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Changes on April 21 Affect AP and GL File Synchronization Times

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - 15:42

 

On Friday, April 21, changes will be made to PittSFTP giving users more time to review, adjust content, and when necessary, re-submit Accounts Payable (AP) and General Ledger (GL) files with corrected data before being imported into PRISM for processing. AP and GL files put in PittSFTP directories will remain there until 15 minutes before the respective PRISM import job is scheduled to run. At those times, AP and GL files will be pulled into PRISM for import and processing and no longer be visible. These changes will apply to AP and GL data file types only. All other data file types will continue to be synchronized every 5 minutes.   

  • GL files will be pulled from PittSFTP for import and processing every Monday through Friday at 7:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., and 2:15 p.m. PRISM GL import jobs will continue to run at 7:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. 
  • AP files will be pulled from PittSFTP for import and processing every Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. PRISM AP import jobs will continue to run at 7:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. 

As part of the December 2022 upgrade, PittSFTP became the new server used for importing data into PRISM, the University’s enterprise financial system.  

Please take note of the following: 

  • Files should be placed in the root of your PittSFTP directory. 
  • A copy of each file pulled to PRISM for import and processing will be put into the /processed folder in your PittSFTP directory and appended with “.pulled_for_processing.” 
    Example:{filename}.pulled_for_processing.    

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement. 

Revised Join Meeting Experience Coming to Zoom; Preview Available

Monday, April 10, 2023 - 08:54

 

Beginning on Tuesday, April 18, Zoom is streamlining the join meeting experience to include fewer screens to access a meeting, as well as show a preview of the video displaying from your camera before joining the meeting. When enabled by the host, participants are placed in a waiting room until the host joins or admits the participant.

Users wishing to preview the new experience may do so by:

  1. Visiting pitt.zoom.us, clicking Sign In, then logging in with their University Computing Account username and password.
  2. Clicking Settings from the left navigation, selecting the Meeting tab, then clicking Security.
  3. Sliding the New waiting room and join before host experience setting bar to the right.

The revised experience requires use of Zoom desktop client version 5.12.0 or higher. Users with earlier client versions will see the old join experience. All Zoom users can download and install the most recent version of the Zoom desktop client or mobile app available from the Zoom download center. Users may need administrative (admin) rights on their computer to complete these changes.

Use of the experience during the preview will not impact previously scheduled meetings, meeting links, the ability to join these meetings, or customized settings used for waiting rooms (such as meeting topic and waiting room message). Prior to April 18, a Switch back option will allow users to alternate between these experiences.

Please visit the New Meeting Join Flow webpage and Zoom support for additional details. Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Phishing Alert: New Variation On Fake Job Opportunity Scam

Thursday, March 30, 2023 - 10:29

 

Pitt Information Technology is aware of another variation of the job opportunity phishing scams targeting the University of Pittsburgh community. The latest version of the scam appears to originate from a pitt.edu address and advertises a fictitious job as a study assistant with the Department of Psychology. The message may use a variety of subjects and asks recipients to reply with their name, email address, and other details to begin the application process. Below is a sample of the scam:

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

Subject: PITT Hiring

Are you searching for a job with flexible hours as a graduate or undergraduate student so you can balance working around your classes?

The Psychology Department at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking volunteers to serve as weekly paid study assistants who will work remotely.

You are free to set your own hours and work from home whenever it suits you. Students from any educational district/department are eligible for the position.

For the position description and other requirements, text Professor [name redacted] at [number redacted] with your full name, email address, department, and year of study. This will begin the application process.

With regards.

[name and signature redacted]

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

If you received 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 http://technology.pitt.edu/phishingscams.

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 +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Apple Security Updates Address New Vulnerabilities

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 09:43

 

Apple has announced security updates to address new security vulnerabilities affecting the software listed below. Pitt Information Technology recommends that users immediately identify and install the security updates necessary to remediate these vulnerabilities by following the guidance on Apple’s website.

Please note that these updates include security patches for a zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited and could result in the execution of malicious code.

Affected Software   

  • Safari prior to 16.4
  • iOS prior to 15.7.4 and iPadOS prior to 15.7.4
  • iOS prior to 16.4 and iPadOS prior to 16.4
  • watchOS prior to 9.4
  • tvOS prior to 16.4
  • macOS Big Sur prior to 11.7.5
  • mac OS Monterey prior to 12.6.4
  • macOS Ventura prior to 13.3
  • Studio Display Firmware prior to 16.4

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 +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Storage Changes Will Affect Zoom and Canvas Recordings

Thursday, March 16, 2023 - 15:57

 

Panopto, the vendor behind Pitt’s Lecture Capture system used for Canvas instructional recordings, as well as the default solution for saving Zoom meeting and webinar recordings, recently ended unlimited storage for all customers. Therefore, while Pitt Information Technology (IT) remains committed to allowing generous storage for instructional content, please be aware of the following changes that will occur later this year.

Zoom Instructional Recordings in Canvas

Effective July 1, 2023, unviewed instructional videos will be deleted after 30 months. Unviewed videos will first be archived after 18 months. Once archived, recordings will remain available for an additional 12 months. Recordings that have not been viewed or restored after the combined 30-month period are permanently deleted.

  • This policy applies to all recordings in Panopto, created by Zoom, Canvas, or the Panopto recorder.
  • All Zoom instructional recordings in Canvas continue to be saved to Lecture Capture (Panopto).
  • Any instructional video in use will remain available indefinitely — until 18 months after it is last viewed.
  • Archived recordings can still be accessed within the 12-month archive period but may take up to 48 hours to be restored.
  • Any viewing of a recording within 30 months of its previous viewing will restart the 30-month clock.
  • All recordings last viewed on or before January 1, 2022, will be archived on July 1, 2023, and deleted on July 1, 2024.

Example: A video last viewed on March 15, 2023, will be archived on Sept. 15, 2025, and purged on Sept. 15, 2026.

Pitt IT recommends storing the recording somewhere else if there may be long periods of time between viewings, such as a course taught every three years. This storage limit for Panopto has no impact on recordings moved to other systems, such as your PC, OneDrive, SharePoint, or a website.

Zoom Meeting and Webinar Recordings

Also beginning on July 1, 2023, Zoom meeting and webinar recordings made outside of Canvas will be stored in Zoom instead of Panopto. After 30 days, recordings stored in Zoom will automatically be moved to the Trash, where they will be held for an additional 30 days before they are permanently deleted.

  • Recordings in Zoom trash can be recovered until the end of the 30-day period. Users will receive a warning message seven days before the recording is purged.
  • Zoom meeting and webinar recordings saved on or before June 30, 2023, will remain in Panopto.
  • Beginning July 1, 2023, users who wish to continue storing Zoom webinar and meeting recordings in Panopto may opt in to do so. Pitt IT will provide additional information about the opt in process in a subsequent message. Users may also download recordings to your device or cloud storage, such as OneDrive.
  • Any Zoom webinar and meeting recordings that remain in Panopto after July 1, 2023, are subject to the changes above.

Example: A Zoom meeting that is recorded on June 1, 2023, from outside Canvas, will be moved to the trash folder on July 1, 2023, and purged on July 31, 2023.

Removing Unwanted Recordings

Pitt IT encourages users to delete any recorded Panopto content that they no longer need. Reviewing the recordings available in your Panopto folders makes them easier for you and others who you share them with to locate and use, as well as reduces future expenses associated with storing unused content.

  • Users can find them by logging into Panopto directly or through myPitt (my.pitt.edu) and clicking the My Folder link on the left side of the page once in Panopto.
  • Users can also take advantage of the Browse menu option, then select the My Folders tab to search for files and other file locations, such as course folders.

Pitt IT will share the information about these changes with impacted students, faculty, and staff. Please contact the Technology Help Desk at +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions about this announcement.

March 2023 Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 - 13:30

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

  • Azure
  • Client Server Run-time Subsystem (CSRSS)
  • Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Driver
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • Microsoft Graphics Component
  • Microsoft Office Excel
  • Microsoft Office Outlook
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint
  • Microsoft OneDrive
  • Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver
  • Microsoft Printer Drivers
  • Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
  • Office for Android
  • Remote Access Service Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
  • Role: DNS Server
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • Service Fabric
  • Visual Studio
  • Windows Accounts Control
  • Windows Bluetooth Service
  • Windows Central Resource Manager
  • Windows Cryptographic Services
  • Windows Defender
  • Windows HTTP Protocol Stack
  • Windows HTTP.sys
  • Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows Partition Management Driver
  • Windows Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE)
  • Windows Remote Procedure Call
  • Windows Remote Procedure Call Runtime
  • Windows Resilient File System (ReFS)
  • Windows Secure Channel
  • Windows SmartScreen
  • Windows TPM
  • Windows Win32K

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.

Find People (find.pitt.edu) Access Temporarily Restricted to PittNet

Monday, March 13, 2023 - 12:56

Pitt Information Technology has implemented a temporary security measure that requires a connection to PittNet to access Find People (find.pitt.edu). Students, faculty, and staff can access Find People by connecting to PittNet Wi-Fi or PittNet wired when on campus, or by using PittNet VPN (GlobalProtect) or PittNet VPN (Ivanti/Pulse Secure) when off campus or in an area without PittNet.

Pitt IT implemented this temporary measure on Saturday, Mar. 12, to mitigate repeated attacks on the University’s network. Pitt IT will share additional updates soon.

In the meantime, please contact the Technology Help Desk at +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

Consent Form Required for Qualtrics SMS Survey Distribution Effective March 31

Thursday, March 2, 2023 - 12:28

 

Beginning Friday, March 31, Pitt Information Technology will require all users of the of Online Survey System (Qualtrics) to complete a consent form if they wish to use the text message (SMS) distribution feature. The feature allows survey creators to send survey invitations to audiences via SMS messages. Beginning on March 31, SMS functionality will be deactivated in a users’ University Qualtrics account until they submit a completed consent form agreeing to the SMS feature’s acceptable use.

Qualtrics users with SMS activity in the last 12 months are being notified and encouraged to complete this consent form as soon as possible. The form can be used by SMS users to adjust their current SMS quotas, as well as be used by new users to request use of the feature. For each new Qualtrics survey that uses SMS distributions, creators must provide all recipients with the ability to opt in or opt out. An opt-in example is available here.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement. For more information about SMS use in Qualtrics, visit the vendor’s SMS Distributions support page and/or XM Community.

Qualtrics Legacy Single Response Reports End on Feb. 18

Friday, February 17, 2023 - 09:37

 

On Saturday, Feb. 18, the vendor for Online Survey System (Qualtrics) will discontinue URLs used for legacy single response reports. While these URLs are no longer generated by any workflows in the Qualtrics platform, there might be users who manually created them in email triggers or email tasks. After Feb. 18, these URLs will no longer work, and will instead return an error.

Survey creators using this reporting method will need to migrate to either of these two solutions:

  1. Create an email task via Workflows and enable the “Include Response Report” option. This will automatically include a response report link in your email.
  2. Use an embedded data field in your email task to pipe in the new single response report URL. The format of the piped text is {srr://SingleResponseReportLink}.

Please contact the Technology Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions about this announcement. For more information about using the new single response report solution, visit the vendor’s Email Task support page and/or XM Community.

Phishing Alert: New Variation On Fake Job Opportunity Scam

Thursday, February 16, 2023 - 14:21

Pitt Information Technology is aware of another variation of the recent job opportunity phishing scams targeting the University of Pittsburgh community. The latest version of the scam appears to originate from a pitt.edu address and advertises a fictitious job as an administrative assistant. The message may use a variety of Subjects and asks recipients reply with their school schedule and an alternate email address. Below is a sample of the scam:

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

Subject: POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT!

POSITION: ADMlNlSTRATlVE ASSlSTANT-REM0TE JOB 

POSITION SUMMARY:

Some DEPARTMENTS seek Assistants to assist some visiting professors by providing basic admin-duties remotely.

The Assistant will maintain and Liaise with staff, other DEPTS, and/or external organization concerning matters regarding assigned work as well as coordinating with the Director.

Weekly-Salary: $400 ($350 +$50 for miscellaneous + tax)

If Interested. Get in touch with [email address redacted] with an ALTERNATlVE EMAlL ADDRESS as well as your school schedule.

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

If you received 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 http://technology.pitt.edu/phishingscams.

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 +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.