Smith College TechNotes blog

Welcome to Smith!  Here are six important things you need to know before you arrive on campus in the fall:

(1) Smith uses Novell GroupWise for email. If you haven’t tried your GroupWise account yet, here’s how to get started:

   - Open a Web browser and go to the Smith homepage: http://www.smith.edu
   - Click on the GroupWise Web button in the lower right corner of the window.
   - In the first GroupWise window, click on the Go button.
   - In the GroupWise login window, enter your GroupWise username and password.

Your username is usually your first initial followed by the first 7 letters of your last name.  (For example, Anna Reyerson’s username would be “areyerso”.) Your initial password is the first 8 numbers of your 9-digit Smith ID number.

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Smith’s primary email identity is now @smith.edu instead of @email.smith.edu. But don’t worry - your @email.smith.edu address will continue to work as usual.

The college switched to this simpler form to save keystrokes, streamline our email processing, and give Smith addresses the same format used by most other academic institutions.

IMPORTANT: Use your @smith.edu address to log in to the MessageScreen quarantine system. Also, if you subscribe to any email lists, you may need to change your subscription setup so you can continue posting to the list..

For more information, see: http://www.smith.edu/tara/groupwise/simple_address.html

Please be aware that while wireless on campus is convenient and a great resource, it is not your only way to access the internet, and should be considered a supplement to the Ethernet connection in your room. So, when both connections are available to you, choose wired over wireless.

Wireless is a shared resource with relatively low bandwidth. Imagine that the wireless router is a sprinkler, and each computer connecting to the router is a bucket — so when one computer requests a lot of bandwidth from the router (imagine they’re using a larger bucket), everyone else’s available bandwidth can decline. So, for better performance, please use an Ethernet connection to download large files, run Windows Updates, watch streaming video, use VoIP, and so forth.

Wireless is insecure. All wireless networks are less secure than wired connections. Moreover, the wireless in the residence houses is not encrypted, so please do not use wireless for any services that require you to enter sensitive personal information (for example, your Banner PIN, credit card number, or online banking information).

Wireless in the houses is monitored by CCA. When you use the wireless in a residence house, instead of signing in through Blue Socket (like all other access points on campus, in the library, campus center, etc), you will sign into Cisco Clean Access. So, if you need a Windows Update or new Virus Definition, run your updates on a wired connection (it will be faster) before you try connecting to the wireless in your house. For more information on accessing wireless from a residence house, read this page on TARA: Accessing the Smith Wireless Network from a Smith Residence House

More Questions? Email 4its@smith.edu or call the User Support Center at x4487.

Are you planning on bringing a mobile device (such as an iPhone or iPod Touch) to Smith with you this fall? There are a few things you should know! (Read more…)

Security web sites are reporting a new type of virus attack that tricks Internet search engines into falsely promoting malicious web sites to the top of the results list for some searches. If a user then visits one of the malicious sites, they are prompted to download and install the MS AntiSpyware 2009 Rogue Security Software, which is actually malware.

Please do NOT respond to any web-based attempts to get you to install anti-spyware software. As long as you have an up-to-date version of McAfee VirusScan+AntiSpyware on your computer, you are well protected.

The Recording Industry of America (RIAA) reserves the right to file lawsuits against students found guilty of copyright infringement, and is increasing efforts to send Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices to colleges and universities identifying specific campus computers that are sharing music or video files in violation of copyright law.

If Smith receives a DMCA notice that identifies your computer as an offender, you will receive an email notice from Herb Nickles, Executive Director of ITS.

PLEASE NOTE: If you receive a copyright infringement notice from Herb Nickles, you MUST respond IMMEDIATELY and remove all peer-to-peer (P2P) software from your computer.

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If you have Firefox 3 installed on your computer, you are likely to see a “Page Load Error: Secure Connection Failed” the first time you try to connect to the network via Cisco Clean Access in your residence house.

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If you will be living on campus this fall, the following information will help you get your Windows computer up and running as soon as possible after you arrive: (Read more…)

Right now the Smith campus is in a state of transition. Many students, faculty, and staff are already using Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac. In addition, all computers in the campus computer centers and classrooms will be upgraded to Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac by the start of the fall semester. However, some students, faculty, and staff are still using other versions of Office. (Read more…)

Check out this recent post at Smith College Mac User: Make your PowerPoint Presentations PC-Compatible