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HERES WHY.)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted on )] TJ ET BT 104.045 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(September 04,2018)] TJ ET BT 185.585 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [( by )] TJ ET BT 200.093 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(IT Communications)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 61.016 637.420 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Occasionally we receive enquiries regarding seemingly high Inetkey costs, especially from students.Usually, the causes )] TJ ET BT 61.016 626.431 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(are fairly straight-forward and can be easily prevented.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 606.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(It's very difficult to say what is causing or what the source of the traffic is without actually looking at yourInetkey logs. 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If you take )] TJ ET BT 61.016 573.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(note of all the IP addresses and see if they are in fact your devices, you will get a better idea of which device is generating )] TJ ET BT 61.016 562.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(the traffic and at which times.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 542.497 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Keep in mind that Stellenbosch University has numerous times been rated as having the fastest internet in South Africa. )] TJ ET BT 61.016 531.508 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Current speed tests show that the download speed is 95.29 MB per second and an upload speed of 58.12 MB per second. )] TJ ET BT 61.016 520.519 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Subsequently, you can easily run up a massive Inetkey bill within minutes.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 500.530 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(The following are a few potential causes for high Inetkey usage:)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 RG 85.866 483.357 m 85.866 483.769 85.696 484.179 85.404 484.471 c 85.113 484.762 84.703 484.932 84.291 484.932 c 83.878 484.932 83.469 484.762 83.177 484.471 c 82.885 484.179 82.716 483.769 82.716 483.357 c 82.716 482.945 82.885 482.535 83.177 482.243 c 83.469 481.952 83.878 481.782 84.291 481.782 c 84.703 481.782 85.113 481.952 85.404 482.243 c 85.696 482.535 85.866 482.945 85.866 483.357 c f BT 91.016 480.541 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Windows 10 updates that cannot easily be switched off with traditional means. )] TJ ET BT 404.162 480.541 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(However, if the device is on the )] TJ ET BT 91.016 469.552 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(SU network and set up to receive updates from IT's WSUS server, updates will be downloaded locally and )] TJ ET BT 91.016 458.563 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(not run via Inetkey.)] TJ ET 85.866 450.390 m 85.866 450.802 85.696 451.212 85.404 451.504 c 85.113 451.795 84.703 451.965 84.291 451.965 c 83.878 451.965 83.469 451.795 83.177 451.504 c 82.885 451.212 82.716 450.802 82.716 450.390 c 82.716 449.978 82.885 449.568 83.177 449.276 c 83.469 448.985 83.878 448.815 84.291 448.815 c 84.703 448.815 85.113 448.985 85.404 449.276 c 85.696 449.568 85.866 449.978 85.866 450.390 c f BT 91.016 447.574 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Updates stopping and restarting or not completing. Windows 10 1709 Creative Update is a little under 4Gb.)] TJ ET 85.866 439.401 m 85.866 439.813 85.696 440.223 85.404 440.515 c 85.113 440.806 84.703 440.976 84.291 440.976 c 83.878 440.976 83.469 440.806 83.177 440.515 c 82.885 440.223 82.716 439.813 82.716 439.401 c 82.716 438.989 82.885 438.579 83.177 438.287 c 83.469 437.996 83.878 437.826 84.291 437.826 c 84.703 437.826 85.113 437.996 85.404 438.287 c 85.696 438.579 85.866 438.989 85.866 439.401 c f BT 91.016 436.585 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Inetkey being left open on a device that is unattended overnight or during classes.)] TJ ET 85.866 428.412 m 85.866 428.824 85.696 429.234 85.404 429.526 c 85.113 429.817 84.703 429.987 84.291 429.987 c 83.878 429.987 83.469 429.817 83.177 429.526 c 82.885 429.234 82.716 428.824 82.716 428.412 c 82.716 428.000 82.885 427.590 83.177 427.298 c 83.469 427.007 83.878 426.837 84.291 426.837 c 84.703 426.837 85.113 427.007 85.404 427.298 c 85.696 427.590 85.866 428.000 85.866 428.412 c f BT 91.016 425.596 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Video streaming from sites not on the firewall exception list. Watching an HD streamedmovie during the day and )] TJ ET BT 91.016 414.607 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(eveningcan generate 3Gb of data per hour.)] TJ ET 85.866 406.434 m 85.866 406.846 85.696 407.256 85.404 407.548 c 85.113 407.839 84.703 408.009 84.291 408.009 c 83.878 408.009 83.469 407.839 83.177 407.548 c 82.885 407.256 82.716 406.846 82.716 406.434 c 82.716 406.022 82.885 405.612 83.177 405.320 c 83.469 405.029 83.878 404.859 84.291 404.859 c 84.703 404.859 85.113 405.029 85.404 405.320 c 85.696 405.612 85.866 406.022 85.866 406.434 c f BT 91.016 403.618 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Using alaptop as a wifi hotspot for a cell phone to save on data costs.)] TJ ET 85.866 395.445 m 85.866 395.857 85.696 396.267 85.404 396.559 c 85.113 396.850 84.703 397.020 84.291 397.020 c 83.878 397.020 83.469 396.850 83.177 396.559 c 82.885 396.267 82.716 395.857 82.716 395.445 c 82.716 395.033 82.885 394.623 83.177 394.331 c 83.469 394.040 83.878 393.870 84.291 393.870 c 84.703 393.870 85.113 394.040 85.404 394.331 c 85.696 394.623 85.866 395.033 85.866 395.445 c f BT 91.016 392.629 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Using filesharing protocols like BitTorrent. Remember that uploads and downloads both generate traffic. If you use )] TJ ET BT 91.016 381.640 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(BitTorrent you are also seeding and will also pay for someone downloading your own files.)] TJ ET 85.866 373.467 m 85.866 373.879 85.696 374.289 85.404 374.581 c 85.113 374.872 84.703 375.042 84.291 375.042 c 83.878 375.042 83.469 374.872 83.177 374.581 c 82.885 374.289 82.716 373.879 82.716 373.467 c 82.716 373.055 82.885 372.645 83.177 372.353 c 83.469 372.062 83.878 371.892 84.291 371.892 c 84.703 371.892 85.113 372.062 85.404 372.353 c 85.696 372.645 85.866 373.055 85.866 373.467 c f BT 91.016 370.651 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Syncing files to DropBox.)] TJ ET 85.866 362.478 m 85.866 362.890 85.696 363.300 85.404 363.592 c 85.113 363.883 84.703 364.053 84.291 364.053 c 83.878 364.053 83.469 363.883 83.177 363.592 c 82.885 363.300 82.716 362.890 82.716 362.478 c 82.716 362.066 82.885 361.656 83.177 361.364 c 83.469 361.073 83.878 360.903 84.291 360.903 c 84.703 360.903 85.113 361.073 85.404 361.364 c 85.696 361.656 85.866 362.066 85.866 362.478 c f BT 91.016 359.662 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Weak passwords allowing neighbours and friends to share internet connections from adjacent rooms.)] TJ ET 85.866 351.489 m 85.866 351.901 85.696 352.311 85.404 352.603 c 85.113 352.894 84.703 353.064 84.291 353.064 c 83.878 353.064 83.469 352.894 83.177 352.603 c 82.885 352.311 82.716 351.901 82.716 351.489 c 82.716 351.077 82.885 350.667 83.177 350.375 c 83.469 350.084 83.878 349.914 84.291 349.914 c 84.703 349.914 85.113 350.084 85.404 350.375 c 85.696 350.667 85.866 351.077 85.866 351.489 c f BT 91.016 348.673 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Passwords being leaked to a friend or partners and then abused at a later stage.)] TJ ET 85.866 340.500 m 85.866 340.912 85.696 341.322 85.404 341.614 c 85.113 341.905 84.703 342.075 84.291 342.075 c 83.878 342.075 83.469 341.905 83.177 341.614 c 82.885 341.322 82.716 340.912 82.716 340.500 c 82.716 340.088 82.885 339.678 83.177 339.386 c 83.469 339.095 83.878 338.925 84.291 338.925 c 84.703 338.925 85.113 339.095 85.404 339.386 c 85.696 339.678 85.866 340.088 85.866 340.500 c f BT 91.016 337.684 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Viruses or malware included in BHO that spam and generate traffic. Often compromised e-mail accounts will cause )] TJ ET BT 91.016 326.695 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(high internet usage, because InetKey and email use the same password.)] TJ ET 85.866 318.522 m 85.866 318.934 85.696 319.344 85.404 319.636 c 85.113 319.927 84.703 320.097 84.291 320.097 c 83.878 320.097 83.469 319.927 83.177 319.636 c 82.885 319.344 82.716 318.934 82.716 318.522 c 82.716 318.110 82.885 317.700 83.177 317.408 c 83.469 317.117 83.878 316.947 84.291 316.947 c 84.703 316.947 85.113 317.117 85.404 317.408 c 85.696 317.700 85.866 318.110 85.866 318.522 c f BT 91.016 315.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Inetkey accountsbeing used on multiple devices.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 295.717 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(If none of these seemsto be causing yourhigh Inetkey usage, you can ask Information Technology to investigate )] TJ ET BT 61.016 284.728 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(your internet usage \(or issues\).If you have a query send a complaint within 14 days to)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 432.635 284.728 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(helpinfo@sun.ac.za)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 RG 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 432.635 283.298 m 516.929 283.298 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 61.016 273.739 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(. The cost of an enquiry is R200.00 per enquiry. If an error is found, the administrative fee will not be levied.)] TJ ET BT 402.934 253.750 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [([Information supplied by David Wiles])] TJ ET BT 61.016 233.761 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [()] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 215.272 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted in:Internet,Students | Tagged:Inetkey,Internet | With 0 comments)] TJ ET endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 13 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 380.6867 594.6202 501.2327 603.7777 ] >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm) >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 15 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 432.6347 283.8952 516.9287 293.0527 ] >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (mailto:helpinfo@sun.ac.za) >> endobj xref 0 16 0000000000 65535 f 0000000008 00000 n 0000000073 00000 n 0000000119 00000 n 0000000305 00000 n 0000000334 00000 n 0000000472 00000 n 0000000561 00000 n 0000010347 00000 n 0000010459 00000 n 0000010574 00000 n 0000010694 00000 n 0000010802 00000 n 0000010930 00000 n 0000011010 00000 n 0000011138 00000 n trailer << /Size 16 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R >> startxref 11215 %%EOF Students « Informasietegnologie
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“Office 365 verification” phishing scam from compromised student account

Monday, September 3rd, 2018

Please be on the lookout for the following phishing scam coming this morning from a compromised student account:

The subject will be “Office365 E-mail Verification” (or a variation) and says that “you recently made a request to terminate your Office365 mail” and to click on a link to cancel this termination.

The mail should be immediately suspicious to most people with common sense and awareness of phishing scams, but here are a few signs:

  1. Why is a student account sending you mail about your “termination” of an Office365 account?
  2. Why are they threatening you to verify or lose your account?
  3. Why does the link point to a site that is not in the university network and is in Brazil of all places?
  4. Why is something as “important” as this being sent in a non-secure email? 

Here is an example of one of these phishing emails that several observant students and colleague have sent me this morning already!

If you have accidentally clicked on the link and given your login details to the phishers it is vitally important that you immediately go to the USERADM page (either http://www.sun.ac.za/password or www.sun.ac.za/useradm and change your password immediately. (Make sure the new password is completely different and is a strong password that will not be easily guessed, as well as changing the passwords on your social media and private e-mail accounts, especially if you use the same passwords on these accounts.)

If you have received mail that looks like the one above, please immediately report it to the Information Technology Security Team using the following method: (especially if it looks like it comes from a university address) Once you have reported it, delete it immediately.

  1. Start up a new mail addressed to csirt@sun.ac.za (CC: sysadm@sun.ac.za)
  2. Use the Title “SPAM” (without quotes) in the Subject.
  3. With this New Mail window open, drag the suspicious spam/phishing mail from your Inbox into the New Mail Window. It will attach the mail as an enclosure and a small icon with a light yellow envelope will appear in the attachments section of the New Mail.
  4. Send the mail.

[ARTICLE BY DAVID WILES]

 

Exam access app a resounding success

Thursday, August 30th, 2018

Until recently granting access to examinations for students has been a manual and time-consuming process of checking-off access lists. However, thanks to new technology developed by Information Technology in collaboration with the Examination Office in the Registrar’s Division, this is no longer the case.    

Since June this year, the identification of students for access to examination venues has been facilitated with the use of cell phones at each venue. 

A student’s student card is held against the back of the cell phone, and on the screen, it is indicated whether the student is supposed to write the examination in the specific module in the specific venue. The screen will display a green mark if the student is at the correct exam venue (see image right) and a red cross if not. If the student is at the wrong venue, the screen will indicate where the student should be for the exam or test.  

This will result in access to examination venues being easily and swiftly controlled and will certainly simplify and improve the function of access control with regard to examination venues.  

This easier scanning process is made possible by the NFC (near-field communications) chip on Android phones which communicates with the MIFARE chip embedded in the student card,  and the identification information is then used by the phone app to look up the student’s exam venue. The exam venue and module information come from the Student Information System. 

Tests were first conducted on a small scale during the November 2017 examination and the technology was rolled out fully for the June 2018 examination. It was a resounding success.  

 Emce Louw, Head of the Exam Office experienced the impact first-hand as the process was driven from her office. This included loading the cell phones, setting up data, training the convenors responsible for scanning at the venues and collecting the phones after the exams. She received overwhelmingly positive feedback from invigilators and students alike: 

 

 

 

 

Scan van studentekaarte is fantasties! Ek het gister 4de jaar Megatronika studente gehad. Hulle was vreeslik beïndruk met die scanning!”

The development and successful completion of the technology was a cross-functional team effort. Hendrik le Roux from Information Technology’s Access Control Division was the project manager and Guzelle Hendricks was responsible for business analysis for the two three-month phases of the project which ran from the end of 2017 to June 2018.  

In addition to Hendrik and Guzelle the following staff played a key role in getting the project off the ground – Phillip Greeff (TAS), Gregory Isaacs (TAS), Anna-Mari du Toit, Marc-Allen Johnson, Jeremy van Rooyen, Charles Hopkins, who wrote the app and Elmar Matthee who was responsible for the back-end development. On the side of the functional stakeholders, besides for Emce, Neels Fourie (Deputy Registrar), and Jan du Toit and Helene Nieuwoudt (both from SISS) participated in the project.

High internet costs? Here’s why.

Monday, April 9th, 2018

Occasionally we receive enquiries regarding seemingly high Inetkey costs, especially from students. Usually, the causes are fairly straight-forward and can be easily prevented. 

It’s very difficult to say what is causing or what the source of the traffic is without actually looking at your Inetkey logs. So, to start, before contacting us about your Inetkey usage, first look at your logs on http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm and go to the [View Internet Usage] tool and under “View Type” select “Source” and select USER to refresh the display. If you take note of all the IP addresses and see if they are in fact your devices, you will get a better idea of which device is generating the traffic and at which times.

Keep in mind that Stellenbosch University has numerous times been rated as having the fastest internet in South Africa. Current speed tests show that the download speed is 95.29 MB per second and an upload speed of 58.12 MB per second. Subsequently, you can easily run up a massive Inetkey bill within minutes.

The following are a few potential causes for high Inetkey usage:

  • Windows 10 updates that cannot easily be switched off with traditional means. However, if the device is on the SU network and set up to receive updates from IT’s WSUS server, updates will be downloaded locally and not run via Inetkey.
  • Updates stopping and restarting or not completing. Windows 10 1709 Creative Update is a little under 4Gb.
  • Inetkey being left open on a device that is unattended overnight or during classes.
  • Video streaming from sites not on the firewall exception list. Watching an HD streamed movie during the day and evening can generate 3Gb of data per hour.
  • Using a laptop as a wifi hotspot for a cell phone to save on data costs.
  • Using filesharing protocols like BitTorrent. Remember that uploads and downloads both generate traffic. If you use BitTorrent you are also seeding and will also pay for someone downloading your own files.
  • Syncing files to DropBox.
  • Weak passwords allowing neighbours and friends to share internet connections from adjacent rooms.
  • Passwords being leaked to a friend or partners and then abused at a later stage.
  • Viruses or malware included in BHO that spam and generate traffic. Often compromised e-mail accounts will cause high internet usage, because InetKey and email use the same password.
  • Inetkey accounts being used on multiple devices.

If none of these seems to be causing your high Inetkey usage, you can ask Information Technology to investigate your internet usage (or issues). If you have a query send a complaint within 14 days to helpinfo@sun.ac.za. The cost of an enquiry is R200.00 per enquiry. If an error is found, the administrative fee will not be levied.

[Information supplied by David Wiles]

 

Teach and Learn with MATLAB and Simulink

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018

Where Will MATLAB Take You Today?

Stellenbosch University has a Total Academic Headcount (TAH) license for MATLAB, Simulink, and add-on products. You may use these products for teaching, research, and learning. The license allows individuals to install the products on university-owned equipment, as well as personally owned computers.

Get Access Today: http://rga.sun.ac.za/firga/matlab.html

New SUNLearn mobile app available for download

Wednesday, April 26th, 2017

Information Technology has developed a new SUNLearn mobile app which is now available for download. The app can be downloaded for Android, as well as iOS devices. It can also be downloaded by scanning the QR code to the right.  

SUNLearn is Stellenbosch University’s blended-learning platform. It is an open source, powerful, flexible and mobile-ready blended learning platform for learning and teaching. The system is easy to learn and use for both staff and students and an extensive user guide is also available. 

The SUNLearn mobile app can be used to:

– browse the content of your courses, even when offline,
– receive instant notifications of messages and other events,
– quickly find and contact other people in your courses,
– upload images, audio, videos and other files from your mobile device,
– view your course grades, etc.

Full features can be seen here.

Students who are new to the system can go to the Student training link where they will find various resources, videos and self-help guides. Keep in mind that when you use the SUNLearn mobile app on campus via Maties WiFi or the network, you will not be charged for any data and you will not need Inetkey for access.

The SUNLearn support team can be reached at learn@sun.ac.za or 021-808 2222.

 

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