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Additional function for Outlook activated

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

Recently Information Technology activated an extra layer of security called Exchange Online Protection. Since the implementation we have received some complaints from users not receiving emails or of emails ending up in the Junk mail folder.

This change, as background, was that our previous spam filter was not set to an aggressive level and subsequently we could safely discard messages classified as spam. Due to the conservative filter users still received a considerable amount of spam. We would like to drastically reduce spam, but there remains a larger possibility that legitimate messages are falsely classified as spam. This is why messages are not deleted, but rather end up in the Junk mail folder where users can decide for themselves whether messages are actually spam.

To simplify and streamline the process for reporting falsely classified messages, the Report Message add-in was activated this weekend to enable users to reclassify these emails as legitimate. The reclassification of the message will, firstly, be applied on your own mailbox, but, secondly, also to the central SPAM filter. When multiple users classify a specific message in the same way, this classification will be applied to all users, except where a specific user indicated a different choice.

The last option will send your classification to Microsoft. The feedback will help Microsoft’s email classification and threat-reduction protocols to be more accurate going forward. However, whether Microsoft is included or not, IT should always be notified of any suspect emails immediately. 

More information on the Report Message add-in can be found on this safe, downloadable PDF. For further inquiries please contact the IT Service Desk at 021 808 4367 or log a request on the ICT Partner Portal.

For further inquiries please contact the IT Service Desk at 021 808 436

The end of Windows 7

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

After 10 years support Windows 7 came to an end on 14 January 2020.

How does this affect you?  

If you still use Windows 7, after January 14 your PC will no longer receive security updates or technical support from Microsoft. Subsequently your PC will pose a threat to the university’s network and we might have to remove it from the network in future for security reasons. This also means that you data will be unprotected, and you could potentially have no access to the network (in other words, no internet, email, etc.)

Therefore, if your PC is still running on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you will have to upgrade to Windows 10, an operating system which can provide the latest security updates to keep your data safe.  You can read more on Microsoft’s software life cycle on their site. 

Upgrades from Windows 7 & 8.1 to Windows 10 will be free for staff. To request this upgrade, please log a request on the  ICT Partner Portal(Windows 7 to Windows 10 upgrade) after which you will automatically receive and email. Please include the following information in the request: 

  1. the computer’s asset number
  2. device type
  3. contact numbers
  4. building name
  5. room number

Your device will be checked for an upgrade possibility as older equipment may need components for the upgrade, and this will be for the account of the department. There might also be a possibility that very old equipment or devices that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be able to be upgraded.  

If any other actions are needed, an IT technician will also contact you. 

IT will do the following without charge: 

  1. Guide you with work related data to be backed up to OneDrive
  2. Upgrade the operating system from Windows 7 & 8.1 to Windows 10 
  3. After the upgrade a technician can assist with if needed: Installing of non-standard campus related software such as SPSS, Statistica, etc., install printers.

You will have to pay for: 

  1. Backups of all data if and IT technician has to do the backup
  2. Hardware components necessary for the upgrade to Windows 10 

If IT is requested to backup data, the cost will be as follow: 

Less than 15GB – R1310-00 
More than 15GB – R2240-00 

Relevant articles on the end of Windows 7: 

Inetkey: the end is near

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

On Monday, 2nd December 2019, the Council of Stellenbosch University approved the budget for 2020, which introduces a new model to provide the required funding for internet capacity for the entire university. In the past, Inetkey served as gatekeeper to keep track of individual internet usage for staff and students, to facilitate collection of the necessary funds to afford the internet service for the university community.

Will Inetkey disappear completely? Not yet.

Since January, Inetkey no longer collected usage data for billing purposes. In effect, there won’t be any charge per use anymore.

However, Inetkey serves other technical purposes, apart from funding the internet service. User identification is a basic requirement to keep track of who used how much internet, but there are also some security and auditing requirements for which the university need to collect basic information about internet traffic. So, for the time being, Inetkey will still be required to access to the internet, but without any individual charges.

Some historical facts:

Internet cost charge-out used to be common practice at most SA institutions since the 90’s. Bandwidth was a scarce resource, and universities needed to manage usage carefully to avoid service collapse and other negative experiences.

From 2000 onwards, internet bandwidth gradually became more affordable, as can be seen from rate changes since 2001. The university introduced three rates per day, A, B and C, to allow discounts during off-peak times. Eventually, the rates stabilised, and as the costs dropped, the university decided to increase available capacity regularly.

In 2001 you paid R1-50 per MB (megabytes) of internet data. Over the past 18 years this decreased to the current 2c. At the same time our internet capacity increased. In 2008 total capacity was a mere 0.4 Gbps (gigabits per second) — at the moment we’re running at 1.7 Gbps and this could increase next year. 

When will Inetkey really disappear? The remaining technical functionality of Inetkey will be migrated to other mechanisms, such as a new firewall planned to be procured in the first half of 2020. We expect the final burial of Inetkey later in 2020.

Windows 10 upgrades currently ongoing

Thursday, August 8th, 2019

Information Technology’s support team identified computers on the university network which is running an outdated version of Windows 10 and could possibly pose a network security risk. To rectify the situation technicians will be performing an in-place upgrade of outdated computers to the latest stable version of Windows 10. Before we proceed with the upgrade, you will be sent an email to explain the situation, as well as a few minor instructions.

The upgrade will happen after hours @19h00 to minimise the impact it will have on your daily tasks, but you will always receive an email beforehand to notify you. For this reason we ask that you save and close all open documents and close all open software on your computer before you leave work in the afternoon. If you have a laptop, please secure it to your desk. 

The desktop/laptop will not need to come to IT for the upgrade since the upgrade will be initiated remotely. No data or software will be removed from the computer.

If you have any enquiries regarding this upgrade, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Phishing attempt from sun accounts

Tuesday, July 16th, 2019

Staff and students are still falling for this phishing scam, so please be alert when receiving ANY emails from a sun account regarding the request for a quote.

An email with the subject “RFQ” which appears to be from a sun email address was sent to staff and students. The email asks you to click on a link to view a request for a quotation. (also see image below)

This is not a legitimate email, but a phishing attempt from a compromised staff account.

Never provide any personal information by means of email. By clicking on links and providing your information, you give criminals access to your personal information and your accounts.

If you clicked on the link in this phishing email, immediately change your password on www.sun.ac.za/password. For enquiries contact the IT Service Desk by logging a request or calling 808 4367. More information on phishing is available on our blog and Twitter.

 

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