Office of Educational Technology
October 2018 OET Newsletter
Cybersecurity Training
Phase II of the Secure UD Cybersecurity Awareness Training is now available through Winter Session 2019. The training consists of 10 required modules and 27 recommended modules, each featuring a brief video or presentation with a quiz. The 10 modules take about an hour to complete and cover passwords, privacy, social networks and other IT topics. Everyone who completes the phase II training by the end of October will be entered into a prize drawing.
Unit heads may request a training completion report for their units by emailing Secure UD at secadmin@udel.edu.
Read&Write Pilot Available
Read&Write literacy software by TextHelp offers features such as word prediction, grammar and spell checkers, picture dictionaries, text to speech, and more. Through December 15, 2018, the software is available on a trial basis through a UD pilot program, arranged by the Office of Disabilities Support Services, the Center for Disabilities Studies, Information Technologies, and OET. Anyone who downloads Read&Write is asked to give their feedback on the product, to determine its potential usefulness for UD students, faculty, and staff.
The pilot software is available for students, faculty, and staff to install on Macintosh and Windows computers and also includes browser and tablet versions. Visit the UDeploy Read&Write pilot site to download and install on your personal or work computer. Anyone who installs the product may offer feedback by completing the registration form on the pilot deployment page. Installed Read&Write software from the pilot will expire on December 15.
Further information on Read&Write is available on Texthelp’s website. If you have questions, contact OET.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM). It’s important to practice cybersecurity at work and at home. Consider these steps at home:
- Change the default password on your wireless router and use WPA2 encryption for your wireless network. Contact your internet service provider, if you need assistance in changing your password or you are not sure of your current configuration.
- Do not respond to and delete phishing emails. If you are not sure if an email is legitimate, call the person or organization who supposedly sent you the message to verify.
- Use a strong and different password for each of your online accounts, to prevent someone from guessing one password and then accessing your other accounts. Use two-factor authentication, if available. If an unauthorized person gains access to any one account, change your password immediately.
- Create backups of your data and store the backups in a different location from your original files. This protects you in case of device failure and if your device is hacked.
- Install virus protection on home devices and update your operating system and applications when updates become available. Avast is free antivirus protection for installation on personal Macintosh computers and Windows Defender is antivirus protection offered in Windows 10. Avast also is available for Windows 7 and 8 computers.
Skype 7, Avast, and McAfee Uninstalls Scheduled
Our College recently received Cylance licenses to replace Avast and McAfee on CEHD-owned Macintosh computers. In the next few days, OET will run scripts using Kace, our inventory and software management tool, to uninstall Avast and McAfee virus protection and to install Cylance on Macs. Cylance is software that predicts and prevents threats.
You may notice that when McAfee uninstalls, it will show that your system is at risk. After you receive this message, reboot your computer at your convenience, to complete the McAfee uninstall. You will also see the Cylance shield icon appear on the top toolbar near the right side of the screen.
In addition, Microsoft will end support for Skype 7 on November 1 for desktop devices and on November 15 for mobile and tablet devices. So that CEHD machines have supported and patched software, we also will run scripts to automatically uninstall Skype 7 and upgrade to Skype 8 on these machines. If you have questions, contact OET.
Apple Ordering Procedures Change
Procedures for placing institutional orders for Apple products changed, effective October 1. Previously, you could forward quotes, along with your purpose codes and delivery instructions, via email to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. You will now need to create an Apple account, which OET can assist you to set up, and log into the Apple site to purchase products from OET-created quotes. As a part of this change, units will no longer receive a two percent discount after a sale; however, Apple products purchased on the educational site will still be discounted, compared to the general Apple site.
As in the past, if you are interested in purchasing Apple products, contact OET. We will provide you with a quote for your approval. Once the quote is finalized, you can log into the Apple site to purchase the product. Further information on the new ordering process is available on Blue Hen Market by clicking on the Apple link there.