IRT: News & Events: TechUpdates: May 07 2004

An updated version of the Sasser Worm is wriggling its way through the Internet. This new exploit of an old Windows vulnerability permits a remote user to take control of your system. If you have been keeping your Microsoft Windows Critical Updates up to date, you should be safe.

To protect your computer, do a Windows Update now. For instructions on doing your Windows Updates, see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/support/security/security_howto.html. To ensure that your computer is always protected, IRT strongly recommends that your computer be set for automatic updates.

For an overview of security concerns and what to do about them, visit IRT's Security Workshop at http:/www.drexel.edu/irt/support/security/.

2. Reminder: Limit on Number of Recipients per Email

You've been sending messages to a group of colleagues or students for a very long time using a client-based distribution list. Suddenly your emails won't go through. What happened?

There are two possibilities.
First, you may have recently added a name or two, which put you over the preset limit for how many recipients you can include at one time in a single email. (Drexel's limit for sending mail has been 200 for the past several years. Many ISPs, however, set a significantly lower limit for their spam filters, so your message may be blocked from the receiving end as well.)
Second, periodic upgrades and reconfigurations on Drexel's mail server may have closed some loopholes so that the limit now works more effectively than it did before.

The solution is easy. Contact the IRT Mass Mailing group (email mailreq@drexel.edu) and request a ListServ list. You can read about Drexel's ListServ at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/services/listserv/info.html.

Moreover, you'll be a good net citizen. A ListServ mailing list is more efficient than individual emails in use of net resources.

3. 'Brute Force' Attacks Trigger Domain Lockouts

One of the current rash of Internet assaults has been what, for lack of a better name, is known as a 'brute force' attack.

Individuals see this when their Domain user-ID and password do not work. A common error message is: "User-ID and password combination is unknown". It means someone (i.e., some rogue program) has tried to access an account multiple times in rapid succession. In such cases, the system locks your account to protect your data and identity.

There are two solutions and one preventive measure.
(1) Wait an hour. The lockout is temporary, not a permanent disabling of the account. It will re-set itself after one hour.
(2) Call the IRT Accounts Office for help (215-895-2698). After identifying you, the accounts staff can remove the lockout.
(3) For prevention, make your computer and account less vulnerable by keeping your computer protected with the latest virus protection and Windows Updates. Remember, if someone takes over your computer, they can also harvest your information.

4. Folio Workshop: Resumes Made Easy

Two workshops to demonstrate Folio, Drexel's resume and personal portfolio program, will be held next week. The functionality of the application will be demonstrated in Korman Computing Center room 116 at:

1 p.m. Tuesday, May 11, 2004
2 p.m. Thursday, May 13, 2004

Please send email to eportfolio@drexel.edu if you wish to attend one of these sessions. Although this is a demonstration rather than a hands-on exercise, the number of seats available is limited, so advance notification is requested.

5. Communicating with Classes: Photo Class List or WebCT

The term is proceding, the pace of activity is hectic, and you find yourself wishing for an easy way to convey information and resource materials to your students. You have choices.

* You can stand at a photocopy machine and then hand out paper copies in class, hoping that not too many students will be absent that day.

* You can use Photo Class List (aka Drexel Course Management Service). This Drexel-designed system allows you to send email to the whole class or to individual students. You can give feedback to individual students, or distribute new information or supplementary articles to the entire class, all in email format. (Go to http://www.drexel.edu/classlist and sign in.)

* You can use your class listing in WebCT. This offers a wide variety of features for managing your class, ranging from message boards and distribution of materials through exam management and grade books. WebCT is designed to support a fully online delivery of your courses, but many instructors find it a useful supplement in face-to-face courses. For information, see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/services/webct/. For questions, contact webct@drexel.edu.

6. Special Information for New Graduates

Graduation time is approaching. For students on the semester system, it's almost here; for quarter system students, it will be here next month. In both cases, there are things you need to know about your Drexel computer accounts and what services you retain after graduation.

For details, see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/policies/email.html#continue.

Graduating students will receive individual emails shortly before graduation.

And while we're at it, congratulations! A Drexel degree represents a lot of hard work. You made it!

7. Windows 98 or ME Users: It's Past Time to Upgrade

Support for Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition will end at Drexel on June 21, 2004. At that time, computers with these older operating systems will no longer be able to connect to the Drexel Domain.

To check on the system requirements of Windows XP Pro (Drexel's currently recommended Windows operating system), see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/sysreqs.asp. If you need advice or help with your migration, contact consult@drexel.edu or call 215-895-2698.

Please let us know immediately if you have doubts about the compatibility of any special business or research applications with the more advanced operating systems (Windows XP or Windows 2000); we can help you with the transition.

This change in the Drexel Domain is required to accommodate upgrades to more advanced functionalities in some of the core central systems used by many faculty and staff members.

WebCT News

8. Spring Cleaning Time

It's half way through spring term, time for spring cleaning on the WebCT server. We need to archive and remove all of the spring 2002 (200203) SCT/Banner-generated courses. These are the courses that contained students and were of the form 3xxxx200203.

If there is reason why a course should be kept on the WebCT server, contact us by 5 p.m. Friday, May 14, 2004. If you want to take a backup copy before removal, use the Backup function under the course Control Panel before May 14.

9. WebCT Boot Camps

WebCT Boot Camps, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 116 of the Korman Computing Center, have been scheduled for the following dates:

Friday, May 21
Friday, June 18
Friday, July 30
Friday, August 27
Friday, September 24
Friday, October 29
Friday, November 19
Friday, December 17

Laptops are provided for hands-on experience and, when the session is full (which is normal), we also supply lunch. Reserve your slot early at webct@drexel.edu.

10. Targeted WebCT Workshops

Several departments have taken advantage of IRT's offer to conduct WebCT workshops targeted to particular needs. If you have a group with a common interest, IRT's WebCT trainers can contour the presentation to meet those needs. The session can take place in one day, or in shorter segments spread over several days. Let us know how we can help you at webct@drexel.edu.

11. Summer Is WebCT Time

Summer is coming, and that's the perfect time to prepare WebCT courses for fall presentation. We recommend that you do most of your course development work prior to the term you will be delivering the course.

Here are some hints for course design from a recent journal article, "Creating Social Presence in Online Environments" by Steven R. Aragon:

* Develop welcome messages
* Include student profiles
* Incorporate audio
* Limit class size
* Structure collaborative learning environments

IRT offers talent and resources to help you with these and other course design issues. Contact webct@drexel.edu for an appointment. And, if you're a new user, try to take one of the WebCT Boot Camps.

12. Tips for This Month

* If you have a late start using WebCT because your courses do not show up in Banner until a week before the term begins, you need to know about "parent courses". These are development courses that can be created for you whenever you need them.

"Parent courses" have several advantages:
a. You can have them right now!
b. There are never any students in them, so they are a "safe" environment in which to experiment, make mistakes, try out new ideas.
c. You can pre-build an entire course - at your own pace - for future delivery, or even as a new course or Special Topics proposal for your department.
d. You use the finished "parent course" to over-write ("restore" in WebCT lingo) your CRN term-based course when it becomes available in Banner just before the start of term. The same "parent course" can be used for this purpose term after term.

* To use the Gradebook feature in WebCT, you need to do two things:

a. The My Grades tool must be available in the Course Menu for your students. If the link is not already there, use the Add Page or Tool selection to add it.

b. The Gradebook columns that you wish to be viewed by your students must be "released". To do this:

- Go to Control Panel, Manage Course, and Manage Students.
- In the Organize area, display the drop-down list. Select Manage Columns and hit Go.
- Check the check box at the top of each column you wish to release to students.
- At the right of the screen in the Release Columns area, change the selection to "Yes" and hit the Go button.

Your students will now be able to view their individual grades for the released columns.

To read previous issues of the IRT Technology Update, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/technews/

To manage your subscription options to the IRT Technology Update and other Drexel Announcements, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/subscriptions. If you prefer to receive a plain text version, please email your request to mailreq@drexel.edu.

Modified: October 3, 2008

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