TROY IT Update May 2020

Microsoft Teams

Teams is the constantly improving, collaboration software from Microsoft. Teams can help with project management, group meetings, communicating with distant co-workers and more. Many campus divisions are already using Teams on a daily basis. Frequent and easy contact with your group has never been easier. For more information go to it.troy.edu/remote.

Chat via Skype
Share Documents
Collaborate with co-workers

New features in Teams include the ability to add custom video backgrounds. If you wish to conceal the room behind you, you may choose to blur it or change it to a custom background of your choosing. To enable this feature, select the three dots while in a meeting and then choose “background settings.” From the next screen you can select which virtual background to apply.

Microsoft Teams Training for Students

A student-focused Microsoft Teams training will be held on Wednesday, May 20 at 2:30 pm. The session will cover basic navigation of Microsoft Teams, as well as how to use the main features of the app. The session will be tailored for student use, illustrating how a student can chat with an advisor or teacher or create their own team for things like group projects.

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.

"Look Who's Talking" indicator is always enabled. Users can look at the Participants panel to see which user is speaking during a meeting.

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.

WebEx Connect to meetings through your car

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.

WebEx Change the name of your personal room

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.

Video Background for Mobile Devices

An additional section was added to the TROY WebEx training guide. The update offers instructions on creating custom backgrounds while connected via mobile devices. During a video conference, you can choose to change or blur your background. This way, others stay focused on you and not your surroundings.

TROY 2-Factor Authentication

TROY’s 2-Factor Authentication adds a second layer of security to your TROY accounts. It requires two factors to verify identity. These factors include something you know – your username and password, and something you have – a phone or passcode, to authenticate and gain access to an account. Passwords alone no longer provide adequate protection against cyber-attacks.

Two-factor authentication has been enabled for all employees, further strengthening TROY’s security posture. The number of compromised employee accounts has dropped by 96 percent since implementing 2-Factor authentication.

TROY IT will continue to engage students going into the Fall semester with a goal of having all students enrolled in 2-Factor authentication.

You can read more about 2-Factor authentication and find answers to your frequently asked questions by going to the 2-Factor Authentication and Password Self Service information page.

Financial Aid Website

Improvements to the Financial Aid website are on-going with recent updates added to provide clear information about the summer financial aid process. In addition, a handful of carefully selected commonly asked questions, and their corresponding answers, have been added directly to the homepage. Improvements that will provide enhanced custom support for chat-based interactions are currently in development.

The Financial Aid homepage can be viewed at https://www.troy.edu/scholarships-costs-aid/financial-aid/.

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.

As of April 15, 2020 IT has released eight 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 thirteen forms currently in the development process that will be released in the coming weeks. The newly released forms are:

CRIT Graduate Certification in Addictions Counseling Application
CRIT Graduate Certification in Addictions Counseling Internship Approval
Distance Counseling Informed Consent form
Student Counseling Center Contract
Student Counseling Center Authorization for Release of Information
Student Counseling Center Referral form
Petition for Transfer of Graduate Credit / Program Change
Housing Extension Request Form

IT has developed and released forms that require user authentication to access the forms. The data on these forms can also be integrated with ERP to pull information such as student/employee ID, name and DOB for verification purposes.

Adobe Creative Cloud for Students

On Monday, March 31, 2020, IT collaborated with the Adobe team to provision Adobe Creative Cloud accounts to Troy University students during the COVID-19 crisis. A user guide was created for students to learn how to register and establish their login to take advantage of the Creative Cloud Free Membership, which will be available to students until July 6, 2020. This information was added to it.troy.edu/remote site. As of April 15, many students have signed up and were provisioned to receive Adobe Creative Cloud. This is an on-going daily effort by IT.

Financial Aid Chat

Current and prospective students can now utilize a new chat feature to communicate online with representatives from Troy University about any issues or questions they have about Financial Aid. When a representative is available for chat, users will see a chat button appear on the refreshed Financial Aid website. These are the latest modifications that have been made to the Financial Aid chat:

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

Canvas Skill Now Available for Amazon Alexa

Canvas has created a skill for Amazon Alexa to make it easy for students and teachers to access information regarding their Canvas courses on Alexa-enabled devices. Users can ask Alexa to speak-and-share class announcements, homework assignments and any other classwork due each week.

Users will need to link their Canvas account in the Alexa app. For assistance with this, please put in a Helpdesk ticket, at helpdesk.troy.edu. Be sure to select "Teaching and Learning.""

LAPS Training

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

TeamDynamix (Helpdesk)

How to Get Help with your Requests Quicker

As TROY employees work remotely, they may experience issues not regularly encountered. To help us contact you as quickly as possible, ensure you provide as much information as you can in your ticket. Include a telephone number you can be reached at, such as your home phone number or cell phone number. If employees anticipate that a technician will need to remote into your computer to resolve the issue, it is very helpful if you provide a convenient time you can be reached along with your computer name in the ticket. Below are the instructions for locating your computer name. If your computer will not boot at all, please provide IT with the serial number of the computer so we may check on the warranty status. For instructions on locating the serial number, visit Where do I find my desktop or laptop serial number?

Search Feature

Easily find the services that you need using the Helpdesk search feature. The Helpdesk’s search feature will allow you to perform a search (similar to Google) of the Helpdesk to find exactly what you need. If you need to submit a Helpdesk ticket and you are not sure where to locate the service, enter a few keywords describing what you need and select "Service Catalog." This will return a list of the services specific to your search and will allow you to submit tickets from this page. If you are looking for an answer to a question or instructions, select "Knowledge Base" and browse. This may allow you to find the information you seek without needing to submit a ticket.

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.

Training

The Office of Information Technology provides a wide variety of training resources to University faculty and staff. Courses are made available online (via WebEx and our KnowledgeCity training portal) and also in-class. In addition, we offer department and college-specific training.

The IT Summit, held annually, is another learning opportunity for our faculty and staff. In 2019 nearly 700 users attended training offered by IT.

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.

Helpdesk Workflows

Do you work Helpdesk tickets and need a way for multiple people to work on different components of a ticket at the same time? Workflows may be your answer. IT can help you create workflows that will allow tasks to automatically be created for your tickets. These tasks can be created at the same time or in a specific sequence. Tasks can be assigned to anyone that has access to work Helpdesk tickets. For more information and to determine if workflows are for you, submit a Helpdesk ticket.

Helpdesk Volume Indicator

IT will be rolling 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.

Salesforce

Salesforce is TROY’s platform for sending out mass emails to external constituents and TrojanTXT messages. If you need to send mass emails to external users, Salesforce is the suggested option. Marketing can assist you with building branded emails and IT can help with sending the email. For more information on sending communications through Salesforce, click here.

Security

During the month of April, 82,591,874 malicious events were detected and then denied, blocked or dropped at the perimeter. An additional 3,389,473 items were blocked, deleted or cleaned by IT's internal scanning systems.

MECM

Endpoint Configuration Manager or MECM for short is the tool IT uses to make packages and task sequences to deploy to end users. The primary benefit is time saved for Colleges and Departments. IT can now use MECM to complete mass software deployments. In the event that a piece of software needs to be added to an entire lab or even multiple labs, Software Center allows TROY IT to create one package that is then remotely installed to a collection of devices needing the software. If you are working remotely from home, you will need to connect to TrojanNet VPN.

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.

Remote Productivity Tools

IT created a single point of reference to assist students, faculty and staff with identifying and learning more about resources that are key to participating in online courses or working at a distance. The Remote Productivity Tools page offers direct links to a number of online resources and related training and support resources. The page will continue to be updated with new information.

Please visit https://it.troy.edu/remote to access this resource.

Top 10 Attacks

THREAT TYPE

OpenVAS Vulnerability Scanner Detection
Non-RFC Compliant ECHO Traffic on Port 7
JavaScript Obfuscation Detected
Non-RFC Compliant FTP Traffic on Port 21
Microsoft Windows User Enumeration
Suspicious HTTP Evasion Found
NetBIOS nbtstat Query
Microsoft Windows Service Enum
Non-RFC Compliant DNS Traffic on Port 53/5353
Non-RFC Compliant DNS Traffic on Port 53/5353

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. In 2019, over 1000 devices were successfully encrypted.

Insights – April 2020 Edition (Volume 1)

Separate from our regular IT Update, the Insights publication focuses on a specific topic and offers detailed information in the form of student, faculty or staff experiences, information about receiving technical assistance, links to online tools and other helpful resources.

The April edition offered a focus on teaching online and working remotely. Please be certain to watch the informative interview with Dr. Tammy Esteves regarding her experiences with teaching online.

Visit the April 2020 (Volume 1) edition at https://it.troy.edu/insights/.

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.”

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. There were 11 new displays added over the past 18 months at various campus locations.

Canvas

With the end of term 4 upon us, Term 5 course shells have been released so that faculty can start building their course.

Term 5 courses classes begin on Tuesday, May 26th.

Want to learn more about all Canvas has to offer? Contact TROY IT, via Helpdesk, for additional training on all the features available in Canvas.

TROY Mobile App

IT is working with the application vendor to provide an updated version of the app that will prepare for the deployment of future enhancements and resolve at least one known bug that impacts some users when viewing Office 365 emails from within the app. This application update will be automatically provided through the Apple and Android app stores and should not have any impact on users of the application.

In addition, a major update to the backend of the application platform is scheduled for late May. This update will also add critical support for future enhancements. End-users should not be disrupted while the back-end update is in progress.

For more information, and to download the app, visit https://it.troy.edu/mobile/.

Safety Notices and System Alerts

TROY provides information in regard to safety notices and system alerts via the SOS website. Safety notices are also sent via email and/or text message through Omnilert. Alerts include, but are not limited to, weather, building safety, etc. SOS notices can be received through the SOS Twitter account as well. All TROY users automatically have an SOS account (accessed by using their TrojanPass credentials) in which they receive notices through their TROY email account. It is also possible to sign up for text alerts. For more information on how to manage notices, please visit the knowledge base at helpdesk.troy.edu.

my.troy.edu Enhancements

In late March, two enhancements were added to my.troy.edu, both intended to help users more easily find information. The first addition is to the consolidated Forms page, which lists all Troy University forms on one page. Now, users can type a keyword into a new search box, which will dynamically update the list of forms to show only those that match the entered search term.

A significant overhaul of the site-wide search tools has been made. In addition to searching our webpages or our faculty/staff directory, users can search the Helpdesk knowledgebase. This improvement also offers additional quick links and improved accessibility support.

Project updates can be reviewed at https://my.troy.edu/project.html.