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Overnight Network Outages Scheduled for Dec. 4-5, 11-12, and 18-19

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - 10:09

 

Pitt Information Technology will be performing maintenance on core network equipment servicing PittNet beginning at 11 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, 11, and 18. Work on each of these weekends is expected to last until 4 a.m. the next morning (Sunday, Dec. 5, 12, and 19). Each outage window will consist of brief interruptions in service of 30 to 45 minutes while switches on the University network are rebooted. Connectivity to PittNet wired and Wi-Fi networks will be impacted for all devicesincluding Teams and Avaya phones—in the following building locations on the Pittsburgh campus:

Saturday, Dec. 4 – Sunday, Dec. 5

  • Allen Hall
  • Benedum Hall
  • Biomedical Science Tower (BST1)
  • Biomedical Science Tower (BST3)
  • Gardner Steel Conference Center
  • Nordenberg Hall
  • Nuclear Physics
  • Old Engineering Hall (OEH)
  • Peterson Events Center
  • Thackery Hall Sutherland Hall

Saturday, Dec. 11 – Sunday, Dec. 12

  • Cathedral of Learning
  • Crabtree Hall
  • Darragh Street Apartments
  • Fitzgerald Field House
  • Lothrop Hall
  • Olympic Sports Complex
  • Parren Hall
  • Salk Hall
  • Scaife Hall
  • Trees Hall
  • UPMC Presbyterian Hospital (via UPMC MPLS tunnels)
  • Victoria Hall

Saturday, Dec. 18 – Sunday, Dec. 19

  • Alumni Hall
  • Bakery Square
  • Barco Law Building
  • Baum Blvd
  • Bellefield Hall
  • Biotech Center
  • Bouquet Gardens
  • Bridgeside Point
  • Center Plaza
  • Clapp Hall
  • Crawford Hall
  • Forbes-Craig Apartments
  • Forbes Quad
  • Forbes Tower
  • Frick Fine Arts Building
  • Heinz Chapel
  • Hillman Library
  • Langley Hall
  • Lexington Technology Facility
  • Life Sciences Building
  • McGowan Institute
  • Mervis Hall
  • Melwood Maintenance Building
  • Music Building
  • Parkvale Building
  • Plum Lab
  • Ruskin Hall
  • Sennott Square
  • Sterling Plaza
  • Thomas Blvd.
  • Veterans Administration (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Users with systems in buildings affected by this maintenance schedule are advised to close connections to network resources.

Please share this information with others in your department as appropriate and contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) with any questions or concerns.

Reminder: CourseWeb (Blackboard Learn) to be Fully Decommissioned on December 24

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 - 13:17

 

As a reminder, Pitt Information Technology contacted all instructors to let them know that CourseWeb (Blackboard Learn) will be fully decommissioned on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. The Blackboard Learn website will no longer be accessible to any user after this date.

Prior to decommissioning, instructors can request temporary access to the full Blackboard site and all data stored there using this form. Requests will be reviewed by system administrators on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, submitting a request to access the archive does not automatically guarantee its approval.

For more information about what happens to Blackboard data after it is decommissioned, visit the Blackboard Data Retrieval page.

As previously announced, Pitt has successfully transitioned from Blackboard Learn to Canvas as our learning management system (LMS). Find details and the latest updates at teaching.pitt.edu/canvas. Canvas also offers 24/7/365 support for all Pitt faculty, student, and staff.

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

Brief Pittsburgh Campus Phone Service Interruption on November 30

Tuesday, November 23, 2021 - 09:08

 

Incoming phone calls to University of Pittsburgh telephones on the Pittsburgh campus may be briefly interrupted beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, as a portion of campus telephone numbers are transitioned to a new service provider.

Incoming calls to Pittsburgh campus phones may not connect if the call is placed while the phone number is being moved to the new service provider. Individual phone numbers may be unavailable for up to 15 minutes during the transition. Outgoing calls placed from Pittsburgh campus phones will not be affected.

The University of Pittsburgh Police Department will continue to be able to receive calls at 412-624-2121 from any active phone throughout the maintenance period. The University’s Emergency Notification Service will also remain operational.

Full phone service should resume by 11:30 a.m. If you experience issues receiving calls after that time, please report them to the Technology Help Desk and, when possible, include the phone number of the person who was trying to reach you and the time that they called.

Set Duo Multifactor Authentication to “Remember” You for 24 Hours

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - 08:49

 

Multifactor Authentication at Pitt (Duo) is now even easier with the “Remember me” feature. After you have selected “Remember me,” you will not need to use Duo multifactor authentication again for 24 hours when accessing web apps through Pitt Passport, as long as you use the same browser, on the same device.

To use the feature, click the Remember me for 24 hours checkbox at the bottom of the Duo authentication screen, then select your authentication method. If the “Remember me” box does not appear, click Cancel and then you should be able to select the checkbox and proceed to authenticate.

  • Tip: Your Internet browser must allow cookies from the duosecurity.com domain to be stored on your computer in order for the feature to work.

Some services timeout in fewer than 24 hours, which will prompt you to enter your username/password on the Pitt Passport login screen to re-enter, but will not require you to accept a push from Duo.

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

Phishing Alert: Fake UNICEF Work-From-Home Job Opportunity Scam

Friday, November 12, 2021 - 19:24

 

Pitt Information Technology has identified an email phishing scam targeting students, faculty, and staff claiming to be soliciting applications for a work-from-home job opportunity. The scam appears to originate from a legitimate pitt.edu email address and may falsely offer part-time work with UNICEF. Scammers may attempt to convince individuals who respond to share their University credentials or provide some form of monetary payment.  

The following is a sample of a recent fraudulent email. If you receive this message (or any message similar to it), please report it as a phishing scam by forwarding the email message as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu. Detailed instructions on reporting scams are available at https://www.technology.pitt.edu/security/phishing-scams.

******************************************************************************

Subject: Re: UNICEF Job Opportunity

I am sharing job opportunity information to employees and students who might be interested in a paid UNICEF Part-Time job with a weekly pay of $500.00 (USD).

Attached is further information about the employment schedule. Kindly follow the steps in the attached document and contact Ms. Etleva Kadilli with your alternate non-official email address I.e. Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) For more details of employment.

Take note; this is strictly a work-from-home position.

Sincerely,

Name Removed

******************************************************************************

Pitt IT strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. If you were not expecting to receive such an email, confirm with the sender prior to interacting with the message. If you must interact with the message, avoid clicking on links contained in such emails. These may lead to sites that contain malicious software, or sites that attempt to steal your credentials. If a link looks suspicious, you can hover over the link with your mouse to preview the URL without clicking on it.

In addition, Pitt IT recommends that all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. 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.

November Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - 17:05

 

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

  • 3D Viewer
  • Azure
  • Azure RTOS
  • Azure Sphere
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) in IE Mode
  • Microsoft Exchange Server
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Office Access
  • Microsoft Office Excel
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint
  • Microsoft Office Word
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
  • Power BI
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Windows Active Directory
  • Windows COM
  • Windows Core Shell
  • Windows Cred SSProvider Protocol
  • Windows Defender
  • Windows Desktop Bridge
  • Windows Diagnostic Hub
  • Windows Fastfat Driver
  • Windows Feedback Hub
  • Windows Hello
  • Windows Installer
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows NTFS
  • Windows RDP
  • Windows Scripting
  • Windows Virtual Machine Bus

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 and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. 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.

November Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - 17:05

 

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

  • 3D Viewer
  • Azure
  • Azure RTOS
  • Azure Sphere
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) in IE Mode
  • Microsoft Exchange Server
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Office Access
  • Microsoft Office Excel
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint
  • Microsoft Office Word
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
  • Power BI
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Windows Active Directory
  • Windows COM
  • Windows Core Shell
  • Windows Cred SSProvider Protocol
  • Windows Defender
  • Windows Desktop Bridge
  • Windows Diagnostic Hub
  • Windows Fastfat Driver
  • Windows Feedback Hub
  • Windows Hello
  • Windows Installer
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows NTFS
  • Windows RDP
  • Windows Scripting
  • Windows Virtual Machine Bus

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 and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. 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.

CourseWeb (Blackboard Learn) to be Fully Decommissioned on December 24

Friday, November 5, 2021 - 11:45

 

CourseWeb (Blackboard Learn) will be fully decommissioned on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. The Blackboard Learn website will no longer be accessible to any user after this date.

Prior to decommissioning, instructors can request temporary access to the full Blackboard site and all data stored there using this form. Requests will be reviewed by system administrators on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, submitting a request to access the archive does not automatically guarantee its approval.

For more information about what happens to Blackboard data after it is decommissioned, visit the Blackboard Data Retrieval page.

As previously announced, Pitt has successfully transitioned from Blackboard Learn to Canvas as our learning management system (LMS). Find details and the latest updates at teaching.pitt.edu/canvas. Canvas also offers 24/7/365 support for all Pitt faculty, student, and staff.

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

Switch to the Minitab Web App for Windows and Mac

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 - 15:12

 

Windows and Mac Minitab licenses for the desktop apps expire on December 31, 2021. The Minitab web app replaces the desktop client and is available now using any web browser, except Firefox. Simply log in using your University computing account credentials. Your work can be saved locally or to cloud storage services, including Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.

Start using the Minitab web app today to avoid access issues and to become familiar with the online interface. Detailed instructions are available for students, faculty, staff, and departments.

Note that current desktop versions of Minitab can still be used until the license expires. Minitab for Mac no longer receives support from the vendor and the current version will not work with new versions of macOS or new Mac (M1) chipsets.

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

Zoom Use Requires Version 5.5 or Newer Beginning November 1

Wednesday, October 20, 2021 - 15:40

 

Beginning Monday, Nov. 1, the vendor for Zoom Videoconferencing will require use of Zoom version 5.5 or newer.

Please download and install the most recent version available from the Zoom download center. Doing so ensures you have the latest features and security updates. Note that you must have administrative (admin) rights on your computer to complete the installation.

After Nov. 1, users can access the service from the Zoom Web Portal, but will not be able to join a meeting or log in to Zoom using an older version of the app. Additional information about this update is available from the vendor.

If you experience issues installing the client, please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357).