TROY IT Update December 2020

REMINDER

If you will be taking University owned computers away from campus, please remember to log into TrojanNet VPN so that the computer can get needed updates.

Microsoft Introduces Together Mode for Teams

Together Mode aims to give meeting participants the impression that they’re looking at the entire group within the same place. The goal is to reduce video fatigue and give participants a more natural meeting experience.

Learn more.

Malwarebytes

In order to help protect against malware, hacks, viruses, ransomware, and other ever-evolving threats, TROY IT has deployed Malwarebytes Endpoint Agent to all Troy University Windows PC’s, which reside on a Troy University network. Malwarebytes will routinely scan devices and remove malware to help support a safe online experience. Malwarebytes will also be installed on all Troy University Mac’s at a later date.

WebEx - New Features

WebEx is a service primarily used for video conferencing and presentations. In addition, university staff and faculty have also used the service for hosting Webinars for internal and external audiences. See new features below.

Simplified Preview
The larger, optimized Audio/Video Preview window makes it easier to look your best and find the settings you need before joining a meeting. A new larger video screen lets you see exactly how you will appear in the meeting.

Improved Permissions Dialogue on Mac 10.15+ Catalina
First-time Webex Meetings users on Mac 10.15+ Catalina will be shown an improved dialog that takes them through the Mac system permissions needed in order to see, hear, and share content.

Simplified in-Meeting Controls
Meeting controls are now clearly labeled and easy to locate at the bottom of your meeting window, which means you’ll always have them in sight, without covering up shared content or video.

Remove Background Noise from Meetings and Events – Windows and Mac
Having drywall put up in another room or a dog barking to go outside? Filter out those noisy background disruptions before (or during) a call so that others only hear your voice. Just turn on the Remove background noise setting and you’re all set. Find this feature at Audio & Video tab > Speaker & Microphone Settings > Remove background noise.

Connect to meetings from your car.
Users with select Toyota vehicles can now experience WebEx Meetings on their car dashboard without having to reach for their phones.

Enhanced participant list experience on mobile.
Easily see who's in the meeting with the new participant list search and the ability to view grouped participants joining from the same video device.

In WebEx, you can change the way your Personal Room view looks. Update your profile picture, set your background image and even change the appearance of your desk and coffee cup.

Sign into your WebEx site. Go to My WebEx > My Personal Room.
Go to My WebEx > My Personal Room.
Select Personal Room full view in the upper right corner of your screen.
Customize your Personal Room view by changing the following settings:
Select Change on your profile picture to upload a new one.
Select the coffee cup on the right side of the desk to change its appearance.
Select the desk to change its appearance.
Select the arrow on the left side of your screen to view the available wall images. You can replace these images by uploading your own, unless this setting is disabled on your site.
To change the name of your Personal Room, go to My WebEx > Preferences > My Personal Room > Room name.

change the view for your personal room screenshot

Personal Room Email Signature
A new section was added to the TROY WebEx training guide related to adding a link to the user’s Personal Room in their email signature. This addition will allow users to connect to a virtual meeting almost instantly.

personal room email signature screenshot

For more information on Webex, visit TROY’s Remote Productivity Tools page.

New Adobe Sign Workflows

Many departments have requested forms (currently only available in paper versions) be converted to an electronic process due to the COVID-19 crisis. We recommend that if you need to send a form, first check the employee forms or student forms for the most up-to-date version of a form.

Since May 2020, IT has released twenty-five new forms for end-user use through Adobe Sign. These forms are available on each department's web page or on the consolidated Forms page. There are an additional nine workflows currently in the development process that will be released in the coming weeks. The newly released forms are:

Applied Music Level Advancement Form
Athletics Grant-In-Aid
Athletics National Letter of Intent
COVID Online Teaching Request
CRIT Post Masters Admission Request
Dothan Key Request
Faculty Certification Form
FFCRA Leave Request
Graduate Comprehensive Exam Certification form
Graduate Specialized Study Form
Guided Independent Research / Study Request
Housing and Residence Life Coronavirus Worksheet
Intent to Teach
International Programs Academic Training (J-1) Advisor Approval
MPA Internship Waiver Request
Non-Athletic Grant-In-Aid
Non-tenure Track Faculty Contract
Performance Studies Jury Report
Professional Development Request
Student Counseling Center Interview Request Form
Student Counseling Center Presentation Request Form
Summer Faculty Contracts
Tenure Track Faculty Contract
Tuition Assistance Overhaul
Update Student Personal Information Request

Internet Capacity Upgrades

IT worked with local ISP vendors to increase the capacity of Internet for the Troy, AL campus location to accommodate more remote learning, work, and video conferencing. The upgrade doubled the capacity and was completed on October 16th, 2020.

LAPS Training

TROY IT held several internal training sessions in order to teach usage of Microsoft’s Local Administrator Password Solution.

Helpdesk Email Replies

If you receive an update for a Helpdesk ticket via email, you can always reply to the email notification itself. Your ticket will automatically be updated with your emailed response and all parties set to receive notifications for that ticket will receive a copy of your response.

IT Summit

The IT Summit, held annually, is an important part of this effort. The 2020 IT Summit was conducted July 20-31. During the first week, 16 sessions were offered virtually via Microsoft Stream and two were held live. A live Forum and Q&A was held during the second week with live sessions hosted daily. 273 users registered for the 2020 IT summit. View the IT Summit Stream

Topics included:

Creating and Managing Canvas Quizzes
OneDrive – Never Lose Data Again
Computer Health Check & Teaching in a Flexible Environment
Need Help?
Microsoft Teams
Advanced Microsoft Teams
Webex
Providing Excellent Customer Service
Using and developing Electronic Forms
Microsoft Stream
Sending Mass Communications through Sales Force
Microsoft Teams Integration in Canvas (added to MS Team session)
Organizing your Canvas Course using the TROY Template
Monitoring Online Assessments using Respondus Lockdown Browser or Monitor
MSO365
CRM Advise
CRM Recruit
TROY Mobile App

Transact Mobile Ordering

Working collaboratively with Auxiliary Services and Food Services, a new experience will debut soon. The Transact Mobile Ordering project provides students the best contactless method for remote ordering and payment of their meals at Sodexo dining facilities. Students download the mobile order app to their cell phone and search for the restaurant they want to order from. When the order is placed and paid for, the student is given a time to pick up their order. This project is approximately 90% complete with placement and testing of the equipment at each restaurant location pending. Students can expect Transact Mobile Ordering to be available in mid-January 2020.

Changing the Requestor when Submitting Tickets

If you regularly submit tickets on behalf of others in your department, don’t forget that you can change the requestor on the ticket so IT will be able to communicate directly with the individual needing assistance. You will still be able to see the ticket and update the ticket if needed.

VISIX Digital Displays

Digital displays are used to present important information to students, faculty and staff, including current events, weather and important notices. Currently, there are 70 VISIX Digital Displays at Troy University campuses.

VISIX serves as a signage suite for the University. Through utilizing the VISIX system, students and employees can view announcements that consists of scheduling information, alerts, notices, policies, live weather updates, live news, and other relevant content.

Helpdesk Volume Indicator

IT has rolled out a Ticket Volume Indicator that measures ticket volume broken down by division. If the indicator is green, the volume of tickets for the division is at average status and will have the standard response time. If it is yellow, the volume of tickets for the division is escalating to a point wherein response time may be briefly delayed. If the indicator is red, the volume of tickets for this division is high and response time may take longer than usual. This volume indicator will be located on the client portal homepage of the Helpdesk.

Qless

Students will soon be able to join the line to see Financial Aid remotely using the Qless electronic queue management solution. They will be notified via text message of wait times and will be able to ask for more time or cancel their place in line directly from their phone.

Decreased transparency of chat window background
Added “Student ID” field to pre-chat form
Added new operators, while removing inactive operators

TrojanTXT

TrojanTXT is a text messaging tool that Troy University uses to communication with student about student services related deadlines, events, and information. Messages can be sent to specific campuses such as the Troy, AL Campus, TROY Online, Phenix City, AL, or all Term locations. For more information on sending TrojanTXT messages, view this article.

Microsoft Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS)

Microsoft Local Administrator Password Solution, or LAPS for short, empowers faculty and staff by generating randomized administrator passwords for their Microsoft Windows PC. Whenever administrative credentials are required, a temporary administrator password can be provided which will expire after a designated timeframe. Many of the tactics employed by bad actors (via malware or application exploits) result in those persons gaining the access level of the currently logged on user. Using LAPS to resolve elevated access level requests is a proven method to mitigate attacks to both that end user’s computer as well as others on the network. If you need immediate assistance regarding temporary administrative rights to install software, you may reach out to the IT Operators at 334-670-HELP (4357). For any other request, please submit a Helpdesk ticket.

Software Center

Software Center is an application installed on every Troy University Microsoft Windows PC. It allows for the installation of pre-approved software by faculty and staff without the need for administrative rights. To launch Software Center, first navigate to the start menu, type "Software Center" and then press "Enter."" The image below will now show. To install any application available, simply click on it, then select "Install." Keep in mind that your computer will need to be on a TROY network to utilize Software Center. If you are working remotely from home, you will need to connect to TrojanNet VPN.

Outdoor WiFi

Outdoor Wireless Internet is being installed at the Troy, Montgomery, Phenix City, and Dothan campus locations in the event Troy University reverts back to remote work so faculty, staff, and students that may not have sufficient Internet at their residence will have a way to get service by simply pulling into one of the designated parking lots once this is completed. Anticipated completion is by December 18th, 2020

Core Network Routing

IT will be replacing several network routing devices across campus to address older aging equipment and increase future capacity efforts. The replacement project is proposed to begin December 4th, 2020 and be completed once all routers scheduled to be replaced have been.

VPN and Remote Connectivity

New components are being readied to replace aging VPN equipment to accommodate better VPN connectivity while serving to aid in remote work and assuring that University owned computers continue to stay as up-to-date while faculty and staff are working remotely due to various circumstances.

Top 10 Attacks

THREAT TYPE

Failed Authentication Through Mail Protocol
Non-RFC Compliant ECHO Traffic on Port 443
Microsoft Windows user enumeration
Non-RFC Compliant FTP Traffic on Port 21
Suspicious Abnormal HTTP Response Found
SSL Weak Cipher Suite Selection Vulnerability
Open VAS Vulnerability Scanner Detection
SSL TLS CBC Cipher Suite Detection
Suspicious HTTP Evasion Found
Suspicious Domain

Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM)

Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) offers enhanced protection against data theft and data exposure for Windows systems that are lost or stolen. BitLocker encrypts all data that is stored on a Windows system. Through BitLocker, Troy University currently encrypts approximately 1500 user devices.

TrojanBot Enhancements

The university's chat bot has been overhauled to provide an improved conversation flow. It has also received new content, including commonly asked questions related to Financial Aid. Basic admissions resources were added and several important links have also been included. Additional enhancements will be rolled out in the near future.

Third-party Application Patching to Remote Devices

TROY IT is now patching third-party applications, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on University Microsoft Windows remote devices connecting over TrojanNet VPN. Simply leave your University Windows device connected to TrojanNet VPN for a few hours every day or evening. No other action is needed on your part. Please note that your device’s connection to your home network needs to be set to “Private,” not “Public.”