CaTS Blog

Attention WSU Faculty, Staff, and Students:
CaTS wants you to be aware of two new phishing scams that are targeting university faculty, staff, and students. Please read the below descriptions of these scams.

*Over Quota*

This scam tells you that your email is over quota and that you need to copy and paste a link into your web browser to avoid losing your account. You should not copy and paste this link, as you will be asked to enter your username and password, which could give scammers access to your email and other personal information.

*American Airlines Order Confirmation*

This scam gives you information about a supposed ticket order you placed with American Airlines. The message directs you to open the attached zip file to view your order information. You should not download or open the zip file, as it likely contains a virus which could damage your computer or steal your personal information.

Always remember: If you get ANY email that asks you to click on a link to enter your username and password, DON'T click on it. This is a scam. If you have questions about whether or not a message is a phishing scam, contact the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.
 

Faculty, Staff, and Students,

The Help Desk was recently notified of yet another phishing scam email that targets students, faculty, and staff of Wright State University. The message tells the reader that their email account storage is over quota, and that they need to click the link in the email to fix the issue. Once clicked, a page comes up asking for a username and password. This scam message could have a subject line with the words "Final Warning!!!!" and might have a "copyright 2011 Wright State University Help Desk" line within the email.

Please note that this is a scam and not an official notice from Wright State University or CaTS. DO NOT fall victim to this scam by clicking the link or entering your login information. If you do, your campus account could be used by spammers to send spam email.

Remember, CaTS will NEVER ask you for your account information via email or the web. If you have questions concerning this, please contact the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.
 

*Active Directory Transition Additional Information*

Over the past year, most Novell users at Wright State University were converted to Microsoft Active Directory. As you may recall, Active Directory is the system on campus that is used to give you access to your personal and departmental files on network drives, as well as access to network printers. As a result of this transition, the password for your campus “w” account is now case sensitive. For instance, if you capitalize a letter in your password when changing it, you must remember to always capitalize that letter when typing in your password.

To complete the Active Directory project, all Novell users must be converted by the end of winter quarter. At that time, Novell will be retired on WSU’s campus, and you will not be able to access your files and printers if your workstation hasn’t been converted. If you do not recall having your computer converted from Novell to Active Directory, please call the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827 as soon as possible so that a technician can come to your office and do the conversion.

*Passwords on Mobile Devices*

Please remember to change your stored password on your mobile device after you change your password. If you don’t do this, the mobile device will continue trying to use your old password, and could cause a lockout on your account. If you have questions or need assistance with passwords, please contact the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.

CaTS would like to remind you of some of the current and upcoming changes we're making to ensure the university's computing environment stays secure and accessible. If you have questions about any of these projects, feel free to contact the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827 or 1-888-775-4827.

1) Active Directory Transition

In the summer of 2010, CaTS began transitioning the university’s file storage and printing network infrastructure from Novell Directory Services to Microsoft Active Directory. Novell is the system on campus that is used to give you access to your personal and departmental files on network drives such as your H:\ and K:\ (also called users and shared on a Mac), as well as access to network printers. Active Directory will provide this same functionality.

This new infrastructure will give CaTS the ability to meet future needs and expectations of our users by providing them with better system functionality and tools to conduct their daily operations.

If you haven’t already, you’ll be hearing more about Active Directory shortly through more email reminders or department demonstrations. If you are invited to attend a departmental demonstration concerning Active Directory, we highly recommend that you attend, as it provides essential information to help make the transition smoother for you. If you would like to learn more, please visit our Active Directory Transition website, located at https://www.wright.edu/cats/ad/ . You’ll find answers to frequently asked questions concerning this change. As always, feel free to contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827 with any questions.

2) New Email Service for Students

This summer, Wright State University is launching RaiderMail, a brand new student email system with lots of features that students have been asking for. RaiderMail, which is built on the Microsoft Live@edu services, gives students a 10 GB inbox, the ability to collaborate on class and club projects, have remote access to documents, and more. New and existing student email addresses will retain the current format of lastname.#@wright.edu.

Although faculty and staff will not have accounts on RaiderMail, we’d still like you to be aware that you may hear students talking about the new email service, and that any emails you receive from them will come via this new system. Please note, though, that this will not affect your email inbox or change how you communicate through email with your students. If you have any questions concerning the transition to RaiderMail, please contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.

3) Transition from McAfee Anti-virus to Microsoft Forefront

In early April 2011, CaTS begin phasing out the use of the McAfee Anti-virus software in use on all university Windows-based computers, and began making a transition to Microsoft Forefront Security software. During this transition, all university-owned Windows-based computers will automatically receive the Microsoft Forefront software over the campus network, while the McAfee Anti-virus software will be automatically removed.

For faculty and staff with home computers, CaTS now offers the Windows version of Microsoft Security Essentials software free of charge, which includes anti-virus protection. This software can be downloaded on the CaTS Anti-virus website, located at Anti-virus Software.

Please note: You MUST uninstall any anti-virus software (such as McAfee) that is currently installed on your home computer in order to successfully install the Microsoft Security Essentials software. If you would like assistance with uninstalling anti-virus software from your computer, please contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827, or toll free at 1-888-775-4827.