By: Ryan Johnson

There has been a lot of discussion on the new Flexible Work Guidelines and HR 107 Policy at Penn State.  With all the possible work environments, what are the best practices for your Library Computer?

Please join me this Thursday, Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. to learn more about WAH vs. Hybrid vs. Office: Desktop/Laptop Best Practices

During this 1-hour session, we will review what you need to know about Working at Home, Hybrid and Office Work environments, including what equipment Libraries IT Provides, best practices for various applications, when and how to update your computer and tips to ensure your computer runs smoothly.

Objectives:

• What does Library Strategic Technologies provide for each Work setup.
• Best Practices for Key IT Programs When Working in Flexible Environments.
• How/When to Update My Computer if I’m Working In The Office, Hybrid or Working at home.
• Basic Tips to Ensure your Computer Runs Smoothly.

The session will occur at https://psu.zoom.us/my/ultraining and WILL BE RECORDED.

By: Ryan Johnson

What Equipment does Library Strategic Technologies provide for employees working at home, hybrid or working in the office.

General Stipulations:

1. Due to security and data protection, employees are expected to use University/Library equipment to do their work from home.
2. Employees are only provided one computer.
3. Employee must provide reliable internet that meets the needs of their work.
4. Employees may have a full computer set in one place – not both.
5. Cables and connections used to connect personal equipment to work equipment is the responsibility of the employee. Technical support for these setups is limited.
6. Printers, scanners and other peripherals will not be provided at home.

Employees who work exclusively at home or with limited time (1 day or less per week) at a Libraries worksite:

1. Complete set up at home with computer (laptop), docking station if needed, and up to two 24”monitors.
   1. Hybrid work/personal setups will not be supported. Cables and connections are the responsibility of the employee. Technical support for these setups is limited.
2. No computer set up will be provided at Libraries worksites.  Employees may bring their laptop with them and use space that is provided by their department as touchdown space. Strat-Tech will have a limited number of laptops available for employees to borrow for short time periods.
3. Printers and other peripherals will only be provided to employees who have a documented need due to their job functions. This request must be made by their Library/Department Head and approved by Libraries IT. Printing to network printers located at Libraries worksites from home is available using a Global Protect. Most paperwork can be printed to pdf and emailed or placed in a shared folder.

Employees who work exclusively at a Libraries worksite or with limited time (1 day or less per week) at home:

1. Complete set up at the Libraries worksite with computer (laptop or desktop), docking station if needed, and up to two 24” monitors.
2. No computer set up will be provided at home.  Employees may bring their laptop with them to use at home wirelessly. Library IT will have a limited number of laptops available for employees to borrow for short time periods.
3. Printers and other peripherals will not be provided at home.  Printing to network printers located at a Libraries worksite from home is available using Global Protect. Most paperwork can be printed to pdf and emailed or placed in a shared folder.

Employees who work equally at a Libraries worksite and at home (2-3 days per week at each location):

1. Complete set up at one location with computer (laptop), docking station if needed, and up to two 24” monitors.
   1. Employee may keep one of their monitors at each location or both at one location.
2. Employees may bring their laptop between the two locations. Libraries IT will have a limited number of laptops available for employees to borrow for short time periods.
   1. Hybrid work/personal setups will not be supported. Cables and connections are the responsibility of the employee. Technical support for these setups is limited.
3. Printers and other peripherals will not be provided at home.  Printing to network printers located at a Libraries worksite from home is available using Global Protect. Most paperwork can be printed to pdf and emailed or placed in a shared folder.

By: Ryan Johnson

With many staff working hybrid, its important to keep your laptop safe, secure and running smoothly.

Here are a few recommendations to keep your laptop safe:

• Invest in a good laptop case – Transporting laptops in a padded case specifically designed for laptops is best
• Always turn you laptop off when transporting – Your laptop can get very hot which can cause issues with the hard drive, if you leave your laptop turned on, even for a short period of time. Always turn your computer off before leaving work or your home.
• Store your Laptop Case Securely – When traveling home or to work or traveling on a plane, always make sure your laptop case position is stable. Avoid placing your case in the overhead compartment on a plane.
• Don’t toss around any bag holding a laptop – Students especially tend to do this with laptops in backpacks, letting it slide from a shoulder to the floor, but this greatly increases the risk of both external and internal physical damage.
• Turn off Wireless in the office – When using your laptop in the office, make sure the computer is docked and wireless if off to ensure you have the fastest connection.

By: Ryan Johnson

Microsoft Teams now allows users to create chats with themselves to easily take notes, write quick messages, or even store files or images.

How to create a self-chat in Microsoft Teams

The self-chat creation process is straight forward and is not different than what you do to chat with someone else or to create group chats.

1. In Microsoft Teams click in the chat app located in the personal app menu
2. Click in the new chat icon
3. In the To: field type your own email and select your user

The chat is created immediately as shown in the following image and you can start saving information in this new container.

By: Ryan Johnson

Do you know what forms you need to fill out for new employees to get a workstation? Request an office space, phone, etc.?

The New Employee Supervisor Checklist located on the staff site is a great resource to make sure all necessary forms are filled to endure a smooth transition for any new employee at the University Libraries. Below are some of the highlights from the checklist:

• Prepare the new employee’s workspace.
  • Request office space and phone by completing a Space Assignment and Move Request Form
  • Request to install a new computer or move a computer by completing a Space Assignment and Move Request Form
  • Order name plate or other facilities needs by completing a Facilities Help Desk Ticket
  • Reimage an existing staff computer or other IT needs by completing an IT Help Desk Ticket
• Please Note: The new employee must have a 9 digit PSU ID number and access account ID before requesting building access, facilities requests (phone number), a directory listing, and library systems access.
• Request the employee be added to the University Libraries Directory and Libraries IT resources.  Complete the Computer Access and Employee Directory Information: Add or Modify Form
• Arrange for ID Card access to the building, keys, and parking. Make a request through the Facilities Help Desk.
• Complete the Libraries Account Request Form as needed.
• Have the new employee enroll in 2FA.  Click here for enrollment instructions.

By: Ryan Johnson

BeyondTrust is a program used by the University Libraries to allow PC and Mac users to install applications without admin rights on University Libraries machines.

On University Library Mac’s, BeyondTrust (Privilege Management) should be automatically installed and ready to use. On University Libraries PC’s, BeyondTrust is not installed by default but users can install the application by following the instructions below.

Note: If you don’t see BeyondTrust in BigFix, the application may already be installed.  

BeyondTrust is not an application you will see appear in your Start Menu (PC) or Applications folder(Mac) after installation.  It will only appear when attempting to install a file. Please follow the instructions below to use the application.

• Installing Software with Beyondtrust (Defendpoint)
• How to uninstall programs with Beyondtrust (Defendpoint)

Users who choose to not install BigFix for software installations, can submit a helpdesk ticket for application installations if needed.

By: Ryan Johnson

Did you know your iPhone can identify plants, dog breed and more?

Visual Look Up recognizes items from your images like art or landmarks so you can quickly get more information.

Follow the instructions below to use Visual Look Up

• Select a photo. In apps like Notes, Mail, or Messages, touch and hold an image to select it.
• Tap the Info The Detected Item Info button.
• Tap the icon that appears in the photo or below the photo. For example, you might see a paw print icon for pets and animals, or a leaf icon for plants and flowers.
• Tap to learn more after Visual Look Up provides results from Siri Knowledge and the web.

If the Info button doesn’t have a star The Detected Item Info button, Visual Look Up isn’t available yet for that photo.

To use Visual Look Up on your iPhone, you need iOS 15 or later. On iPadOS 15.1 or later, Visual Look Up is available for iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) or later, iPad Pro 11-inch (all models), iPad Air (3rd generation) or later, iPad (8th generation) or later, or iPad mini (5th generation) or later.

By: Ryan Johnson

Need to quickly access an Excel file or Word document in a Teams Channel? It is easy to add a file as a documents tab in a channel. This is so much easier than trying to find a file. If there is an Excel file you access daily or frequently in Teams, make it a Tab. Note: Before making the document tab, the file must exist in the channel.

To make a File a tab in Teams, follow the instructions below:

1. Click on Files tab
2. Find the file you want to make a tab
3. Click the three dots for Show Actions
4. Click Make this a Tab

To Rename or Remove the Tab

1. Click the dropdown next to the right of the Tab name.
2. Select either Rename or Remove

By: Ryan Johnson

How to Determine Folder Sizes in Outlook on the Web

Penn State Outlook Accounts have 100GB of storage per mailbox

To see how much mailbox storage you’re using in each folder, follow the instructions below:

1. At the top of the page, select Settings (Gear Icon) > View all Outlook settings.
2. Select General > Storage.

From the Settings > Storage page you should see a breakdown of how much space each folder in your mailbox is taking along with the option to permanently delete all items (or those older than 3, 6, or 12 months) in these folders to free up space if desired.

By: Ryan Johnson

Using reply all allows for efficient group communications but it’s helpful to first make sure you are familiar with social standards of reply-all emails to avoid cluttering people’s email boxes when emailing large groups or listservs at the University. Below are some easy guidelines for using reply all in work situations:

When to Choose Reply All

1. You Have Relevant Questions – Use reply all if you have a question that other contacts in the thread might have as well. Asking this type of question through reply all lessens the possibility of the original sender issuing multiple replies with the same answer.
2. Your Response Could Have a Direct Effect on Others – Replying to all is the most efficient option when you have important information for the majority of the people included in the message thread.

When to Reply to an email with a different method

1. Your response is only pertinent to the sender – If your response is relevant only to the original sender and not everyone on the message thread’s contact list, then send your email only to that person.
2. You want to reply to a few people in a listserv or discussion group –

Unless your email asks a question that others might have, has a direct effect on the majority of recipients or involves scheduling a meeting with a small group, it would be best to find a more effective communication method.

For example, if a listserv message goes out offering congratulations to a coworker, it is most considerate to reply only to that individual to offer congratulations rather than the entire thread.

By: Ryan Johnson

• To quickly create a rule right-click on any email from your inbox and select Advanced Actions -> Create Rule.

• A Create a Rule Window will appear. To move emails from this sender to Deleted Items automatically as an example, click the dropdown menu and select Deleted Items. If the Deleted Items folder doesn’t immediately appear, select Move to a different folder and then find and select Deleted Items.

• Click OK. A Window will then appear stating your rule was created.  You can check the box to run this rule now in your Inbox or simply click OK.

By: Ryan Johnson

Starting May 11, 2022, Zoom is activating their forced single sign-on (SSO), requiring all users to login with their Penn State ID and password. To improve Zoom security, this update ensures that all Penn State Zoom users are authenticated via SSO at login.

Users are encouraged to follow these login processes now instead of waiting until the deadline.

Note: The majority of Zoom users at Penn State are already logging in via SSO and will not be affected by this update.

Please refer to these knowledge base articles for more information:

• How do I login and out of Zoom?
• Zoom: How to Log In and Start a Meeting or Webinar?

To take advantage of the new features in Zoom, it is strongly recommended that users use the latest version of Zoom. Please update your Libraries Computer Via BigFix Self Service and remember the following guidelines to keep your computer updated:

1.) Leave computers Signed out and Powered on unless in-use to receive regular updates.
2.) Sign out of shared machines. If any user is still signed in, updates will not occur.
3.) Reboot computers (even Macs) once a week to apply updates. I would recommend a weekly calendar reminder.
4.) Check BigFix Self-Service frequently for updates. I would recommend a monthly calendar reminder.

By: Ryan Johnson

On Friday, April 29, Penn State IT will enable the Safe Links feature in Microsoft Teams to scan for malicious links in Teams messages. When this change is implemented, users may see this image when clicking on a link in Teams:

After a very slight delay, they will either be routed to the destination if the link is deemed safe or see an error page if the link is deemed malicious. Users should submit a ticket to Office365@psu.edu if they believe the link was blocked in error.

Collaboration tools such as email and Microsoft Teams are a primary route for credential and data theft. The Safe Links feature in Office 365 email already stops hundreds of malicious links from being clicked in emails every day. Enabling the feature in Teams will bolster our efforts to improve our security posture and better protect the Penn State community.

This effort is in response to the Penn State Shields Up initiative and part of our continued collaboration with the Office of Information Security.

By: Ryan Johnson

Library Strategic Technologies is in the process of installing a security agent on all Library computers that will scan machines more frequently for software that is out of date and could be a security risk Penn State. This is being done to meet new Penn State Security Guidelines established by the Office of Information Security (OIS). As a result, our staff will be reaching out more frequently to faculty and staff to update possible security vulnerabilities.

Please follow the guidelines below to keep your library computer updated:

1.) Leave computers Signed out and Powered on unless in-use to receive regular updates.
2.) Sign out of shared machines. If any user is still signed in, updates will not occur.
3.) Reboot computers (even Macs) once a week to apply updates. I would recommend a weekly calendar reminder.
4.) Check BigFix Self-Service frequently for updates. I would recommend a monthly calendar reminder
5.) Update Manually any programs you download and install manually (this includes Adobe Creative Cloud applications).

By: Ryan Johnson

Identifying job offer scams, gift card scams, and phishing emails in general is crucial to keeping PSU safe. Here are a few suspicious things to watch out for and report.

Note: If you believe you have fallen for a phishing email, please change your password right away, and do not accept random two-factor requests (Duo pushes, phone calls, etc). 

• When the email message contains the following:
  • Poorly worded message with grammatical errors are a dead giveaway.
  • Generally addressed emails such as “Dear employee”
  • Unwarranted product charge or fake refund. Might bait you into calling a number and being scammed over the phone
  • A sense of urgency, requiring contact or validating your password with a deadline
  • An unexpected request, shared document, or attachment (such as a fake invoice). These usually come with an empty email that tempts you to open the attachment, or login at a fake sign-in page, before realizing the email was a scam/phish
  • Requests to purchase gift cards, make an Amazon/PayPal payment with promise of reimbursement
  • Requests for personal information to apply for a job or retirement assistance, with a follow up request to deposit a check as a “first paycheck”
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research before accepting money, free items, or a job
• When to be suspicious of the sender’s email address:
  • Note the sender email address, and their name. Some phishing emails use impersonation to trick people who skim over the email address, assuming the email is from who it says it is in the displayed name
  • Anyone can make a Gmail address and name themselves “IT HelpDesk” or someone you know. If the email address is something strange like dept.chair221@gmail.com, this is a dead giveaway
  • For legitimate PSU senders, their account may be compromised and used to send out spam. Let OIS know if you receive a suspicious phishing or job offer scam email from a PSU sender, and we will remediate the compromised account
  • The sender email address can also be spoofed. If you see what looks like a legitimate email address sending you an unusual email, you can forward the email (as an attachment) to phishing@psu.edu and we will analyze the email for you
  • Verify legitimate emails with a google search, or contact the sender through other means directly
  • If a document is shared with you via Google Drive or Sharepoint, always look at who shared it in the Subject and Sender. Common phishing emails come from someone unknown sharing a document via Sharepoint/OneDrive, and naming the document “<Your coworker> shared a file with you”.
    • The person who really shared the document should be at the top of the message, and their email address can be seen. They may be trying to impersonate someone you know to trick you into believing that document came from them.
    • The link will lead you to a Google forms or Microsoft Forms page asking for username and password. This is an attempt to  phish for your credentials.
    • Past phishing emails shared through Google Drive or Sharepoint include the following named documents:

    shared “FACULTY-STAFF” with you.
    shared “DEPT EVALUATION” with you.
    shared “DEPT ASSESSMENT” with you.
    shared “END OF THE YEAR SPORTS REVIEW” with you.
    shared “FACULTY EVALUATION FORM” with you.
    shared “Docx copy” with you.
    shared “IT HELP DESK” with you.
    shared “Office Evaluation doc.” with you.
    shared “Department Evaluation doc” with you.
    shared “FACULTY EVALUATION FORM” with you.
    shared “EVALUATION FORM” with you.
    shared “HR DEPT INFORMATION REQUEST” with you

    When in doubt, report it. You can always email phishing@psu.edu if you have concerns about a possible phishing email.

     

By: Ryan Johnson

TeamViewer is remote access software that allows Strat-Tech to remotely connect to your computer to provide support when you need assistance, regardless of where you are, as long as you have an Internet connection. The TeamViewer Host client is a very small application that runs in the background on your computer that connects it back to our management console so a remote connection can be established when needed.

How do I know if TeamViewer is running?

On a Windows computer, click the “up triangle” near your clock in the lower right and look for the TeamViewer icon, highlighted in red in the following image:

On a Mac, look for the TeamViewer icon in your menu bar, also highlighted in red in the following image:

If a member of Start-Tech contacts you and needs your TeamViewer ID, click on the TeamViewer Icon and a Window will appear.  Simply provide the 9 digit “YOUR ID” number.

By: Ryan Johnson

Having an Anti-Virus running on your computer, protecting your email from phishing attempts and choosing strong passwords are all good ways to keep your University Library computer safe.

Another way to keep your computer safe everyday is to make sure your screen is locked when you need to step away.

Locking your computer keeps your files safe while you are away from your computer. A locked computer hides and protects programs and documents and will allow only the person who locked the computer to unlock it again. You unlock your computer by logging in again (with your PSUID and password).

Locking Your Computer

•  Press and hold the Windows logo key on your keyboard (this key should appear next to the Alt key), and then press the L key. Your computer will be locked, and the Windows 10 login screen will be displayed. On a Mac, you can press Command+Control+Q to lock your Mac.

Note: Any applications, files, Web pages, or other windows you opened before you locked your computer will remain open while your computer is locked.

This is especially true if you work in a public area of the Library. If you have an office, lock your office space. If you don’t, ALWAYS lock your computer when stepping away for any period of time.

Finally, University Libraries machines are set to lock after 15 minutes of inactivity. However, web browsers with videos playing will prevent screenlock. Please make sure you always lock the device yourself whenever possible when stepping away. Remember, you are responsible for your computer, whether you work in a public space, have an office or work at home.