ISS News

If you are looking for information specific to a PC software package or tips and tricks you can teach your PC, see our Help Spot Page.

Monitoring and Control of College Servers

With the coming of Penn State's Information Privacy and Security Project's (IPAS) second phase, the control and management of institutional data will take on a much higher priority system wide. Our part of this effort will require some changes in how data is stored and managed in our College.

One area of concern for ISS is the operation of servers in CHHD. In order to be prepared to comply with IPAS2, we are embarking on a program to inventory, register, document, and secure ALL servers operating in CHHD. As part of our effort, a form titled "Server Registration" has been created. If you are a "server operator/administrator" please contact ISS as soon as possible and subsequently file a copy of this form with us.

If you are a server operator/admin, you should also familiarize yourself with ISS Policy 04-02. Important information regarding server maintenance and operation has been added to this policy.

Access Account Password Changes

Penn State's new Access Account Password Change Initiative requires all students, faculty, staff (and other Access Account holders) to change their passwords at least once a year to help increase security at the University.

For more information on this subject, visit http://its.psu.edu/password

SAS & CHHD

The SAS software package will no longer be administered and funded by the College. ISS will continue to provide user support with SAS as needed. It will be up to each individual user to obtain a copy of SAS from the Computer Store. The Computer Store's pricing this year for a SAS workstation license should be about $30 per license and will include everything as indicated below.  Media will be sold separately. 

The SAS Education Analytic Suite INCLUDES:
Base SAS®
SAS Bridge for ESRI®
Enterprise Guide®
*SAS ACCESS®
SAS/EIS®
SAS/FSP®
SAS/ASSIST®
SAS/OR®
SAS/IML®
SAS/AF®
SAS/CONNECT®
SAS/SECURE®
SAS/ETS®
SAS/GRAPH®
SAS/STAT®
SAS/LAB®
SAS/INSIGHT®
SAS/SHARE®
SAS® INTEGRATION TECHNOLOGIES
ONLINE/TUTOR®
SAS/QC®

Penn State Oracle Collaboration Suite Calendar

ISS is endorsing the Oracle Calendaring Service offered by ITS for personal and departmental use. Oracle is used in various offices throughout Penn State thus allowing for convenient group scheduling. Look here for more information. Check out our hour long video on the how's and why's of Oracle Resource Calendars or borrow the DVD from our office.

The State of Wireless Networking in the College
Are you interested in wireless technology and having the ability to access the College's network or the Internet with no strings attached?  Read about our efforts over the past five years to embrace this technology.

Cellular Wireless Info
Learn about the Verizon and AT&T Cellular Wireless offerings.

ISS's Computer Audit Policy
From time to time it is necessary for ISS to conduct a computer audit. The following document should help you understand the process.

PSU's Symantec Contract
Read about the Symantec Norton Antivirus software program here.

"Out of Office" Announcement via Email

Have you ever wondered when you get those clever "I am out of the office messages," how that happens??  Most email applications provide this feature but normally you must leave your PC on for this to work. Shutdown that PC, conserve energy, and let Penn State's ITS group do the job for you. You can now take advantage of a service offered by ITS which will return a customized message to each email message directed to your Access Account. For details see: https://www.work.psu.edu/vacation/.

ISS Device Numbers and the CBDB

Information Systems and Services maintains a comprehensive Computer Bank Database (CBDB) for all the academic and research offices in the College that utilize our services. There are many fields of information for each computer, printer, or other technology device listed. It is a challenge to assure the accuracy of the database since we are a "College on the move!" Your cooperation in this endeavor is appreciated.

As part of this program, all devices have been tagged with a "CHHD INFO SYS & SVCS" barcode label. The number on this label is a required field on the ISS Service Request Form. If your computer does not have an ISS number, please advise your Deputy of this when you submit a Service Request so the unit can be tagged if needed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail ISS or call 865-INFO (4636).

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