May 29, 2008
Update Adobe Flash Player
If you don't have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player (9,0,124,0) you should update now.
To check what version, you currently have, you can go here.
To upgrade, go here.
NOTE: Before you click on 'Agree and install now'...Uncheck 'Free Google Toolbar' (above the 'Agree...' button).
Upgrading your Flash player, ensures that you can take full advantage of other Adobe products, like Connect and Presenter, and also ensures that your computer is secure from malicious files that can exploit earlier versions of Adobe Flash Player.
If you use more than one browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox, for example) you'll need to upgrade Flash Player for both browsers (go to this link when you're in both browsers).
May 15, 2008
We Will Never Ask for Your Password in an Email
...and neither will the University IT Service. Here's a previous TechNews post on this topic
It appears that some people received the following email recently:
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Dear Webmail Subscriber,
We are currently upgrading our database and email account center. We have
some problems on our database and it will affect your webmail account.We
are deleting all unused iastate.edu webmail account to create more space
for new accounts.
To prevent your account from closing you will have to update it below so
that we will know that it's being used presently. In 24 hours, you may not
be able to access your webmail
CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW
NET-ID: .............
Password : .............
Failure to do this will immediately render your email address deactivated
from our database.
Error Code# IA1034EDU
Thank you for your patience!!
Help Desk
ITECH SERVICES
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
DO NOT respond to this email. If you have already responded. Change your password IMMEDIATELY. To change your password, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and select 'Change password.'
Remember:
...you will never receive an out-of-the-blue email from ISU Extension IT staff requesting your password. You should never respond to an email which does not identify a specific person or persons (but just says 'iastate.edu support team' or 'ISU Extension support team' or some other general label), particularly if they are requesting secure information like your password or Social Security Number. If you ever receive such a request, you can report it to eit@iastate.edu
May 12, 2008
Turning Point "Clicker" Software
An ever increasing number of staff have invested in Turning Technologies Turning Point software. This is more commonly known as the "clicker" software. For those that have not heard of this; clicker software is an add-in to Microsoft's PowerPoint. It allows the presenter to create poll questions that can be answered by the audience. The audience has little remote (the "clicker") to answer these questions.
The software is compatible with both Window's XP and Vista operation systems. It is recommended that you update your computers video card driver if you plan on installing this software. Updating the driver could prevent any future errors. If you need help updating your video card driver please call the hotline at 515-294-1725.
April 23, 2008
Managing Your Email, Part Two--Attachments
Let's say you've already set up AutoArchive to archive your mail automatically every 6 months--that's all your email in all your online folders. Your Deleted Items folder is emptied regularly. And you've even set a couple of folders to AutoArchive more frequently.
You're feeling pretty good about your mailbox clutter control (and you should!)
Then one morning, you come to the office bright and early only to find that the mailbox you thought was under control is right back up to 1G and climbing.
What's going on?
One thing to consider is the number of attachments you're sending and receiving. Sometimes when you're working on a collaborative project, you may send a large attachment back and forth several times. Each time, you're sending and receiving a new copy of that attachment. For example, suppose you have a 10M attachment. You send it to 10 people who each send you revisions. Maybe you're trying to meet a deadline so over the course of three days you send the document out 10 times and receive back 50 revised copies. Remember that both the attachments you send and the ones you receive are stored on the server.
So, let's do the math:
Sent: 10M file, 10 times=100M
Received: 10M file, 50 times=600M
Over the course of two days, your mailbox size has increased 600M.
You might also be receiving presentations for a conference. if you get 10 Powerpoint presentations and they're each 50M apiece, that's 500M from those 10 emails alone.
What can you do about it?
- You can delete those emails when the conference or the revision process is over.
- You can set AutoArchive to archive more frequently than every 6 months.
- You can also remove or save attachments so that only the original email message remains in your inbox.
To remove (delete) an attachment from an email message
- Right-click on the attachment
- Select Remove
To save an attachment from an email message
- Right-click on the attachment
- Select Save As...
Be sure you're emptying your Deleted Items folder or the deleted attachments and emails will still add to your total storage on the server.