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New Settings for Pitt IT’s Web Proxy Service Take Effect April 25

Thursday, April 21, 2022 - 15:39

 

If your department uses Pitt Information Technology’s Web Proxy service (access.cssd.pitt.edu) ― which some units adopted to allow individuals to reach internet resources from within their department's network ― please be advised that Pitt IT is upgrading to a new proxy service that will require the following settings effective Monday, April 25:  

Previous Settings

  • Address: access.cssd.pitt.edu
  • Port: 80/443

New Settings

  • Address: proxy.it.pitt.edu
  • Port: 8080

To determine whether you are using the Web Proxy service, open your Control Panel, select Internet Options, select the Connections tab, and click LAN settings. If the “Use a proxy server…” box is checked, update your Address and Port settings. If the “Use a proxy server…” box is unchecked and the proxy area is grayed out, no action is needed.

Pitt IT has already been working to identify and contact departments with individuals who may be using the Web Proxy service. We appreciate your help in raising awareness about this change.  

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

Virtual Computing Lab and Virtual Desktops URLs Change on April 18

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - 13:07

 

Microsoft has announced a change to Azure Virtual Desktop that affects the URLs used to access the Virtual Computing Lab and Virtual Desktops for Remote Work services. Beginning Monday, April 18, 2022, the previous URLs for both services will be replaced with the following:

Pitt IT encourages you to use myPitt tasks or the short URLs for both services, which will not change: pi.tt/vlab for the Virtual Computing Lab and pi.tt/vdesktop for Virtual Desktops for Remote Work. If you prefer to use the longer URLs, please remember to update any bookmarks you may have.

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

Phishing Alert: Student Internship Program Scam

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - 12:11

 

Pitt Information Technology has identified a new email phishing scam targeting University students. The scam typically includes the subject line “Student Internship Program” and originates from an external email address that is usually associated with a free email provider. The body of the email is often blank but may include an attached Word or PDF file. The text of the attachment purports to be a job or internship offer for office work, and it may also claim the job is sponsored by the University. The scammer often asks for contact information and an alternate email address. After communicating with the recipient, the scammer asks for a deposit that will be “reimbursed in the future.” 

The following is a sample of the recent scam. 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.

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

The text of the attachment follows:

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

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.

April Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 - 15:55

 

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

  • .NET Framework
  • Active Directory Domain Services
  • Azure SDK
  • Azure Site Recovery
  • LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Driver
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • Microsoft Graphics Component
  • Microsoft Local Security Authority Server (lsasrv)
  • Microsoft Office Excel
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint
  • Microsoft Windows ALPC
  • Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
  • Microsoft Windows Media Foundation
  • Power BI
  • Role: DNS Server
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • Skype for Business
  • Visual Studio
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock
  • Windows App Store
  • Windows AppX Package Manager
  • Windows Cluster Client Failover
  • Windows Cluster Shared Volume (CSV)
  • Windows Common Log File System Driver
  • Windows Defender
  • Windows DWM Core Library
  • Windows Endpoint Configuration Manager
  • Windows Fax Compose Form
  • Windows Feedback Hub
  • Windows File Explorer
  • Windows File Server
  • Windows Installer
  • Windows iSCSI Target Service
  • Windows Kerberos
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service
  • Windows Media
  • Windows Network File System
  • Windows PowerShell
  • Windows Print Spooler Components
  • Windows RDP
  • Windows Remote Procedure Call Runtime
  • Windows schannel
  • Windows SMB
  • Windows Telephony Server
  • Windows Upgrade Assistant
  • Windows User Profile Service
  • Windows Win32K
  • Windows Work Folder Service
  • YARP reverse proxy

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.

Phishing Alert: Text Message Scam Arrives From Your Phone Number

Wednesday, March 30, 2022 - 09:51

 

Pitt Information Technology advises students, faculty, and staff to be aware of a new, nationwide text message phishing scam targeting Verizon Wireless customers. The scam arrives as a text message that appears to have been sent by your own phone number. The message indicates that your Verizon bill has been paid and that you can receive a free gift by clicking on a link contained in the message.  

The following is a sample of the recent scam. If you receive this message―or any text message like it that contains a link or asks for a reply―ignore the message and do not click the link.

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

"Free Msg: Your bill is paid for March. Thanks, here's a little gift for you."

[Link removed]

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

Clicking the link in the text message may direct you to a fraudulent Verizon customer survey that offers you a free Apple Watch and attempts to collect personal information.

Pitt IT strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited texts/emails, or texts/emails from unverifiable sources. 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.

March Microsoft Security Update

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - 16:14

 

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

  • .NET and Visual Studio
  • Azure Site Recovery
  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
  • Microsoft Defender for IoT
  • Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
  • Microsoft Exchange Server
  • Microsoft Intune
  • Microsoft Office Visio
  • Microsoft Office Word
  • Microsoft Windows ALPC
  • Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
  • Paint 3D
  • Role: Windows Hyper-V
  • Skype Extension for Chrome
  • Tablet Windows User Interface
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock
  • Windows CD-ROM Driver
  • Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver
  • Windows COM
  • Windows Common Log File System Driver
  • Windows DWM Core Library
  • Windows Event Tracing
  • Windows Fastfat Driver
  • Windows Fax and Scan Service
  • Windows HTML Platform
  • Windows Installer
  • Windows Kernel
  • Windows Media
  • Windows PDEV
  • Windows Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
  • Windows Print Spooler Components
  • Windows Remote Desktop
  • Windows Security Support Provider Interface
  • Windows SMB Server
  • Windows Update Stack
  • XBox

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.

Brief Pittsburgh Campus Phone Service Interruption on March 9

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 - 11:09

 

Incoming phone calls to University of Pittsburgh telephones on the Pittsburgh campus may be briefly interrupted beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9, 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. This primarily affects University phone numbers that begin with 624 and 648, although some numbers that begin with 383 are also affected. 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.

Qualtrics Results and Reports Preview Ends Soon; Recreate Custom Reports

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 - 09:35

 

As previously reported, the vendor for Online Survey System (Qualtrics) has made available a preview of new Results and Reports dashboards that provide more intuitive ways to analyze, share, and consume survey results. In late February, all users will be opted-in to the new Results and Reports experience by default.

Please note that any custom reports you created will not transition to the new experience, so you will need to recreate these as new reports.

If you need to access custom Results or Reports dashboards information stored in the legacy experience, please be aware of the following timeline from the vendor:

  • late-February to June 2022 – Users can use a Switch back option to alternate between the new and legacy experiences.
  • June to September 2022 – All legacy, customized Results-Reports will be available as read-only copies.
  • September 2022 – All legacy, customized Results-Reports will be fully retired. To keep copies of legacy Results-Reports, download them from Qualtrics (as PDFs).

Please visit the Results-Reports webpage for additional details.

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

Apple Security Updates Address New Vulnerability

Friday, February 11, 2022 - 15:02

 

Apple has announced security updates to address a new vulnerability that could be exploited if a user visits a specially crafted webpage. The vulnerability affects the following software: 

  • iOS and iPadOS prior to 15.3.1
  • macOS Monterey prior to 12.2.1
  • Safari prior to 15.3 (v. 16612.4.9.1.8 and 15612.4.9.1.8)

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.

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.

MyPitt Changes to PeopleSoft Tasks Effective March 1

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 - 16:42

 

Starting on March 1, 2022, the number of myPitt (my.pitt.edu) tasks for students, faculty, and advisors to access PeopleSoft resources will be consolidated to PeopleSoft Student Information System, PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX, and View Faculty Center. This reflects a joint decision by the Registrar, Student Information Services, and Pitt Information Technology to simplify search options for myPitt.

Certain tasks will no longer be available as favorites or searches in myPitt. Please note the following changes:

  • Student Center – Use PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX
  • Access the Student Information System – Use PeopleSoft Student Information System
  • PeopleSoft Mobile – Use PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX
  • View My Class Roster – Use PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX

To minimize search issues caused by task removal, Pitt IT recommends that you add PeopleSoft Student Information System and PeopleSoft/HighPoint CX as your favorites. The option to add a favorite for View Faculty Center is only displayed in filter view when Faculty is selected in myPitt. Keywords will also be added to PeopleSoft resources that remain available in myPitt.

Visit the technology site for more information about features and differences of PeopleSoft Mobile and HighPoint Campus Experience (CX) and PeopleSoft Student Information System and HighPoint Campus Experience (CX).

Visit the Registrar’s website for how-to instructions and training resources.

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