Security Issues                                 

The big news this month is security - both physical and virtual. 

  In computer labs across our campus, a renewed effort has been made to prevent improper use of our computing facilities.  The computer labs at Naugatuck Valley Community College are designed to support NVCC academic course activities and recognized student learning needs. These labs provide NVCC students with the resources to use software for word processing, spreadsheets, programming and computer-aided drafting for completing assignments.  And of course, our lab computers provide e-mail and Internet access.

With all these wonderful resources available to students, our department has found the "recreational hacker" at work in the labs from time to time.  The latest episode was reported to us from the CTC office in Hartford when a company elsewhere in the state reported a hacker deleting files on the company's server.  The computer was traced back to our campus and reported to Computer Services staff.  Because of the nature of the work of this department, we make visits to the labs at all hours and have noticed from time to time a student may be occupying the same computer day after day.  

We are asking that faculty using computer labs to please alert your students to the new, improved, enlarged posters in the labs announcing "Computer Use Policies".   Here's the text of the posters:

Computer Use Policies

• Only students registered at NVCTC may use instructional computers.
• Computers may be used for course-related or recognized student organizational activities only.
• Students may not load any software onto college computers.
• Connecticut State Law prohibits the display of obscene material on state computers.
• Federal law prohibits exchange of child pornography on the Internet.
• Students may be requested to provide identification/proof of enrollment when using NVCTC computing facilities.

          Disciplinary Procedure under the Student Rights and Disciplinary Code

1. written warning,
2. deactivation of e-mail account and referral as specified under the Disciplinary Procedures of the Student Rights and Disciplinary Code.

Please take the time at the start of every semester to review these policies with your students.  Our staff strongly discourages the downloading of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) for chatting.  Warn students not to do this.

Hard Drive Failures

Recently our campus has experienced a rash of hard drive failures, especially with particular brands of computers.  If your computer is a tower with the label "Kehtron", you may need to take a few extra measures to protect your system.   The Western Digital brand of hard disks in these systems seems to be very vulnerable to power surges and spikes. 

Here are some recommended steps to take, even if your computer is from another manufacturer:

• Turn off your computer at the end of each work day.  Do not leave it running overnight or over a weekend.  Be sure the power light is off.
• Be sure your system is plugged into a surge-protected power strip.
• Back up your documents, either to floppy or your network drive.  (Do not back up applications.)

These Western Digital hard drives are under warranty and our staff can replace them.   However, your files are irretrievable.  And your computer will be out of service for a few days while we replace your hard disk.  Please take notice of the above recommendations.

Work in Progress

The Testing Center in K519 has been configured with new Dell computers to support a new Y2K version of the Accuplacer testing software.  Staff in the Testing Center are busy learning the new features of the software and how to "bridge" the results to Banner.

Four new HP printers are now in place in the following areas:  E534, E535, K614, and the Testing Center.  The four old HP printers taken from these areas will be re-deployed to faculty areas and a tutoring lab. 

New computers are on their way to F315, F123, and F122a.  These computers will support AutoCad, Visual Studio programming applications, and Oracle installations.  This work is scheduled to start late December.

And speaking of late December, one remaining Y2K issue is the upgrade of our present VMS e-mail system.  That work will be done near the end of the semester, to avoid problems with student e-mail, etc.

FrontPage 2000 Training

December 8, 9, and 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm are the scheduled dates for FrontPage 2000 Training.  (This is a change from the previous training schedule posted on our website.)  Also, note that we will be doing FrontPage 2000 training, not FrontPage 98.  Class limit is 7.

What is WebCT?

WebCT is a " . . .  Web-based, network learning environment, which offers instructors and students the ability to easily access and create content and interactive Web-based learning experiences."  NVCC is looking at WebCT software to create and support our online classes, starting in January, 2000.  

Go to the WebCT site to learn more about the software and visit a tutorial class created in WebCT.  Here's the address:  www.webct.com  Click the tab labeled Free Trial.  Look for the link "Try WebCT as a Student."

Other News

Need diskettes?  We have blank diskettes (HD) that are available for student use.  Send a HelpDesk request.  Let us know how many and where to send them.  Thanks.