Protect your P@55W0rD!

Photo credit: Ryan McGuire, Gratisography

Maybe you're one of those people who makes a password so secure that it is immediately forgettable, maybe you devise passwords in memoriam of long dead  pets with a few !@*% thrown in for a little more security, or perhaps you do none of this? With our banking and other sensitive data predominantly managed online, not to mention, the constant hacking (or cracking?) of social media accounts, how are we supposed to stay safe online? Well, short of a complete rejection of modern life and living in a field somewhere, we thought you may like to take a look at this  interesting piece by Patrick Collinson. It gives some handy tips on creating and storing passwords. We’d advise you take all of this with a critical eye though; you only have to look at the comments to see what a contentious topic password security is! That said, there are some really basic steps in this article that can help to make your passwords more secure.    

Changes at the University of York Library & IT Support over Christmas

Don't forget your University card if you're visiting the
University of York Library any time from Christmas Eve



This Christmas, the University of York Library will be getting some new toys...

Turnstiles in operation at York from 9am on Christmas Eve

The Brynmor Jones Library at Hull already needs you to use your University card to get in and out of the building - it's a handy way to track how the library is being used throughout the day. At York a similar system has been in operation during night-time hours, and from 9am on 24th December, the University of York will be switching the turnstiles on full time in the Morrell Library. This means that from then on, whenever you visit the Library you’ll need to use your University card to operate the turnstiles. If you forget your card, or you’re not a member of the University, staff at the Reception will help you access the Library.

 

There's more information about the new turnstiles policy at York, and why it's being introduced, at the University of York website.

 

New IT Support model at York from 4th January

 

From the start of term, IT Support at the University of York will be moving to the Library Help Desk in Morrell. This will mean the service can be open for longer hours: 9am-7pm on weekdays, and 10am-6pm at the weekend. There will also be appointment bookings for more complex IT enquiries.

 

More information about the new Library & IT Help Desk is at the University of York website.

York Help Desk changes



 

The University of York Library and IT Services have been reviewing the way they provide support and information.

 

The Library Help Desk at the University of York is now staffed from 9am - 7pm on weekdays, and 10am-6pm at weekends. The only exception will be during Summer vacations when the Help Desk will be closed on Sundays. The Library itself is open 24 hours a day, 362 days a year.

 

In addition to this, from the New Year, York's Library Help Desk will be answering first-line IT queries as well as Library enquiries, extending the IT support hours available.

 

You can read full details of the changes at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/library/news/2015/help-desk-changes/ 

University of Hull network maintenance work: Sunday 14th December 9am-12pm

Essential maintenance; Internet disruption on 14 December

What/When?: Due to essential work to be undertaken by JANET engineers and assisted by ICT staff, the University of Hull’s internet connection will be ‘at risk’ from 09:00 until 12:00 on the morning of Sunday 14 December. There may also be a prolonged loss of connection of up to an hour between these times.

Why?: Following the serious outage on 7 October affecting the Yorkshire region, JANET have redesigned their network to improve resilience. This work will connect the University to this new, more robust network.

What does this mean for me?: You may experience breaks in internet connectivity on the University of Hull campus during the period. This is unlikely to cause any serious issues unless you are entering text into external websites. As a precaution, we would advise against carrying out any commercial transactions during this period.

It is advisable anyway to create any lengthy text locally and then cut and paste this into web sites. This guards against normal disconnections that may occur on web sites and will also mitigate any effects of this disruption.

Who can I contact?: For further information please contact the University of Hull ICT Service Desk by phone on 01482 46 2010 or by email help@hull.ac.uk.

How to spot a phishing email



Changes to UoY Eduroam settings

From 17 September, there will be changes to the way that you connect to eduroam at York to use wifi or network access points in (for example) the Library or Fairhurst. At the moment, you can connect using just your username (e.g. abc500) but from 17 September onwards, you'll need to use your username plus @york.ac.uk (e.g. abc500@york.ac.uk).

You will need to change the settings on any devices you use to connect to eduroam e.g. laptops, tablets, phones. You can make this change now and we advise you to use the automatic setup tool which will ensure that all settings are correct. To use this tool:

Connect to eduroam (existing users) or UoYSetup (new users)

• Open a web browser
• Go to http://autoconnect.york.ac.uk
• Click on Start and follow the instructions

In a few instances, the automatic setup will not work - if this is the case, please follow the instructions in the IT Services manual setup guides:

How to connect