Welcome the new Gmail!

It's here, the latest update from Google is finally here, and boy was it needed. Google recently started rolling out beta trials of an update for Gmail, and finally dropped the update for most other users. It now finally follows their Material (2.0) design ensuring a lot cleaner of a platform for us to go about our emailing. This also means that very soon we can hope to see the update get rolled out to G-Suite users meaning our students will have access to this and its additional services as well. Why is this important you might ask? If you look at the image above, you'll notice that it now has Google Calendar integrated into a new sidebar, you'll also notice that it has two additional icons, one for Google Keep (Google's notepad equivalent), and Google Tasks (which they've recently released a nice new app for). All of these applications are meant to maximize productivity and help keep all your to-do's, reminders, and shopping lists in as centralized a location as possible. What does this mean for students though? Well, all of these applications seamlessly synchronize across whatever device you are using the service on, so if a student receives an email to schedule an appointment, it can be added to their calendar right then and there. If a student takes a note in class, or thinks of something while on the walk, it'll be right there later when they pull it up. Additionally, for those who use androids, phone calls will be forwarded and display on your Gmail interface if you are not near your phone should you opt in for the feature. It's a major step for Google, and puts a pleasing aesthetic to a mundane day to day task. And hopefully with the additional features, it'll help us be more organised day to day, with huge applications for students!

How do you manage your online presence?

Do you know exactly who can see what you share online at all times? With the increasing number of online accounts it becomes increasingly difficult to manage our information and keep track of who can and should see what.

While it is nice to share our experiences and photos with family and friends far away, we tend to forget that the extent of personal information shared online can also be used to aid bad intentions. I reviewed the settings in my accounts recently and was surprised how much information I had shared over the years. Each piece of information itself may not be as revealing, but all the pieces together can give someone great insight into my personal life. For example, I was surprised Facebook knew that I was living away from home.

While social media and websites can provide a great range of benefits, it is a good idea to review security and privacy settings for online accounts regularly. Luckily, there are tools to help!

The Lock Down Your Login campaign has put together an overview of security and privacy settings for popular websites and provides links to free Privacy Check-up tools that can help you gain an overview of what is being shared. Visit www.lockdownyourlogin.org/trusted-security-tools and start gaining control of your online presence!

How to avoid phone scams

Phone scammers often use similar techniques as the senders of phishing emails and try to get you to give up information or do something that will benefit them but harm you. For example, they will pose as a Microsoft representative requesting access to your computer or as IRS agent demanding payment for taxes. Most times, these scams will involve a sense of urgency and/or the demand for money.

Tips to avoid phone scams:

• Ignore unknown callers. If someone you know needs to reach you, they will leave a voicemail.

• Do not confirm or deny your identity until you know who is calling. Instead of responding to their question, ask “Who is calling?”

•  Avoid saying the word “yes.” A recording of the call can be edited to authorize anything the scammer wants.

• Ask for the caller’s name, company (including phone number and contact address) and reason for calling you. You can then look up the company on Google. Any lack of identification is most likely a scam.

You always have the option of hanging up and contacting the company at their official phone number to confirm the legitimacy of the call.

• Do not confirm any personal or financial information, such as which computer model you use, what you own or which credit cards you use.

• Do not visit any websites you are told to on the call – your computer may get infected with malware.

If you are ever in doubt about the legitimacy of a message or phone call, contact the IT Help Desk! 

If you have accidentally given out any financial information, contact your bank immediately!

6 Months With Teams

A User's Perspective: 

While IT only recently just rolled out Teams, our team has been using it for just over six months. These six months have really opened my eyes to team collaboration and the versatility of Teams. It really is an all expansive tool that has seemed to sit well with our Team's operations after trying many platforms such as Slack, email, and Skype. Each had their strengths, but none of them could fully satisfy the full needs of what we required. However, when switching to Team, some of the gaps were filled in very quickly, and from there it was merely a learning experience of new features.

So far one of the coolest features I've experienced was similar to that of Sheldon's floating head from Big Bang Theory. What I mean by this is, one of my co-workers, Tyler, was unable to come in for the afternoon, but was able to set up his Teams such that he was able to be present at his desk virtually. If myself or one of my teammates had questions, we simply needed to approach Tyler at his desk and interact normally. This is an extension of Microsoft's attempt to easily allow users to manage conference calls and it easily outpaces Skype and other Competitors. Other features that are amazing are Microsoft's seamless integration between platforms so I can keep Teams with me wherever I am and on whatever device I am carrying with me. I remember being on my way to a conference and being able to still interact with my teammates and help where necessary.

And lastly, but most definitely not least, is the nice UI experience that comes with teams. I am a major fan of looking at a simple and clean user interface, especially on my phone. Microsoft has designed this in such a manner that picking up my phone and responding to Teams messages is a pleasure rather than a burden.

Introducing our brand new "Protect the Nest" board game!

Here on our Information Security team, we always work to come up with more fun ways our students and employees could be engaged and learn about important security topics. Last week, we proudly released our brand new "Protect the Nest" board game specifically created for ESU employees!

The game walks players through a typical work day at ESU while they solve security challenges and scenarios along the way.

The IT Helpdesk and Learning Technologies teams helped us create these awesome little 3D-printed Corkies to use as game pieces. 

If you had to miss our Wine Tasting & Board Game Night but would like to check out the game or borrow it for your office or class, contact us at itsecurity@emporia.edu.

Hult Prize Regional Finals 2018 in Mexico City

Three IT employees attended the HULT PRIZE Regional Finals 2018 in Mexico City.

What is the HULT PRIZE? 
It is an annual, year-long competition that crowd-sources ideas from MBA and college students after challenging them to solve a pressing social issue.

The challenge this year?
Harnessing the power of energy to transform the lives of 10 million people.

"We're immensely proud and happy to have received this unique opportunity to represent Emporia State University on such a big stage.
Great networking, Unbelievable experiences and Life long friends! What more could you ask for?

We'd like to thank Mark Daly and the Office of International Education, Cory Falldine and the Information Technology Department, Dean Bashaw and Glenda Estes (Business School) and lastly the Campus director Amir Ammar for making this whole competition possible for us and our university." - Saandhyarag Sasidhar

Pictured (Mohammad Daouk, Warrick Rodgers, Emilia Flores and Saandhyarag Sasidhar)

Have you completed your Security Awareness Training yet?

To ensure protection of university information, all full-time ESU employees will complete Security Awareness training annually starting this spring.

The training is available online and consists of 15 small modules that each address an important information security topic.

Have you completed yours yet?

Workshop sessions are available to assist employees in accessing the training. We are holding one more session next Thursday. Please click here to sign up.

FAQs about the training can be found here. If you have any other questions, please contact the IT Help Desk at ext. 5555 or helpdesk@emporia.edu.

Now introducing VOIP

Introducing VOIP

VOIP or Voice Over IP is a way of providing phone services over the same type of network as is used for your computer or your network printer.  Over the next year, IT will be working with every department on campus to roll out this incredible new service as we replace our aging phone infrastructure with this robust, feature-rich next generation communication system.  We will begin by meeting with each department prior to your scheduled installation.  In the meantime, please see our project site for more information. Top Features of VOIP You can now make, answer, and receive calls from your computer using Jabber. You can receive calls placed to your office phone number on your mobile device. Voice mail is now included as part of your phone package (no extra fee). A VOIP phone will be provided to replace your current phone.  No additional purchase is necessary. For more information 👉 CLICK HERE!

Create Your Own Augmented Reality with Lens Studio

Create Your Own Augmented Reality with Lens Studio 

Have you even wanted to make your own augmented reality (AR) characters, objects, or art well now there is a chance with Snapchat's creation of Lens Studio that lets users put their creative pieces in augmented reality for everyone to experience and enjoy.

Lens Studio launched on December 14, 2017.  Following the launch Snapchat employees created instructional videos (https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/getting-started/) to introduce and educate new users on how the software works along with how to operate the technology.

This software will open opportunities for lots of creativity and projects in AR while giving new users the ability to understand how AR works furthering this technology.

Us at ESU IT have even gotten to work with Lens Studio and put Emporia State's mascot Corky into AR to create some videos with Corky. Here is our result:

So for those who have ever wanted a specific character, object, or art for Snapchat now it is possible with Lens Studio. Coding and programming knowledge is not needed just select the wanted template, clear some space for the wanted image, and upload the desired image.