An article (link) released January 10, 2013 by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT.gov) states a known vulnerability in Java version 7.  The overview from the mentioned article is as follows:

“A vulnerability in the way Java 7 restricts the permissions of Java applets could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on a vulnerable system.”

What this means is that [essentially] all versions of Java prior to Java 7.11 (build 1.7.0_11-b21) are vulnerable to attackers ignoring security restrictions and executing potentially malicious code on your computer. These attacks on you and your computer could be “crimes from identity theft to making an infected computer part of an ad-hoc computer network that can be used to attack websites” reports Reuters.com. US-CERT also describes the most likely effected users for the vulnerability:

“Any web browser using the Java 7 plug-in is affected. The Java Deployment Toolkit plug-in and Java Web Start can also be used as attack vectors.”

How do I fix this and/or update my computer’s Java version?

The previously mentioned article from US-CERT includes a section on a Solution which initially directs users to download the weekend’s fix/update from Oracle which release notes can be found here and the actual download link can be found on this page. The US-CERT article also provides brief instructions on disabling Java in your browser for those who don’t use Java and won’t notice it being disabled.

When you’re accessing your Google Calendar on your iPad or other iOS device, you basically have three main options.  Each has pros & cons.

1. Use the Mail & Calendar apps that comes from Apple

This requires you to turn on Mail or Calendar syncing under Settings…Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.  You then use the native iOS apps that come preinstalled.  The con to this is that your interface will be completely different from other Google Apps web-based experiences.  One major plus, however, is that you can access email and calendar information when you are away from a WiFi connection or Cellular Data.  Also, users have noticed that calendar changes can take around 15 minutes or so to be reflected on the web.

2. Use Safari or other browser and view the mobile version of your calendar/email

Google detects that you are on a mobile device and presents a streamlined version of your email or calendar.  Some features are removed or are limited to make the mobile experience easier.  To go this route, typically you just log in to your web-based Google Apps just like you would on a desktop computer, however your browser is detected to be mobile and you are redirected to the mobile site.  The mobile site uses less data (WiFi or Cellular) and therefore should be fairly fast.  However, you can not access this version unless you have a data connection of some kind.

3. Use  Safari or other browser and view the desktop version of your calendar/email

In the mobile version of Google Apps email and calendars, you should see a link that says “Desktop” at the bottom of the page.  Switching to this view should present a version of your email or calendar that looks very similar to the version on your desktop.  However, since mobile browsers are limited, some features may not appear or work correctly.  However, it’s nice to have the option!

Now that most users at Augustana are using Windows 7,  a great new feature available is Windows DVD Maker.  You can find it under Start/All Programs, or use the Search feature.  A great tutorial on how to use it was posted at SevenForums.com — I am embedding it in this post.

   Warning

Windows DVD Maker is only available in the Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.

Read more…

Users being upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 will receive, among many other upgrades and enhancements, a great built-in way to take screen shots. Since the early days of Windows, using the Print Screen button, located in the upper right corner of your keyboard, was a quick way to grab the entire contents of your screen into your system’s clipboard. You can still do that under Windows 7, but a new tool, the Snipping Tool, is also available. To find it, go to your Start button and then type “Snip” in the search area. The first tool that comes up should be the Snipping Tool. When you launch it, it allows you to create a new snip by dragging a box around any area of your screen. Then, you can either save it as a graphic file or copy it to your clipboard. Very handy!

Veteran Mac users will note that this capability has been built-in to the Mac OS for years. On the Mac, use Command-Shift-3 to take a whole-screen shot (which is dropped as a file on your desktop) or use Command-Shift-4 to snip out a region of your screen.

Happy snipping!

I know that I appreciate receiving mailing list emails in Digest Mode, because it makes navigating my inbox a little bit easier. Still, the option is not without its flaws. You can opt out of Digest Mode, by following the directions in last week’s blog post here. However, before you reject Digest Mode, take a look at this week’s tip regarding attachments.

Since attachments are not shown directly in the Digest, they can be difficult to locate. However, they are there! Read more…

Over the summer ITS gradually changed the Augustana mailing lists to Digest Mode. To learn more about Digest Mode, you can read the Digest Mode FAQ here. We did this to make it easier for our users to distinguish email that is sent to them personally from email that is sent campus-wide.

However…

… Digest Mode is not a requirement. If you do not like digest email and you would like to switch back to receiving individual emails as they are sent, you can change your preferences in Gmail by following these directions: Read more…

As many of you prepare to leave campus for the summer, this is as good a time as ever to consider backing up your files. Geographic diversity – keeping files in multiple physical places –  is a very good idea for your most important files as protection against hard drive failures and natural disasters.  One way to do this is to copy files to a USB drive and take it home (or, for your home files – keep a copy in a locked drawer at work).  Our network drives (H, O, etc) are backed up to tape.  But another way is to back up to “the cloud,” as many people refer to internet-based storage services like Google Docs and Windows Skydrive.  Here’s how: Read more…

Sometimes learning a few keyboard shortcuts can really save you a lot of time.  Both Windows and Mac users can take advantage of these time-savers.  On your PC keyboard, look for a key that looks like the Windows logo (⊞) between your Control and Alt keys.  On your Mac keyboard, look for the Command key (⌘).  Below are some of our favorites Read more…

If you are a PC user, please refer to the previous entry: Creating a Desktop Shortcut.

Would you like to be able to create a desktop icon that would bring you directly to a website or computer program that you use daily? On Mac computers this is called an “Alias” and it is relatively easy to create one yourself! Read more…

If you are a Mac user, please refer to the next entry: Creating a Desktop Alias.

Would you like to be able to create a desktop icon that would bring you directly to a website or computer program that you use daily? On Windows machines (PCs) this is called a “Shortcut” and it is relatively easy to create one yourself! Read more…