On-the-go access to the Virtual Sites software catalog has been improved with faster loading times, more storage, better graphics capability, and more virtual machines. Virtual Sites, powered by Information and Technology Services (ITS), offers remote access to a broad range of software that is also available at Campus Computing Sites like the “Fishbowl.” Virtual Sites has been enhanced… Read More »
If you purchased extended support for university machines running Windows 7 or Server 2008 in January 2020, be aware that the support is about to expire. You will need to update the machines to a supported version of Windows or Windows Server, purchase another year of extended support, decommission the machines, or isolate them on a protected network.
LSA Technology Services is pleased to announce that Amy Peters has been named our new director of research computing and infrastructure services, and joins the LSA Technology Services leadership team effective Monday, December 7. Peters was selected for the position from a competitive and diverse candidate pool after a comprehensive search that began in February 2020, but was… Read More »
Privacy is important year round, but in January it comes into extra sharp focus as we celebrate Data Privacy Day on January 28. Mark your calendar now and plan to partake in a variety of U-M-wide events.
In October we reported that, along with other security tools like Virtru at U-M, CrowdStrike Falcon was being rolled out across the university on UM-owned machines. Falcon provides antivirus, anti-malware, and threat detection and mitigation capabilities, all of which offer stronger protection against ransomware and other malicious attacks than previous tools. Deployment update CrowdStrike Falcon has been deployed… Read More »
In May of this year, ITS released the TeamDynamix (TDX) service management system. TDX was selected for many reasons, including ease of use, accessibility, and flexibility. TDX also arrived with significant cost savings. The benefits of TDX U-M’s TeamDynamix licensing agreement provides unlimited enterprise licensing and multi-tenant capabilities, allowing for multiple ticketing applications within the U-M Private Cloud… Read More »
Internet of things (IoT) devices can be great gifts, but those smart home speakers, thermostats, and cool wearables like watches and fitness trackers come with some security and privacy risks. To protect yourself and your personal data, follow these tips: Privacy Mute your smart speaker when not using it. Disable features you don’t use. Choose privacy settings for… Read More »
A significant challenge facing a wide variety of disciplines is the ability to reproduce research results. Researchers across U-M are working together to develop best practices that promote reproducible data science, and Michigan IT staff play an important role in this effort. “Many IT staff members don’t normally get involved directly in specific research projects, so the reproducibility… Read More »
Need a little more fun in your life? Want to de-stress, hang out, and maybe even learn something? Grab a refreshing drink and a tasty snack, put on your favorite hat, and get comfy in your ergonomic chair. It’s game time with the Language Resource Center (LRC)! Check out their upcoming self-care workshops and close out the semester… Read More »
To support academic discovery, ARC-TS will offer Great Lakes High-Performance Computing Cluster for classroom use for the 2020-2021 academic year. Each course can have $100 per student for HPC, GPU, Jupyter, and RStudio resources. Great Lakes is the university’s flagship, open-science, high-performance computing cluster. Just one second of computing on the Great Lakes network is the same as… Read More »
Just five years ago, most websites relied on unencrypted HTTP, the aging and inherently insecure protocol that provides no protection to sites or visitors from threats that range from surveillance through phishing and identity theft. Today, the internet is a much more secure place, with over 80% of websites protected by HTTPS secure encryption. That dramatic transformation –… Read More »
The MiXR Studios Podcast exists to educate the University of Michigan community about what is happening in XR (Extended Reality) on campus. It will share best practices and exciting learnings while helping to shape the future of teaching and learning in higher education and beyond.
For this month’s tip, I am sharing an open source Google Docs alternative: Etherpad. You can install your own instance of it, or can use one of the many free available online options listed below. If you would like to collaborate with someone who does not have a Google account, only need a temporary collaborative document, or would… Read More »
When it comes to making human resources decisions, can humans be fair? What about relying on algorithms to make decisions instead? The answer to the first question is not always, which leads some business leaders to pursue the second. Yet, it turns out decisions made by machines are perceived as even less fair than those made by humans.… Read More »
Almost a month after Election Day, experts discussed the threats to election security and cybersecurity and its role within the University of Michigan community in the second installment of the Trotter Distinguished Leadership Series. Javed Ali, former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, discussed the connections between technology and election security. Ali said the shift towards paper… Read More »
At a public event celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusion, the International Business Machines Corporation presented Lynn Conway, professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science, with a rare lifetime achievement award. The award accompanied IBM’s apology to Conway, which came 52 years after the company fired her for coming out as transgender. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Conway… Read More »
The National Security Agency recently recognized a major breakthrough in the field of side-channel attacks as the winner of the 2020 Best Scientific Cybersecurity Paper competition. Daniel Genkin, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, worked on the paper with collaborators from around the world. The winning paper, describing an exploit called Spectre, broke open a new… Read More »
Flint Information Technology Services recently issued its annual report for FY20. (The entire report (PDF) is available online.) The report provides updates on the organization’s eight operational areas as well as bios of ITS professional staff. Below are highlights of the report: ITS-Classroom Services: ITS-Classroom Services completed a number of upgrades across general classroom spaces. After the transition… Read More »
U-M researchers say employing a conversational assistant could be one way to narrow the gap in health disparities impacting the African American community, particularly around the current COVID-19 pandemic. Lionel Robert, associate professor at the School of Information and senior author of a study in the journal Digital Government: Research & Practice, says a technological solution could keep… Read More »
As the holidays approach and the pandemic continues, you are highly likely to be doing more online shopping. Protect yourself from scams and data theft with these tips from ITS Information Assurance. Shop with trustworthy sites and sellers. Stick to businesses you know and trust, and compare descriptions and prices from multiple sellers to help spot scams. Be… Read More »