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Zoom Settings Change on April 4; Zoom Tips and Resources

Friday, April 3, 2020 - 15:05

 

To increase security and privacy, a change will be made to default settings in the University’s Zoom Video Conferencing service (pitt.zoom.us) on Saturday, April 4. This effort is an important step to minimize “Zoombombing,” a practice in which uninvited attendees disrupt a meeting by sharing inappropriate or offensive material.

Following this change, if you have not previously modified your settings, only hosts and co-hosts will have the ability to share their screens by default. However, hosts may complete these steps to enable screen sharing for participants on a per meeting basis or change settings to enable participant screen sharing by default for all meetings.

Please refer to Pitt Information Technology’s list of Zoom best practices and training resources for additional tips on securing your online meetings. Zoom also offers guidance for protecting virtual classrooms.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) at any time if you have questions or need assistance using Zoom.

Resolved: Intermittent Service Provider Issue Affecting Lecture Capture (Panopto/Pitt Video)

Wednesday, April 1, 2020 - 19:54

 

10:05 p.m., April 1, 2020

Panopto has resolved the intermittent issue with its Lecture Capture service that affected the ability of some users to upload videos. Full service has been restored. 

7:54 p.m., April 1, 2020

Panopto is experiencing an intermittent issue with its Lecture Capture service that is affecting the ability of some users to upload videos.

Panopto is aware of the issue and working to restore full service as quickly as possible. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412 624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions about this announcement.

Scheduled Maintenance to Affect Software Store in PantherExpress on April 3-5

Wednesday, April 1, 2020 - 15:03

 

The Software Store in PantherExpress—used by University departments to purchase software—will be unavailable during scheduled maintenance from 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3, to noon on Sunday, April 5.  The system will be returned to service earlier if work is completed ahead of schedule.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have questions regarding this announcement.

Security Alert: New Scam Sends Harmful USB Drives through the Mail

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 09:43

 

Pitt Information Technology is aware of a new scam in which hackers mail harmful USB devices to potential victims through the United States Postal Service or other delivery services.

The USB devices contain malicious software that can allow the hackers to gain control of a computer once the USB device is connected to it.

In one recent example of the scam, the USB device arrived as part of a package that claimed to be from an electronics retailer. The package included a $50 “loyalty reward” gift card and a note on company letterhead explaining that the USB drive contained a list of products that could be purchased with the gift card. In other examples of the scam, the USB device is sent with no explanation or letter at all.

Pitt IT reminds you never to connect an unknown USB device to your computer. If you receive any unsolicited mail containing a USB device, please report this to the Technology Help Desk. In addition, we recommend all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus (Symantec Endpoint) and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. Both are available at no cost through the Software Download Service. Departments can submit a help request to obtain Malwarebytes for multiple machines.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Be Vigilant: Government Stimulus Check Scams

Monday, March 23, 2020 - 16:08

 

As the federal government discusses the possibility of sending stimulus checks to Americans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers are already plotting ways to exploit the proposals.

Be vigilant for phishing scams related to stimulus checks that are likely to surface in the coming days and weeks. Keep in mind the following tips for spotting scams:

  1. Federal, state, and local governments will not ask citizens to pay any fees or charges to obtain stimulus checks. Any attempt to collect money in exchange for stimulus checks is a scam. 
  2. The government will not contact you to request your Social Security number, bank account number, credit card number, or other sensitive information as a prerequisite for receiving a stimulus check.
  3. A proposal to provide stimulus checks has not yet been approved. Anyone who claims they can provide you with stimulus money in advance is a scammer.  

If you receive a message you believe to be a scam, please report it by forwarding the email message as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu. Additional tips for spotting phishing scams—along with detailed instructions for reporting suspicious email messages—are available on our phishing awareness page.

Please contact the 24/7 Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Software Resources—Including Adobe Creative Cloud—to Support Remote Learning

Saturday, March 21, 2020 - 14:04

 

Adobe has announced it is providing university students with short term, at-home access to Creative Cloud apps—including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat. 

To enable access to Creative Cloud on your devices, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to software.pitt.edu with your University Computing Account username and password.
  2. Click the link for Creative Cloud for Home Use under the “Updated and Featured Software” heading.
  3. Follow the instructions on the page to browse for and download apps from Adobe’s website.

Pitt Information Technology provides students with a wide variety of additional software options to support remote learning:

  • Pitt IT's new Virtual Lab—available from any location with an internet connection, using almost any computer or mobile device—provides much of the software available in Student Computing Lab on campus, including Adobe Creative Cloud apps.  
  • Use online versions of Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus or download and install apps on Windows or Mac PCs, at no cost, on up to five devices. 
  • Software Download Service provides a variety of free software—including, Antivirus (Symantec Endpoint) and Antimalware (Malwarebytes) Protection and Malwarebytes. 
  • The Pitt App Center provides one-stop access to University-related mobile apps. 

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Scheduled Maintenance to Affect PRISM on March 21-22

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 09:35

 

PRISM, the University’s enterprise financial and human resources system, will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance during the University’s standard downtime from 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, to 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 22.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have questions regarding this announcement.

On-Demand Training (LinkedIn Learning) Maintenance Scheduled for March 19

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 08:36

 

On-Demand Training (LinkedIn Learning)—an online training resource for student, faculty, and staff personal and professional development—will be undergoing scheduled maintenance on Thursday, March 19, 2020, from 8 to 9 p.m.

Users may experience a disruption in service to online training courses, personalized content recommendations, and course collections during the maintenance period. Offline viewing of courses will not be affected.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

March Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 - 15:51

 

Microsoft Corporation has announced security updates for March that affect the following software: 

  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML-based)
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • ChakraCore
  • Internet Explorer
  • Microsoft Exchange Server
  • Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office Services and Web Apps
  • Azure DevOps
  • Windows Defender
  • Visual Studio
  • Open Source Software
  • Azure
  • Microsoft Dynamics

Pitt Information Technology recommends that users immediately identify and install the security updates necessary to remediate these vulnerabilities by using Microsoft's Windows Update feature on their computers as soon as possible. Additional information about the updates is available on Microsoft’s Security TechCenter.

In addition, Pitt IT recommends that all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus (Symantec Endpoint) and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. Both are available at no cost through the Software Download Service. Departments can submit a help request to obtain Malwarebytes for multiple machines.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Scheduled Maintenance to Affect Software Store in PantherExpress on March 11-12

Friday, March 6, 2020 - 19:53

 

The Software Store in PantherExpress—used by University departments to purchase software—will be unavailable during scheduled maintenance from 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, outside of the University’s normal downtime period.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have questions regarding this announcement.