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Notices

Upgrade to Office 365 and Windows 10

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

Microsoft recently sent out a notification that some versions of Office 2013 and Office 2016 may experience connectivity issues due to the retirement of support for these versions. It is therefore imperative that all users who still use  Office 2013 and Office 2016 immediately upgrade their Office software to Office 365. 

Users whose devices are still using Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 as operating systems are also required to urgently upgrade their devices as this software is no longer supported by Microsoft.

Benefits of upgrading your software

With the challenges we’ve faced over the few months, why do we have to sacrifice valuable time to have my software upgraded?

New malware is released daily, putting your data and the University at risk.  So, apart from gaining new features by updating your software you are also protected from outsider threats as the new software has better security features, is more reliable and has better performance. 

When must I do this?

We recommend that users do this upgrade as soon as possible to ensure that you don’t fall prey to malware and lose valuable data.

Who will help me with the upgrade?

A support ticket can be logged on the ICT Partner Portal.  As soon as the ticket is logged, you will receive a reference number via email after which an IT technician will contact you to arrange an appointment to assess if an upgrade is possible on the device.

[Article by Ronel Reynecke]

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Information Security Awareness Training

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021

Part of living in a connected world is understanding that our private information is more vulnerable. ID theft and data breaches are no longer isolated incidents, they happen every single day.

So why would a university be targeted?

Universities hold a great deal of information that could be exploited if it gets into the wrong hands. This information includes personal details and research data.

Consequences and why it matters:

Though not all data security incidents will lead to the loss or theft of information, they will expose information to unwanted risk.

A full data security breach will involve a known disclosure or inappropriate access to information, which is a more serious incident. Any data security incident could potentially be disastrous for both you and the institution.

In an effort to create awareness around some of the typical hacks that we all fall prey to, we have made an Information Security Awareness training programme available. This is a self-study programme with fun quizzes in-between. This is by no means a programme that you will need to have a pass record. This course is strictly informational so that you will have the necessary tools when it comes to Information Security.

To access the course, go to https://learn.sun.ac.za. When the SUNLearn main page opens, click on the “Information Security Awareness Training” link and log in with your network username and password. If you’re successfully logged in, scroll down and click on the “Enrol me” button to enrol yourself for the course and to access the training material.

If you are unable to log on to SUNLearn and you are certain that the network credentials you have entered are correct and active, please log a request via https://learnhelp.sun.ac.za for SUNLearn support.

 

 

 

 

 

New e-waste bins at IT

Monday, October 4th, 2021

 As part of the campus “Going Green” project Facilities Management will be placing e-waste bins at selected spots on campus. We encourage staff and students to use these bins for any non-asset e-waste.

Two of these yellow bins (see example right) will also be located at IT. A bin will be placed at the IT HUB by the entrance and a second one will be placed at the IT Main building in Hammanshand Rd at the service entrance (facing IT the door on your right) Both bins will be just inside the buildings by the doors. 

WHAT IS E-WASTE?

Electronic waste (e-waste) or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are the terms used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, batteries etc. which have been disposed of by their original users.  More on e-waste.

We encourage all staff and students to use these bins for any non-asset e-waste. Bins will be serviced by Wasteplan and weekly inspections will be made by the university’s Wasteplan site supervisor to assess when a collection is needed.

For assistance and enquiries please email fmhelpdesk@sun.ac.za.

 

Remember to check your Junk Email folder

Monday, August 30th, 2021

To ensure that staff and students aren’t exposed to malicious phishing or spam emails our system administrators and security team had to enable a stricter spam filter earlier this year as added protection.

A spam filter assigns every message, received and sent, a spam confidence level based on the likelihood that the message is spam. Depending on its level an inbound message may be relayed directly to the user’s Junk Email folder. The filter looks at certain criteria contained in the email it rates, for example too many hyperlinks or a suspicious file attached. Tweaking the filter can be tricky – we don’t want you to miss important emails, but at the same time it’s our responsibility to protect you and all our staff from harmful attacks. 

For this reason, it’s important that you regularly look in your Junk Email folder in case the spam filter might have relayed it there. 

The main purpose of Microsoft Outlook’s Junk Email Filter helps is to reduce unwanted email messages in your Inbox. Junk email, also known as spam, is moved by the filter away to the Junk Email folder. This is done at an institutional level by Microsoft (as mentioned above), but you can also flag or “un”flag messages from a person or company as Junk email.

How to change your spam filter’s preferences.
How to tag an email as junk mail.
How to report spam or junk email to Microsoft. (downloadable PDF-document) 

If you have any questions, please log a request on the ICT Partner Portal.

Service levels impacted by COVID

Monday, August 23rd, 2021

We have a number of positive COVID cases among our support staff.  In all probability our support service levels will be reduced until the affected staff are able to return to their normal duties.

Only critical on-site support for staff will be possible as per appointment at the ICT Main Building. During this period requests can still be logged on the ICT Partner Portal and we will attend to them as quickly as possible.

We apologise for the inconvenience.

 

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