Fall 2012

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the fall 2012 IT newsletter brought to you by the Division

of Information Technology. I hope that your summer was safe, restful

and productive and that you have returned to our campus with a

renewed commitment to continuing our Worlds Ahead journey. I am

eagerly looking forward to the fall semester when the Division will

continue to provide leading edge technology for the university

community and deliver more technological enhancements throughout

the enterprise. Our technology initiatives will continue to contribute to

the university’s mission of recruiting the highest caliber faculty as well

as assisting our students to succeed in our global community.

This issue of “DoIT now” includes articles on some of the latest

technology initiatives we have deployed in the past few months as well

as new ones for the fall. These include mobile technology,

security enhancements and security awareness training, and our new

Instructional and Research Computing Center (IRCC).

I hope you find this newsletter useful and informative. Thank you for

reading this issue of “DoIT now”.

Robert N. Grillo

Vice President and CIO

In the spring 2012 newsletter, we announced that the Division of IT would be launching a

multi-phase security initiative to ensure that the university’s online resources remain

protected. The first and second phases of this project have already been completed. We

have successfully updated the McAfee VirusScan Enterprise systems and upgraded the

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) agents to version 4.6. These upgrades are important in

assisting us in detecting intrusions to our systems, while protecting system databases

against unauthorized viewing, copying, modifying, and deleting of information.

The third phase of the initiative will include the deployments of Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

and Encryption to your workstation. These services will minimize the risk and exposure of

sensitive data. As we prepare to deploy additional phases the Division of IT will

communicate any and all information as it pertains to your desktops.

For more information on the security initiative and to view our project timeline, visit

http://it.fiu.edu/about/projects/uses.shtml . To view upcoming projects from the Division of

Information Technology, our Project Dashboard is available at http://it.fiu.edu/about/

projects.shtml .

Our virtual labs are available anytime anywhere at elabs.fiu.edu . You can access programs such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCad, and SPSS for free without ever having to download the software.

Mobile devices, smart phones and/or tablets, are frequently used by faculty, staff and

students because of their convenience and availability. These devices allow faculty, staff and

students to quickly and more efficiently look at

and interact with university-related

information.

The Division of IT is continuously improving FIU’s

mobile web experience by adding new features to

the existing FIU Mobile app. These enhancements

improve the way faculty, staff and students

interact with the university’s enterprise systems.

They also provide a single point of reference for

all FIU-related information on mobile devices.

Over the next few months new features to the FIU Mobile app will be deployed in several

phases. As part of a recently deployed first phase, a tablet-friendly design with features for

faculty and staff to view information related to their leave balances, paychecks, W4, and

direct deposit information is currently live. Future phases will include Parking &

Transportation information, places to dine, vendors on campus, augmented reality, and

much more.

To learn more about FIU Mobile and to view our detailed timeline and frequently asked

questions, visit mobile.fiu.edu .

Computing technologies play a crucial part in allowing for effective research in the

university environment. The Instructional and Research Computing Center (IRCC)

was established by the Division of Information Technology to provide additional technologies

for faculty and students to enhance their academic and research experience.

The IRCC offers a high performance computational resource, which allows faculty and

students to examine more complex scientific and engineering problems that would otherwise

be impossible to solve. There are multiple ways faculty can use these high performance

computational resources, which guarantee priority access and high computational power.

Faculty who have their own large scale computing system can contact the IRCC about

integrating their clusters into the IRCC managed system, allowing them to focus more on

their research and academic curriculum rather than on managing clusters.

The IRCC offers instructional specific technologies such as an on-demand virtual computing

lab (VCL). Using our VCL faculty can create classes that use virtual server technologies, which

allow for computer labs to be conducted remotely. Students can launch a virtual server in our

VCL Cloud at any time to work on their classroom assignments. For further information on

our VCL, please visit http://vclbootcamp.fiu.edu .

For more information about the IRCC project, visit http://ircc.fiu.edu .

To view other approved Tech Fee projects, visit http://techfee.fiu.edu .

In today’s ever-evolving technology environment, cyber fraud is a profitable and easily

committed crime. Many of FIU’s faculty and staff handle sensitive data on a daily basis and,

with identity theft on the rise, it is vital for our data stewards to successfully look after our

information resources.

As part of the Division of IT’s ongoing Security Enhancement Strategy, the Information

Technology Security Office (ITSO) has developed an online Security Awareness Training

module that will assist faculty and staff in protecting university data from unauthorized

access, disclosure and disruption.

By taking the Security Awareness Training course, faculty and staff will be given the tools

needed to identify sensitive data, prevent the loss of sensitive information, and protect

existing resources in their roles as data

stewards. Faculty and staff who take the training will

have a clear understanding of the university’s security

policies and procedures as well as policies and

procedures that align with federal and state

requirements.

The Division of IT will be making the Security

Awareness Training avai lable fal l 2012.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t

http://it.fiu.edu/about/projects/online_security.shtml .

To find out more about FIU’s security policies, visit the

ITSO website at security.fiu.edu .

ShopUTS offers discounted software and hardware to our

faculty, staff, and students with just a click of the mouse. Take advantage today and visit us at

shoputs.fiu.edu .

It is undeniable that social media has become a part of everyday life and chances are that at some point

today you will log-on to a worldwide network such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube. Needless

to say, much of your personal information may be “floating” around on the Internet. The question is: how

safe is your personal information? Make sure to follow the tips below to improve your online security.

1. Protect Your Password: Your passwords should be at least

ten characters long and contain a mix of as many numbers, letters,

and symbols as possible. You should also refrain from using the

names of your spouse, children, and pets, as these can be easily

guessed. Try to use a different password and email address for all

of your different social, personal, and financial accounts.

2. Guard Your Privacy: Take advantage of the privacy settings

on all social media sites. Review the settings carefully, making

sure to limit sensitive information like your birth date, phone

number and home address. If you are unsure of a certain setting,

it is best to keep it blocked. Remember, the less a thief knows

about you the less damage they will be able to inflict on your

identity.

3. Limit Your Clicks: Clicking on outside links, including pictures,

can lead to viruses or other malicious coding installed on your

computer.

4. Secure Your Browser: Use browsers with advanced security

like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple

Safari. Make sure to always keep your anti-virus software up-to-

date.

5. Report Breeches: If you have any questions or doubts about

any of the users on any of your social networks, make sure to

report it – all social media sites have a “Report” feature for

suspicious activity.

WEBSITES:

Division of Information Technology:

it.fiu.edu

IT Security Office:

security.fiu.edu PantherSoft: panthersoft.fiu.edu

CIARA: ciara.fiu.edu

TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

Telephone: (305)348-2284 Online: it.fiu.edu Walk-in Support:

GL 249 (MMC) LIB InfoCommons (BBC)

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Please click on About Us located on the homepage of the Division

of IT website.

DoIT now Editing Staff:

ITfyi@fiu.edu