As this relates to power cords with frayed connections, this is an issue that should be taken very seriously.  Regardless of manufacturing quality, the helpdesk frequently sees frayed power cords for laptop computers.  Here are a few recommendations:

1) put a loop in the cord before winding it up
2) be careful to not leave cords where they will be stepped on, or rolled over by chair wheels
3) if you see exposed wire or stressed wire covering (typically near the ends of the cables), do NOT use the power adapter

Apple recommendations – http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1630 (their advice applies well to many makes and models of power adapters – not just MagSafe adapters)

Have questions?  Contact your computer vendor.  Or the helpdesk (especially for college-owned equipment).

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month.  In this webinar, representatives from the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Higher Education Information Security Council will discuss international and national cybersecurity strategies, the importance of cybersecurity awareness for both citizens and organizations, and the role that higher education plays in addressing cybersecurity challenges in an increasingly interdependent networked society. We will highlight the “Stop, Think, Connect” campaign that is being spearheaded by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and will also feature the SANS “Securing the Human” awareness materials that are being used by several institutions this fall in an effort to raise awareness among students, staff, and faculty.

Consolidation of repetitive tasks related to student employment.  This provides uniform policies and procedures, and reduces staff hours allocated to these tasks.

Deliverable:

• User services student supervisors work as team to find commonalities in the process
• Document timelines (numbers needed, when, hiring process, training)
• Agree upon common payroll policy, scheduling tools, advertising, hiring, & training
• Identify areas of difference between work groups – and document these as well

Outcome:

• Stress reduction by providing redundancy & supporting one another
• Anticipate consolidation of service points
• Standardize process
• Resource sharing

Delivery:

Complete – Fall 2010

Milestones:

• Ongoing: Continuing customer service training
• February 2010:
  Spring hires – team consulting with one another during job posting, interview, hiring, paperwork process
• Summer 2010:
  Create a secondary training for overlaps in job descriptions

Resources:

1. Who is involved:
   Student supervisors for Library Circulation, branches, reserves, helpdesk, media services.
   Currently – Elin, Todd, Dan, Kellam, Shawn, & Stewart.
2. Time:
   mostly the same as in the past, but allow for initial organizational meetings, and a bit more time when advertising, interviewing & hiring.  Time required determined by team allocation of tasks to members.  Little if any additional money or materials – depending on team choices.
   Team approach will allow sharing of responsibilities with common resources – avoiding current challenges when staff are not available for these tasks.

Viability:

• We have already demonstrated part of this goal with the current shared customer service training.  The rest is an extension of the same concept.
• Challenges: buy-in of supervisors, finding shared time to work together
• Opportunity: use of common tools (e.g. scheduling)

In the technology world we are typically barraged with acronyms full of useful meaning to we geeks.  Lately, though, we’ve had numerous buzzwords sent our way that we’ve been eager to share with anyone willing to listen.  Many of these buzzwords relate to what “evil-doers” in the computing space are doing with computers. 

It has only been a few years since we spoke of computer viruses and trojans with a mixture of amusement at some of the harmless ones, to fear or anger of those that deleted entire hard drives on the nth day of the nth month.  The landscape has shifted, though, as big money now drives the theft of your computer’s power, information, and/or your pocketbook.

Enter spam, phishing, rootkits, spyware, malware, grayware, adware, backscatter, and more.  Some are infestations, while others are the result.  Most are intended to trick folks out of their money.

Some bits of software code silently observe your computer usage, while others pop up ads, and many more prompt you to send sensitive information, and the like. 

There has been a recent surge in notices that pop up in your web browser or as an alert to the operating system informing you of serious threats to the information on your computer – and urging you to take immediate action.  This relatively new group of applications takes on a name quite appropriate for the season – SCAREWARE! 

Many computers have been infested with “Antivirus 2009″ and other relatives, many of which originate from web sources including infected video on social networking sites.  Microsoft and others are hoping to put the scare back into the “evil-doers” in this Halloween season, though, through legal action.  Boo! 

for more on Cyber-Security Awareness Month: