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If you received the Seebeck User News (SUN) newsletter last year, you will notice a change in the way we look! Using the new Graphic Standards and the University's guidelines for a consistent visual identity, we have updated the look of your User News. But User News will still come to you periodically during the year, bringing you information about Seebeck Computer Center and computing on campus, and answering your questions about computing service. And User News is still online at http://bama.ua.edu/~usernews. We are also updating our handouts and web pages. Visit the new HelpDesk web page at http://helpdesk.ua.edu/, or stop by and visit us at the HelpDesk in A-203 Gordon Palmer Hall.
If you would like more information about the new visual identity guidelines, go to the University's home page at http://www.ua.edu, select 'The University' under 'Information about', then select 'Graphic Standards' under 'General Information'.
Over the summer, there were a number of computer break-in attempts and some hacker activity on campus computers. At one time, it appeared that a number of passwords on bama.ua.edu were compromised. These were all passwords that were very easy to guess. All the people affected at that time were notified to change their password. Those who did not change their password had it changed for them. In addition, the rules for new passwords were made more stringent. Now, because of the remaining possibility of compromised accounts on bama.ua.edu, we are asking everyone with a bama account to pick a new password. If you have a new account (created since August 1) or have changed your password recently (since August 1), you will not be required to change it at this time. But if you haven't changed your password lately on your bama.ua.edu account, you must change it this semester. The computer center has also marked as 'inactive' all accounts on bama.ua.edu that have shown no activity for six months or more. If your account is inactive but you now need to use it, you will need to change the password.
These measures are for your protection, and also for the protection of everyone else on bama. Sometimes a dedicated hacker only needs one valid account on a machine in order to look for ways to affect other accounts. To change your password, go to the HelpDesk home page at http://helpdesk.ua.edu/ and click on the Password link, or go to the Unix 'helpers' page at http://bama.ua.edu/~unixinfo/helpers, and select 'Change Your Password'. If you can't remember your password, or you received e-mail telling you to change it but you didn't get it changed, you will need to take your valid ACTion card to the HelpDesk to get your password changed. No password information can be changed or given out over the phone.
Bama.ua.edu was not the only machine on campus visited by hackers. If you have a Unix workstation in your office or research area, your workstation could also be vulnerable to break-in and unauthorized activity. To find out about Unix security on campus, and put yourself in touch with other Unix workstation owners, call the HelpDesk at 8-2435, and ask to speak to a Unix consultant. They can put you on the Unix announcement mailing list, and answer your questions about security on your workstation.
The University now has a Residential Hall Network (ResNet), connecting the campus residence halls to the Internet. It allows students living on campus to connect their personal computers to the Internet in their rooms, with a direct network connection rather than a phone/modem connection. It is presently available in five residence halls (Rose Towers, Paty, Tutwiler, Burke West, and Friedman). Three more buildings (New Hall, Byrd and Parker-Adams) will be added by the end of this semester. For more information on ResNet, visit the ResNet web site at http://ResNet.ua.edu/.
Any student of the University of Alabama may have an e-mail account on bama.ua.edu. If you have students who need e-mail accounts, tell them to take their ACTion cards to the HelpDesk in A-203 Gordon Palmer (8am - 4:45pm M-F). It only takes a few seconds to get an account set up. While at the HelpDesk, they can also ask about dialup or ResNet access, pick up handouts and information, and learn how to change their password. Faculty and staff who need an e-mail account on bama.ua.edu may also get one by presenting their ACT card at the HelpDesk.
This year, new student accounts are being setup with the ability to use e-mail (including attachments), but not ftp and telnet. With their new account, students receive information on how to change their account if they need ftp (file transfer) or telnet (remote log on.) This is a security measure, since so many students never use the ftp and telnet features, and might not notice if someone else used their account for telnet. However, if you teach a class of new students, and you need them to be able to upload files (ftp), or log on to bama.ua.edu (telnet), you might want to remind them to use the shell web tool to change the setup of their account. The shell web tool is on the Unix 'helpers' page http://bama.ua.edu/~unixinfo/helpers under 'Change your Unix shell'. Anyone can use this web tool. In fact, if you never use the telnet or ftp features on your own account, you might want to change your account shell to one that does not allow those features, and protect your account from unauthorized use. You can always return to the web tool and change back later if you need to. If you do use telnet, you can use this tool to change your standard Unix shell to any of the available shells. You can also set your account to allow ftp but not telnet (called the 'ftp-only' shell), or turn off both ftp and telnet (called the 'remote' shell). Visit the web tool site for more information.
Q: When I use the Internet from my office, it seems faster than last year. Did something change?
A: YES! Over the summer, we replaced our Internet connection with a new faster connection. The new connection is capable of moving more than 10 times as much information each second (compared to the connection we were using last year). In addition, our connection to Internet2 (I2) is now active. All Internet traffic to and from other Internet2 schools goes over the I2 line instead of the regular Internet line. Now the University is working on upgrading network connections on campus. You should be seeing a difference in your Internet connection because of all these changes.
You do not have to do anything special to your computer to make sure you are using the new Internet connection. The old Internet connection was replaced, and all regular Internet traffic automatically uses the new connection. You also do not have to do anything to make sure that traffic intended for Internet2 uses the Internet2 connection; that is also automatic. However, to take advantage of the high-speed, high-bandwidth research capabilities of Internet2, your computer and your local network must be capable of handling at least 100Mb ethernet. You might want to check with your network administrator if you have a question about your computer or your local network. The computer center is in the process of extending high-bandwidth ethernet service to the campus. Those areas that will receive the service first are those with research applications and funding grants for Internet2. For more information about Internet2, visit our Internet2 web site at http://bama.ua.edu/~i2.
The computer center is changing the way you access dialup services, to make it easier. If you have a Windows 95/98 machine, and you are already using University dialup services, all you have to do to access the new service is use the Dial-Up Networking 'Make New Connection' program and put in the new phone number (347-1800 off campus, or 7-1800 on campus). You no longer need a script file, nor have to open a terminal window to log on. If you have a Macintosh, use your Internet Setup Assistant. The old dialup numbers will be phased out this semester, so go ahead and move now. You can find complete instructions for changing to the new dialup (or setting up dialup on a new machine) on the HelpDesk home page. Or call the HelpDesk at 348-2435 for more information.
The last day to use the 348-4300 dialup number will be October 10, 1999. The last day to use the 348-4350 dialup number will be December 19, 1999. Both these modem groups will move to the new 347-1800 number, with a connection limit of 90 minutes. Go ahead and update your dialup connection now.
The computer center now has a web tool to help you protect your web pages on bama.ua.edu. Maybe you need to protect copyrighted information. Maybe you need to limit access so that only a particular class can see a page. Maybe you have information used under the 'fair use' copyright exception (which means you need to limit it to class use only). Or maybe you just want to be sure only people on campus can access your site. In any case, you can use the new web protection tool to arrange protection for your web site by password or web address. For information on this web tool, visit the 'Helpers' web site at http://bama.ua.edu/~unixinfo/helpers, and select 'Password or Network Protect Web Pages'.