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New Wireless Login Method

July 27, 2011 by

Beginning Tuesday, August 2nd, users of the UM wireless network will have a new, more streamlined method for logging into the wireless network.

Screenshot of the new wireless access form

Screenshot of the New Wireless Access Form

The Network Management Team of the Office of Information Technology (IT) has been working throughout the summer to deploy a new WebID-based method of authentication that will eliminate the need for users to install client software onto their devices.  This new method will improve support for newer devices and simplify the process for accessing wireless services.  The only requirement for this method is the availability of a browser on the device.

Campus guests requiring access to the wireless network will continue to follow the established process at the UM Wireless Web site.

If you have been using the existing Network Admission Control (NAC) system and wish to remove the Cisco Clean Access Agent client software, instructions are available for you to do so.   It is not necessary for you to remove the client software for the new system to work properly, but it is no longer needed.

Wireless Gaming Support

A new environment that will allow students to register one wireless gaming device per user is also being developed.  It should be noted that wireless technology is a shared technology and performance can vary based on the number of active users in an area at any given time.  Wired connections are not subject to that limitation and there are no restrictions on the number of gaming devices one user can connect to the wired network.  Keep in mind there is a finite amount of campus Internet bandwidth available for all activities.  More information will be available soon regarding registering wireless gaming devices.

Filed Under: UM Wireless Network Tagged With: , ,

Cloud Storage and Sensitive Data

July 25, 2011 by

Effective July 1, 2011, Mississippi has a data breach notification law, House Bill 583. This law defines what data is considered to be sensitive (confidential), what constitutes a breach under this law, and the process that must be followed in the event sensitive information is “leaked” in a data breach. In addition to the state law description, the University also considers student grades, private correspondence, classified research, etc. as sensitive. The growing trend to store business, including university, data on a “cloud” has brought to the forefront data security issues and concerns.

Sites like Dropbox, Amazon, Google and countless others offer storage that can be accessed remotely from any device (desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.) using the Internet. Users should note, however, that this convenience comes at a price – a price that can be too high when sensitive data is involved. Cloud-based services for storing data are very popular, mostly because of the easy, convenient access they provide. Often, this easy access is the driving factor for using cloud computing, and other critical concerns such as reliability, data security and liability are relegated to the background. This article focuses on the security, liability and reliability risks of cloud-based data storage services.

How Safe is Your Data in “the Cloud”?

While larger, more reputable cloud storage companies have the money, resources, and technical expertise to address reliability and security, they often contain usage clauses that free them from any responsibility for “lost, stolen, or damaged data” or from unauthorized access to data. However, if you cause a person’s sensitive data to be compromised, you are responsible under Mississippi law. The University will be required to notify every individual whose data was exposed and may be subject to other penalties. Meanwhile, the cloud service itself will be insulated from the consequences of any breach by its usage agreement. This may prevent you and your organization from recouping any of the costs associated with the breach; it also reduces the service’s incentive to protect data as carefully as it should.

Data Breach Examples

Last month, Dropbox had a security issue in which password authentication was disabled for 4 hours. This means that any documents stored on their servers were susceptible to access without a password during this interval. The Computer World article has complete details.

The following Security News Daily article on May 4 of this year detailed a vulnerability in which Dropbox stores unencrypted login files on each device. In the envent these login files were copied maliciously, the entire user’s account would be accessible without requiring any login credentials.:
http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/cracks-in-cloud-security-issues-loom-over-online-backup-services-0752/

University Policy for Protecting Sensitive Data

UM’s Information Confidentiality/Security Policy addresses the requirements for protecting confidential data. It is never acceptable to store confidential data such as grades, social security numbers, private correspondence, classified research, etc. on externally hosted systems, including cloud-based storage systems, without a contract that is fully vetted for compliance with university policies.

Secure Document Exchange

Screenshot of Secure Document Exchange application

Screenshot of Secure Document Exchange application

Please keep in mind that confidential data should not be sent using email either. Likewise, do not store files that contain sensitive data on Web servers where they might be inadvertently accessed or indexed by search engines such as Google. The safest way to exchange sensitive or confidential information with other university employees is by using Secure Document Exchange within myOleMiss. To access Secure Document Exchange, point your Web browser to my.olemiss.edu, and choose Employee -> Tools and then Secure Document Exchange from the Detailed Navigation on the left.

Be Aware!

It is more important than ever to be aware of how you store and transmit confidential data. Your first choice should always be to store confidential data on university-owned, protected systems such as those housed in the Data Center and protected by a university firewall. If information must be stored at the department level or on your desktop or laptop computer, then the servers on which the data resides must be registered with IT so they can be scanned periodically for any security vulnerabilities. Occasionally, departments may have a need to use externally hosted systems that contain sensitive data. In this case, the contract for these services must address the requirements for protecting confidential data as defined in the UM’s Information Confidentiality/Security policy.
If you have any questions related to IT security please contact the IT Helpesk and we will work with your office to find solutions for protecting and storing sensitive or confidential data.

Filed Under: Helpdesk, myOleMiss, Security

The iPad 2: The Next Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

July 13, 2011 by

by Matthew Herring, Guest Writer

Matthew Herring: Senior, Electrical Engineering

Okay, so it might not be “the” best thing since sliced bread.  But I have to admit, it is pretty close.  Most of you have probably already seen the various iPad 2 commercials on TV.  The sibling of the original iPad, the iPad 2 boasts a smaller form factor than the original iPad, a front and rear camera, and face-chat capabilities.  The iPad 2 is also Wifi and/or 3G capable on the AT&T network.  But any Apple user knows, the applications, or “apps” as they are well known, are what make this gadget a must have.  From HD games like Angry Birds that use every inch of the screen to a mobile office app for the business person on the go, this thing has some serious power under the hood. For students, it is an optimal computer-on-the-go.  With its slim body and frame, the iPad 2 can easily fit in any backpack, bag, or even some purses. Besides being a great way to pass the time, the iPad 2 has many other apps that make it worth its price.

The Basics: The standard apps and functions of the iPad 2

The iPad 2 comes right out of the box with some of the well-known applications.  These include the Safari Internet browser, the App Store, and Apple iTunes.  The iPad 2 comes with the Safari Internet browser.  You can buy or download another browser if Safari doesn’t suit your needs.  As you may have seen and heard from some of the other tablets available on the market, the iPad 2 does not support Adobe Flash.  Using the iPad 2 and the Safari Internet browser, I have not yet run into any issues thus far.  I know that many of the competitors have used this as a bargaining chip to get you to buy their tablets, but I personally do not think that is a good platform to stand on.

UPAD: A simple note-taking app with some serious fire-power

UPAD is a very neat note-taking app that I use in my classes along with a specialized stylus for the iPad that I bought.  UPAD mimics having a limit-less notepad at your fingertips.  One can even change the background to match different types of documents like graph paper for doing calculations or even a blackboard for those of you who are “old-school” teachers.  Along with taking notes, you can actually upload a PDF document through the app store and write your own notes on the PDF document.  This app also saves the note files in a PDF format.  This makes it easier to print out and save using other apps.

*Dropbox*: The go anywhere app

Ever forget that important document at home?  Well, Dropbox makes this a thing of the past!  Dropbox is a very nice cloud computing app.  Like Google Docs, it allows a person to carry any document anywhere, anytime.  You can even load Dropbox on your home computer and bring up a file that you made on your IPad 2 on your home computer with ease.  Dropbox is free up to a certain limit.  Then you can pay a monthly fee for more space.

Textastic: A Programmer’s Dream

For those of you who program, whether you do web page development or any other type of programming, Textastic is the app for you. Textastic is an easy to use text editor with a set of FTP protocols that allow a user to copy and write files to/from a secure server. Textastic supports various languages and one would be hard pressed to find a format that doesn’t work. One cool feature about this app is that it allows you to actually see the code in action before you load it back on to the server. So you can make any necessary changes and then preview the page to make sure the change you have made does exactly what you want.

Games, Games, Games!

One predominate reason why people have gotten an iPad, and now the iPad 2, is the games. With a wide HD screen, games on the iPad 2 let the user reach a whole new level of gaming experience. The iPad 2 has built-in accelerometers that tell the iPad its position in three dimensions.  This allows many games to use the tilt of the iPad as a controller. Many games like Metalstorm make use of this. Other games make use of the iPad’s touch screen.  A very popular game that uses this is Angry Birds.  The user is given a structure filled with pigs.  The pigs have stolen the bird’s eggs and the birds are out for revenge. The user must sling-shot the birds at the given structure and take out all of the pigs while doing the most damage. Different birds have different abilities once the birds are in flight and a user can tap the screen once the bird is in mid-air to activate that bird’s abilities.

One game that would give World of Warcraft a run for its money is called Infinity Blade.  It too is in HD and is a touch screen type game.  The game starts at a castle in a middle-earth type setting.  The user starts a “blood-line” that the user must play through until the final boss is reached.  The user may take various paths to get to the final boss.  Each path gives different monsters and demons that the user must vanquish in order to move to the next point.  Once the final boss is reached, the user must battle the evil king equipped with the Infinity Blade.  If the user is vanquished by the king, the king absorbs the user’s character through the Infinity Blade and the character’s son supersedes the father character in the blood line and the game starts over.

Another very fun game for the iPad 2 is Trade Nations.  This is a Farmville-type game in which the user must start a small village.  The small village grows by adding more people and placing different buildings like shops and markets.  The user collects money from the village and its villagers in order to buy bigger and better things.

Is the iPad 2 worth its price?

Matthew using his iPad 2 to upload lab results

Although all of these apps and features are just a small fraction of what is available, the price of a 16 GB Wifi only iPad 2 is $500 plus tax.  This is the smallest internal memory available for the iPad 2.  Also, by adding 3G and a data plan, this adds about $100 – $150 plus the cost per month to the price of the iPad 2.  One would also need some sort of protection plan which many stores like Wal-mart offer.  You would also need a case for the iPad 2 in order to protect its large screen.  Many stores have various types of cases, but the predominantly used case is the Otterbox.  The Otterbox for the iPad 2 just recently became available with a moderate price of about $90 plus tax.  So,  if you were keeping count, that’s roughly $800-$900.  Many of the apps in the iPad 2 app market must also be bought, along with songs, movies, and games.

For those of you who are die-hard PC users,  I strongly recommend taking some time to at least check out the iPad 2.  I have to admit that the price was a little off-putting to say the least. But after owning the iPad 2 and using it for a while, it has almost completely replaced my old laptop.  I can do so much on this little device that my computer can’t.  I can save my notes electronically in a PDF format that I have handwritten.  I can edit and make office documents just like I could on my computer.  I can surf the Internet, check my email, and even listen to my favorite artists all at the same time.  The only thing that hinders the iPad 2 is its internal memory size.  Granted, that the smallest memory value that you can get is only 16 GB.  It can easily be seen that this is not a “small” value.  You can also allocate data on any of the various cloud platforms for documents which will conserve some of the memory on your iPad 2.  You can also move most of your PDF files onto your computer once you do not need them anymore or simply delete them, if needed.

*Note:  Look for an upcoming article on safety guidelines for uploading documents to Dropbox.*

Filed Under: iPad 2, Technological Advances, Technology Procurements Tagged With:

Need to Market Your Content? Use QR Codes!

July 12, 2011 by

by Deetra Wiley

Scan QR Code with your Smart Phone (Must Download “QR Code Reader” app.)

A Quick Response (QR) Code is similar to a standard barcode, but is more useful because it can embed a variety of data, linking to URLs, addresses, and text.  These graphical images (QR Codes) provide immediate access to a variety of digital information and are easily printed onto anything, like brochures, t-shirts, or just plain paper!

Perhaps you’ve seen a QR Code on a business card, invoice, advertisement, website, or next to an article in a magazine, etc.  QR Codes are paving the way to many businesses as well as institutions of higher learning by assisting in the marketing of their material.  Some businesses are using QR Codes to give access to company information, promote products, provide coupons, and direct to social and voice media sites, etc.

“They are great for providing content in a mixed (print, online, broadcast) environment,”  says Peter Cleary,  University Brand Services. “Our clients around campus are excited about what they can do with QR Codes.   Various areas on the UM campus are starting to see the potential for being able to expand information in new ways.”

Here at the University of Mississippi (UM),  Enrollment Services,  the Library, Writing Center, and   Office of Information Technology are just a few groups using QR Codes to market some of their materials.

How do I use a QR Code?

If you have a smart phone with a QR Code Reader application installed, then you are in business!    If not, you can search for QR Reader to download.   Once the software has been installed on your smart phone, the QR Code can be scanned using the camera on your phone.  You will, then, be directed to the information you’ve scanned.

How are QR Codes Created?

Generating a QR Code is simple,  but the content to where code links is the most critical component.  “QR Codes may be easily set up and there are many ways to generate it from desktop software to websites, ” says Cleary. “Some sites will allow you to access wi-fi hotspots, collect contact information and send an SMS.  However, marketing studies show they are not as effective if they just link to an existing website.”

University Brand Services offers assistance and recommendations with ways to use the QR Codes across a number of different printed materials or platforms which is inexpensive and often free.  They offer the best solutions to utilizing, setting up, and linking QR Codes to a mobile site while monitoring the success rate.

It seems http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ is the commonly used site to create these codes in the UM community.   Be on the lookout for QR Codes, scan areas and topics of interest, and create your own.  Go ahead! Feed your curiosity!

 

QR Code Experiences

Just by googling “QR Codes,” I used http://quikqr.com to create a QR Code for my personal website and used http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ to generate the code for this article!  I’ve since noticed these codes on bills, business cards, etc. and it’s so much easier to scan this material to my phone instead of writing it down or trying to remember it!   Just like technology, We should “keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things that will keep leading us down new paths”  (Walt Disney).

Below, are a few shared experiences on using QR Codes:

Brenda Robertson, UM Writing Center

The QR Code is a novelty to some students and has served as a great promotional tool. We are using a Twitter QR Code to reach out to freshmen through summer Orientation.

We also  enjoy tweeting our announcements and re-tweeting helpful materials from other writing centers on Twitter.  We have two tutors contributing entertaining tweets, so we can maintain student interest.  It’s been fun!   Freshman students usually say “Cool” while a few are unfamiliar with QR Codes. We provide directions to a scanner application on our handouts, but there are students who do not yet own smart phones.  We suggest that these students follow “OleMissWCenter” through Twitter online.

Teresa McCarver,  The IT Helpdesk

The QR Code that is included in the Online @ Ole Miss flyer is a link to digital content on the Web. The Web version contains additional or expanded information that is not included in the printed version.  Having the QR Code that links to the Web based version of the document allows for the updating of information as necessary.

Jenny Kate Luster, Enrollment Services

Here at the   Office of Admissions and Enrollment Services , we currently use QR Codes on  a direct mail piece targeting high achieving high school students and their parents, as well as our viewbook used for a variety of recruitment purposes.  The codes are primarily used as a “call to action” to take students or parents to videos where they can hear from current students on a variety of topics.  They also allow students to schedule a visit directly from their smartphone.  For our office, QR Codes have been a way to engage students with the message we want them to hear about Ole Miss.  Because the QR Code takes them to a dedicated website, we can track the number of students that responded for a particular marketing piece and gauge the piece’s success for future years.  In research conducted with the direct mail piece, students indicated that they’d be more likely to respond to a piece that included something interactive like the QR Code versus reading a brochure with a lot of marketing.

Melissa Dennis, University of Mississippi Libraries

We put QR Codes in ads in the DM last spring to take students to a library survey.  When encouraging users to get Ole Miss Express  for printing purposes,  we included QR Codes on flyers  and in the  Daily Mississipian which linked to the Ole Miss Express website.  We have also added QR Codes in orientation brochures to connect users with our Facebook page. We use http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ to generate our QR Codes.   Just copy/paste in any URL and it creates a code (small, medium, large) that you can copy and paste into any document.   Print it, and that’s it!

Interested UM departments are encouraged to contact University Brand Services at (662) 915-7066 or umbrand@olemiss.edu for assistance and questions regarding QR Codes, and for marketing of materials.

Filed Under: QR Codes Tagged With: