Old DoIT Announcements
2007/04/25 - Restricting Outbound SMTP
In order to reduce the amount of email spam originating from SPSU owned addresses, and to comply with recommendations from our recent doIT audit, on 05/08 we intend to disable all outbound email which does not originate from the SPSU mail system. This will only affect those who have configured their campus mail client to use something other than mail services provided by SPSU. If you have no idea what I am talking about, then please ignore this message, as it does not effect you.
In todays day and age, it is common for network providers to disable outbound SMTP traffic from all but their official mail gateways. The end goal is to reduce SPAM originating from end-user PCs, due to viruses, spyware, and the like. By doing so, we are less likely to end up on somebody's blocked senders list, as a known source of SPAM. In our case, it also reduces our point of exit for campus generated spam to a single address, making it much easier to manage.
For almost all of you, this will be completely transparent and have no effect on your email communications. Those who use web browser based mail clients will not be affected by this change. Also, it will not prevent you from downloading mail from an off campus system using POP3 or IMAP.
For those rare few who have configured Outlook, Eudora, or a similar mail client to use an off campus mail system for sending outbound mail, you will need to change this setting to send all mail using the campus system. If you need assistance, please contact our Helpdesk at 678-915-4357. If you would like to verify your own client settings and are comfortable doing so, the address for outbound mail (SMTP) should be identical to the address for inbound mail (POP3/IMAP). They should both contain the SPSU mail gateway address of 'mail.spsu.edu'. As mentioned above, if you have no idea what I am talking about, then you are safe.
04/24/2008 Important Security Reminder:
Two recent incidents have compelled me to send this reminder concerning passwords and sensitive data, such as grades, social security numbers, and medical information. The major points I would like to make are:
- Memorize your passwords, do not write them down or store them on electronic media, such as USB flash drives. Flash drives are especially prone to being lost or stolen.
- Do not use the same password for different accounts. For example, your MySpace.com password should not be the same as any password you use here at SPSU.
- Never store sensitive data on your PC or leave sensitive documents unsecured. There are appropriate places for this information, such as within Banner or physically locked away within in a secure area.
- If you are using portable media, such as CDs, PDAs, or USB flash drives to store material related to a course you are teaching, understand that losing your quizzes or class projects is a major inconvenience, but there are legal ramifications to the loss of social security numbers, grades, or medical information. Do not store sensitive data on portable media.
Please take some time to review the Campus Password Policy located here:
http://infotech.spsu.edu/policies/passwordpolicy.html
04/13/2007 Eudora Upgrade Fix
It has come to our attention that after installing the latest (final) Eudora upgrade some users are still experiencing problems.
Most commonly, users are not seeing their signatures or spell checking in outbound e-mails.
It appears that many users' Eudora clients were automatically timed out prior to the March 30th date claimed on the Qualcomm website. Further, it appears that installing the latest version upgrade dos not update an expired Eudora installation from "lite" mode to "sponsored" mode.
For most users the fix is simple:
- Be sure you are on he latest/final version of Eudora ( see below for instructions )
- Inside Eudora click on "Help" at the upper right of the screen
- From the Help menu, select "Payment & Registration"
- On the resulting screen click "Sponsored Mode"
This should solve most users' problems. If not, please enter a DoIT workorder and we'll be by to help!
Eudora Upgrade Instructions:
By now you have probably noticed the "advertisement" that has recently appeared in your copy of Eudora indicating that you must upgrade by 04/01/2007 or else lose features.
We have been waiting for the newest Eudora version to come out of testing mode before we advised users to upgrade. At this point it appears that the software is mature enough for us to recommend its use.
Options for upgrading:
1) Perform the upgrade yourself, if you're comfortable. You can use the link that appears in your Eudora client, or download it here:
Instrcutions and software upgrade for PC / Mac:
http://www.eudora.com/download/
*NOTE: If you choose to perform the upgrade yourself, please be sure to give the installer the correct location of your existing Eudora saved folders. This should happen automatically, but it's best to be sure. That directory should be:
C:\Documents and Settings\_YOUR-USER-ID_\Application Data\Qualcomm\Eudora
2) If you would be more comfortable with IT performing the upgrade then please feel free to enter a workorder and we'll take care of it as soon as possible. If we do not get to you before 04/01 do not worry: your Eudora will still work, but with some features temporarily disabled.
Ron Skopitz
Director of IT Operations
04/13/2007 UPDATE: BellSouth.net E-Mail Issue Appears to be Resolved
On 04/06 a BellSouth e-mail technician informed us that BellSouth had been experiencing serious e-mail system problems for several weeks. We were also informed that later on 04/05 they experienced a total system failure that necessitated the emergency replacement of several pieces of critical e-mail infrastructure.
It was their opinion that the replacements proabably fixed the issues that were causing the intermittent problems receiving SPSU e-mails. We've kept our eye on the situation this week and based on our observations and those of some of our users we are prepared to call this issue "resolved".
A special thanks to those users who helped us troubleshoot and to all for your patience and understanding during this issue.
Please let us know if you have any further problems!
04/06/2007 UPDATE: Continuing Problems Sending E-mail to BellSouth.net Addresses
On 04/05 we were finally contacted by personnel "deep" within the BellSouth e-mail support staff. According to their technician, the problem we are experiencing "might" be related to their anti-spam system. He added that their spam detection system is "very secret and proprietary". He further informed us that their spam detection system informs neither the sender nor BellSouth staff when a site has been flagged as a spam source and that because of this it "might take several days" to determine the true cause of he problem.
We will continue to stay in contact with BellSouth and we will inform our users when the problem as been solved. We share your frustration with the situation and will continue to do whatever we can to get BellSouth to make progress on their end.
04/02/2007 UPDATE: Continuing Problems Sending E-mail to BellSouth.net Addresses
We continue to have problems sending e-mail into BellSouth.net servers. Again, we are fairly certain that the problem lies on the BellSouth side, but we are willing to entertain any explanation that will get it repaired.
We finally received a call-back from BellSouth late last week. However, convincing them of the problem has proven difficult and they have been slow to reply to our requests.
Nevertheless, contact is progress. We in DoIT are working diligently to correct the issue but, unfortunately, a repair can only take place at BellSouth's pace.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or suggestions.
Ron Skopitz
Director of IT Operations
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