CaTS | Information Technology

CaTS Blog

New WINGS Express Header

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

WINGS Express now has a new look and feel! Tuesday, September 25 the WINGS Express header was updated to better represent the Wright State brand:

WE header

All functionality for WINGS Express remains the same. For more support using WINGS Express, visit the WINGS Express Support page. 

Important Information About macOS Mojave

Friday, September 21, 2018
apple logo

Please disregard if you are a Windows PC user

Wright State Faculty and Staff macOS users,

Recently, Apple announced their latest Mac operating system update 'Mojave' will be available on Monday, September 24. At this time, certain CaTS applications (i.e. Casper) do not support this latest update for Mac devices.

Please do NOT update your university-owned macOS; CaTS will be testing various applications on new operating system, and will notify campus when it's appropriate to update your system.

If you have questions, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu


 

IT Security Update: September 2018

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Ransomware

Ransomware has been in the news quite a bit lately. Reports about hospitals having to pay a 'ransom' to unlock encrypted files have made the news several times over the past year.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is malicious software that is typically delivered via an email phishing scam. For example, an infected file attached to an email can install a program that encrypts documents without the user knowing. These small programs also look for any attached USB and network drives (such as our H, K, and R drives), to encrypt documents and backups on those drives. Once encrypted, the documents are no longer usable without a key to decrypt them. 

Where Does 'Ransom' Come In?

For a price, the 'bad guys' will provide you with the key to decrypt your documents. They usually want payment through a non-traceable method, such as electronic currencies like Bitcoin.

How is CaTS Protecting the University Against Ransomware?

The first line of defense is an email protection system that blocks malicious files from reaching your inbox. This solution blocks the majority of ransomware threats, but is not 100% effective due to many variants that are created on a daily basis.

The second line of defense is the antivirus/antimalware program installed on the local computer. Since many individuals on campus don't use our network storage, this protection becomes very important in keeping documents safe from ransomware. To that end, CaTS is deploying SentinelOne, a next generation antivirus/antimalware program that is not only signature based but also uses machine learning and behavior based analysis to detect malicious software. Additionally, SentinelOne protects locally stored documents by creating a protected backup that can be utilized to restore those documents. 

CaTS will be contacting individual departments to arrange installation of SentinelOne on a department by department basis.

As a last line of defense, documents stored on our network storage (H, K, and R drives) can be restored from backups that are performed every night. These backups are not accessible from your computer, therefore, the ransomware cannot encrypt them.

Questions?

If you've fallen victim to ransomware, shut down your machine and call the CaTS Help Desk immediately. If you have any questions, call us at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu

VDI System Reboot 9/12/18

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Due to a technical issue that occurred earlier this morning, a reboot of the VDI environment is required. The reboot will take place at 8 p.m. tonight, 9/12, and will cause campus VDIs to be unavailable for approximately one hour.

Save any work that you have open and power down your machine prior to the time of the reboot.

If you have any questions, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu.

Update on Adobe Creative Cloud Personal Purchases

Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Adobe Creative Cloud

Wright State Faculty and Staff,

CaTS is aware that Adobe has modified their process requirements to distribute Adobe Creative Cloud software for work at home purposes. This change caused a significant increase in the cost of buying Adobe Creative Cloud software from the Wright State OnTheHub website.

Since becoming aware of this change, CaTS has been working with the appropriate vendors to once again be able to distribute this product for a minimal yearly charge, instead of the standard $20/month educational discount currently being offered. This new contract agreement will also allow students to purchase the software at a discounted price. Prices for faculty, staff and students will be available through OnTheHub when an agreement has been finalized, and will be offered at a significantly decreased rate. CaTS will also notify campus when new pricing options are available.

We understand the frustration this has caused many of you, and are working quickly to correct this issue. If you have further questions, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu

Systems Restored 8/28/18

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Earlier system connectivity issues with WINGS Express and Banner Admin have been resolved.

If you experience further issues, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.

Banner Outage for 8/28/18

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

CaTS is currently experiencing intermittent issues with WINGS Express and Banner Admin. The following services may be temporarily affected:

  • WINGS Express
  • Banner Admin
  • Wright1 Card Services
  • TouchNet
  • Appworx
  • Parking Services
  • WrightBuy
  • Xtender
  • uAchieve/DARS
  • ODS/Cognos

CaTS is actively working on this issue and will notify campus when these services have been fully restored. 

Final Reminder: Fall 2018 Classroom Upgrade Information

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

As previously announced, over the summer CaTS replaced all classroom Mac Minis with Windows-based Dell 5050s. Additionally, all registrar-scheduled classrooms were upgraded to Windows 10. With the exception of 191 Joshi Research Center which will be upgraded on Friday, August 24, all upgrades are now complete. To view the upgrade schedule and additional comments, visit https://www.wright.edu/information-technology/services/summer-2018-class...

All classrooms and computer labs were unlocked beginning August 20, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., if you wish to test the new equipment. However, rooms may be reserved for both academic and non-academic events, preventing access to those rooms. To confirm room availability, email cats-training@wright.edu.

To schedule a training session for classroom equipment, contact cats-training@wright.edu; a CaTS training representative will contact you shortly to arrange a session in your Fall Semester classroom.

If you have any questions, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu

VDI System Outage 8/18/18

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Due to a migration of our VDI environment to new server clusters, all VDI systems will be unavailable during the following date and time:

Date: Saturday, August 18
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Save any work that you have open and power down your machine prior to the maintenance date and time.

If you have questions regarding this maintenance, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu

Upcoming System Maintenance

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Over the next few days, CaTS will be performing maintenance and upgrades to the following systems:

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Saturday, August 11, 9 p.m. - Sunday, August 12, 3 a.m.

Due to an upgrade of our storage systems, H:, K:, and R: drives and datafeed will be down.

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Saturday, August 11, 8 p.m. - Midnight

CaTS will be migrating our server infrastructure to new equipment. Most systems will experience a 20-30 minute outage during this time period as the servers are migrated.

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Sunday, August 12, 5 - 7:30 a.m.

System updates will be performed on the Banner application and database servers. This maintenance is necessary in order to implement operating system patches

Access to all Banner-related services will be unavailable, including:

  • WINGS Express
  • Banner Admin
  • Wright1 Card Services
  • TouchNet
  • Appworx
  • Parking Services
  • WrightBuy
  • Xtender
  • uAchieve/DARS
  • Printing using Pharos
  • ODS/Cognos

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Saturday, August 18, 7 a.m. - Noon

Various modules in Banner 8 Admin and Banner 9 Admin will be upgraded to their most recent versions. During this time, Banner 9 Admin will be unavailable for approximately one hour. The Employee tab in WINGS Express will be unavailable for the duration of the upgrade.

All other WINGS Express services and Banner 8 Admin will be accesible during this upgrade. 

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If you have questions regarding this maintenance, contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or email helpdesk@wright.edu

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