuable source of knowledgeable feedback on virtual environments at the College.

As virtualization becomes an increasingly important tool in STEM fields and for students who come to Simmons via online courses, it is vital that we know what is working well and what areas can be improved.

Virtualization is a new and powerful way to help us provide computing resources that meet the needs of the Simmons community, whether you’re on campus, across the country, or halfway around the world.

Single-use plastic water bottles are yesterday’s news. They’re expensive, they produce tons of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, and the manufacture and distribution of all those bottles produces huge carbon emissions. It’s also not really safe to reuse them.

At Simmons, we just made filling up your reusable bottle even easier. Across campus, you’ll find new sensor-activated hydration stations. Just open your bottle, line it up, and fill it with safe, local tap water that’s been named the best tasting in the country.

You’ll find hydration stations in:

• MCB (1st floor, East and West)
• Lefavour (Meyers Café)
• Library (1st and 2nd floors)
• Park Science Center (near S183)
• School of Management (2nd floor)
• Palace Road (2nd floor)
• Sports Center (locker rooms, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, and pool deck)
• Dix Hall (1st floor)

Not only will the hydration stations reduce waste on campus and save you money, they’ll also allow us to monitor the success of this effort. We’re working on a feature atgreen.simmons.edu that will track how many single-use bottles we’ve saved and our contribution to reducing emissions.

If you have questions or comments about this, or any other sustainability initiative, please contact Sara Smith ([email protected]) in Buildings & Grounds at 617-521-2244.