A lot of new things have happened this semester. A few of them will be addressed here.
Probably every week you get a message that says something like "Warning warning warning! A new virus has been found. It will destroy all of your files and ruin your life." You may even forward these messages on to your friends. Please do not. The overwhelming majority of such messages are hoaxes. So how can you tell the difference?
Real virus warnings do not use all capital letters. They do not try to scare you. They do not tell you to forward the message to everyone you know. They do not mention press releases from big companies that have nothing to do with virus announcements or antivirus software (i.e., Microsoft, AOL, IBM, Intel). They do not make references to other articles without citing them appropriately.
Real virus announcements do give official virus names and URLs (webpages) that you can go to for more information. They provide the date that the virus was identified and may include fixes. Most importantly, real virus announcements state clearly who is issuing the announcement.
You can find out if a virus is real or not by searching for the subject line or any of the text using a search engine, such as google. You can also get lists of hoaxes at http://HoaxBusters.ciac.org, http://www.vmyths.com, and http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp. You can get a list of real viruses from http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/.
When was the last time you scanned your computer for viruses? This semester we have seen more computers infected with viruses than any other semester. If you do not have virus detection software installed on your computer, please let us know and we will help you install software and check your computer for viruses.
But having antivirus software isn't enough. The most important thing you can do to prevent your computer from becoming infected is to be careful. Although some viruses come from the web, most viruses come through email attachments. Never open an email attachment unless you know what it is and are expecting it. If you receive a suspicious attachment, just throw it out. It is better to be safe than sorry.
We also strongly discourage the use of Microsoft Outlook Express for email because most viruses are written to take advantage of Outlook. If you have Outlook and would like to switch to a different email program and need help, let us know.
Most viruses are also written for Windows. This does not, however, mean that Mac users are safe. Mac users with Microsoft Word can still be infected by a class of viruses known as Word macro viruses.
If you think your computer has been infected and do not know what to do to, please unplug your computer from the network and contact someone in Computer & Media Services immediately.
The Computer & Media Services department website has moved to http://cms.simons-rock.edu. Here you can find the Network Acceptable Use Policy, dozens of frequently asked (and answered) questions, issues of Notes from Underground, and more. If you haven't already, check it out.
Maybe you have several different computers from which you check your email. Maybe you are off-campus and want to send email. What do you do? Now, in addition to running pine on minerva, we are offering a webmail option. Just open up your web browser and go to https://www.simons-rock.edu/webmail/. (The s in https means secure.) You will be asked to log in with your email username and password. Once you are logged in, you can use the help system, customize your display options, or begin using your email.
Upon request, faculty and staff email addresses were standardized earlier this year. Whenever possible, faculty and staff email addresses are of the form first_initial + first_seven_letters_of_last_name. For example, if William Shakespeare taught at Simon's Rock, his address would be wshakesp@simons-rock.edu. Jane Austen's email address would be simply jausten@simons-rock.edu.
If you do not use your Simon's Rock email address, it is important that you set it to forward to an email address that you do use because announcements are frequently sent to all faculty or staff. All faculty must check or forward their Simon's Rock accounts because grades and comments will be sent to Simon's Rock addresses.
To forward your email, use a telnet or ssh program to log in to durandal. You will need to log in with your email username and password. (If you do not know your password, stop by Computer & Media Services to have it reset.) Once connected, type forward to see if your email is being forwarded. Type forward someaddress to forward your email to someaddress. Type forward off to turn off email forwarding. For help, type help forward. When you are finished, type exit to log out.
In the next month we will be replacing the current dialup server with a new one. It will then be necessary for dialup users to request an account on the new server. Priority will be given to current students, faculty, and staff. Email will be sent to dialup users at that time.
We are trying to put together some informal computer training sessions for the summer. We will hold a few open lunchtime question-and-answer sessions, as well as short presentations to help you use FileMaker, email, the web, and word processors more efficiently. Send email to action and let us know what you would like to learn and when would be a good time. For more information, look for signs in the College Center this summer.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? To respond to any of the articles in this newsletter, send email to underground@simons-rock.edu.