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Cybersecurity Awareness: Install Updates

Keep your system up-to-date by installing updates

Update the Operating System (OS)

Install operating system updates on all of your devices as soon as possible. Attackers won’t wait so neither should you!


Update Anti-Virus (AV)

Keep your anti-virus up-to-date so it can help keep you safe.


Update Software

Make sure all applications and software are updated and patched against known vulnerabilities. **Patches are pushed automatically to DoIT-Managed devices.**


 


Keep Software Up to Date with 3 Simple Steps


1. Watch for notifications

Our devices will usually notify us that we need to run updates. This includes our devices’ operating systems, programs, and apps. It’s important to install ALL updates, especially for our web browsers and antivirus software. 

2. Install updates as soon as possible

When notified about software updates, especially critical updates, we should be sure to install them as soon as possible. Malicious online criminals won’t wait, so we shouldn’t either!   

3. Turn on automatic updates

With automatic updates, our devices will install updates without any input from us as soon as the update is available—Easy! 

To turn on the automatic updates feature, look in the device’s settings, possibly under Software or Security. Search settings for “automatic updates” if needed.


Source: https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/update-software


For more information about UMBC’s cybersecurity initiatives, go to doit.umbc.edu/security. 
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Posted: October 31, 2024, 8:47 AM

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Submit New Computer Lab Software Requests by August 13th!

The deadline for requesting software to be included in our physical labs, virtual labs, and classrooms has been extended to August 13th. Software requests must be entered by this deadline to ensure the application is available in the labs for the Fall 2021 semester. Note: All software requests must be renewed each semester. Please see our Wiki page for information about this process. 


Requests for licensed software must include: (1)  Proof of purchase and license information, and (2)  software media and installation instructions. Please contact us if you have questions about the appropriate license volume or type to purchase. Requests to install unlicensed software, software with license modes incompatible with our labs, or software with system requirements incompatible with our labs, may be rejected. DoIT will make accommodations for such requests to the extent they are practicable. 


Software requests must be submitted via an RT ticket containing the required information. You can create a ticket at https://rt.umbc.edu/, or by contacting the Technology Support Center (TSC) at 410.455.3838, if you require assistance. Software requested after the deadline is not guaranteed to be made available. DoIT will notify the requestor when the requested software is available in the lab. The requesting faculty or instructor is responsible for testing the software to ensure it is working as expected. 
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Posted: August 2, 2021, 4:53 PM

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NVivo Qualitative Research Software Now Available

DoIT, CAHSS, DPS Partner on Site License

DoIT is now providing NVivo, a qualitative research software package equivalent to SPSS, Stata, SAS, or R. This software is available to all faculty, staff, and graduate students. It allows the user to import, code, and arrange data for methodologically rigorous and scalable analyses. This acquisition aligns with efforts to support UMBC's strategic plan, including the objective to "vigorously promote a campus culture of multidisciplinary collaboration and multidisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative activity."

Professor Anne Brodsky of the Department of Psychology, who also serves as Interim Director, Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR) and Special Assistant for Social Science Research with the CAHSS Dean's Office, has been conducting qualitative research since arriving at UMBC 20 years ago. She believes this procurement is "great news for UMBC researchers and students" and access to NVivo "will further promote the excellent qualitative and mixed methods scholarship being done across the Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts, and STEM fields at UMBC as we work to further our understanding into some of the most important and exciting questions of our time."

If you are considering qualitative or mixed-methods research, or you are currently gathering qualitative data, this might be just the tool you're looking for to systematize your analytic strategy.

NVivo can be downloaded at https://wiki.umbc.edu/display/faq/Software

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Posted: February 14, 2018, 2:42 PM

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DoIT and VART Partner on Lynda.com License

Online tutorials to help free up faculty prep and class time

To help free up faculty time currently given to in-class software training or even home grown and self-curated online video demos, DoIT and Visual Arts (VART) have partnered to share a one-year, limited license to Lynda.com, a leading provider of approximately 130,000 tutorials on the latest commercial software and effective business processes. The license is available now, and will allow all VART students, faculty and staff to use their UMBC login to access Lynda.com during the academic year.

Note: Anyone can try Lynda.com free for 7 days and it is free to patrons of Anne Arundel and Howard County Libraries. If you are taking a visual arts class, you will also have access to Lynda.com. 

Typically when it comes to teaching how to use software, faculty often create their own tutorials by using screen shots and assembling their own custom guides or they curate a variety of existing online videos and demos from YouTube and other sources. However, this creates a time-consuming production process that can compete with faculty course design or goals for student learning. With Lynda.com, the content itself is constantly updated to be current which helps provide the latest and greatest tutorials. 

“Students will be the most avid users of Lynda.com because it will function much like a comprehensive textbook…”


Dr. Preminda Jacob, Chair and Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies in the Department of Visual Arts, was one of the main people involved with bringing Lynda.com to VART. 

Dr. Preminda Jacob, Associate Professor and Chair for the Visual Arts Department, believes that both students and faculty will benefit immensely from the site. Jacob said, “...students will be the most avid users of Lynda.com because it will function much like a comprehensive textbook throughout their four years in training at UMBC.” 

Faculty will be able to conduct part of the preparation for software programs in the classroom, but get students to learn the remaining sections in their own time. “This allows faculty to devote a larger percentage of class time to discussing the conceptual fundamentals of the course work instead of teaching students the mechanics of the software.” said Jacob.

“...a student can go there with a specific problem, use the search function, and usually get very good insights.”


Faculty are already excited with the prospects of online tutorials being widely available to everyone. Cathy Cooke, professor of Cinematic Arts, said “I also use Lynda.com to teach myself the ever-evolving technology changes that are happening rapidly, by the minute!”

Dan Bailey, professor of Animation, said “Lynda.com is good for tutorials, but it is also great for just "help"...a student can go there with a specific problem, use the search function, and usually get very good insights.” 

Gary Rozanc, professor of Graphic Design, worked with Jacob on the initiative to bring the site to VART. Rozanc emphasizes how great the site will be for faculty to incorporate it into their research. “Print designers looking to learn more about interactive design can take courses on HTML/CSS or web developers can augment their toolbox with tutorials on programming for iOS and Android.” said Rozanc. 

Welcome video to the course on Photoshop on lynda.com 

Jacob estimates that her department will be able to leverage Lynda.com to teach students approximately 60 different art and media related software programs. These include but are not limited to tutorials on Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and Photoshop. Apart from its ease of use, what distinguishes Lynda.com different from other sites is the consistent quality of its instructions and training design.

Although the Lynda.com license is only available to VART for next year, DoIT hopes to use the experience to gauge demand for a possible site license in the future. 

“Unfortunately, we could not offer this to the whole campus this year, but we’re excited by VART’s willingness to partner on the Lynda.com license and use it to essentially ‘flip’ their classes,” says John Fritz, Assistant VP of Instructional Technology. “During the year, we will definitely be working with VART to identify and share their lessons learned using Lynda.com to support student learning.” 

“Self motivated students can make themselves so much more valuable to employers…”


Rozanc recalled how one self motivated student used Lynda.com to position himself to be a valuable resource for a future employer. “I had a student completely teach himself front and back end web development from Lynda.com courses while earning a degree in Graphic Design and now is a senior designer/developer for Weebly," said Rozanc. "Self motivated students can make themselves so much more valuable to employers with Lynda.com as a resource.” 

Screenshot of Lynda.com. Here you can see some of the top courses on the site, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. 

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Posted: August 4, 2016, 11:50 AM

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Critical Vulnerability in Adobe Flash Affects Most Machines

A few days ago a critical vulnerability was announced within Adobe Flash Player that allows a machine to become infected with ransomware through a web browser. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that will encrypt files on your system and then require payment in return for giving you access back to these files. If you ever infected with this type of software you should submit a ticket through myUMBC Help or contact the Technology Support Center (TSC) at x5-3838 immediately. 

In response to this DoIT has pushed an update out to all Windows PCs that are in active directory patching the vulnerability. 

We strongly encourage all Apple, Linux and non active directory Windows users to apply the patch Adobe released to protect your machine against this bug. 

For instructions on how to patch your browser, please visit adobe's help page:


For more information about the vulnerability please visit the link below:


If you have any questions please feel free to email me directly or contact the TSC at x5-3838 or submit a ticket through http://my.umbc.edu/help/request

Thank You, 

Damian Doyle
--
Director of Enterprise Infrastructure
DoIT - UMBC
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Posted: April 14, 2016, 9:29 AM

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