IT News Update

Updated on September 3, 2008

The following information will be helpful in your Computer List Item ordering:

First Quarter Computer List Item Catalog
Ordering Cycles and where to direct your questions
Memo

REMINDER:  Recently we have had some laptop computers stolen.  As employees of ASD we are always dealing with sensitive information, please take proper precautions to ensure this information and equipment is safe.

1) Don't leave computers visible in your unattended cars, lock them in your trunks when you leave the vehicle.
2) Change your password often.
3) Log off or password lock your computer when you are not using it.
4) Be sure you use your locking cable to secure your laptop to your desk, if you don't have a cable, talk to your building tech about purchasing the proper lock for your laptop.
5) When traveling be sensitive to your surroundings, more laptops are stolen in airports than any other place.  Don't check it, don't leave it unattended, carry it with you.

This is a reminder that public announcements such as retirements, want ads, surplus items, etc., should be posted in the Public Folders, not sent in mass emails.  Public Folders may be accessed from Outlook, webmail, and Entourage 2004.  Announcements can be read in Entourage X, but not posted. 

Directions for using Public Folders in various email clients can be found on the email link at home.asdk12.org .  However, everyone can access them from webmail.  Log into http://webmail.asdk12.org .  In the Outlook Web Access bar (next to your messages), click Public Folders .  Click Announcements .  Click the appropriate folder for your announcement. 

Click the New button.   Enter your subject and information, then click the Post button.

If you have questions or problems, please call the Help Desk at 742-4615.

Due to obsolete equipment and no vendor support or maintenance, dialup access to the Anchorage School District was discontinued at the end of the 07/08 school year.

The alternative method to connect to the ASD network is VPN.  You must already have access to the Internet via cable modem, DSL, Internet Service Provider dialup (GCI, AOL, etc.) in order to use VPN. Client software and instructions for it can be found in the VPN folder under Public Folders, which you can access through Entourage, Outlook, or webmail.  

Emails that have been quarantined as spam will be deleted after 14 days .For those of you who browse through your spam, you will need to move any quarantined messages you want to keep within 14 days of their receipt.

Spam is unsolicited e-mail sent in large quantities, not just email you do not want.  You will still receive unwanted email that is sent directly to you and not in a mass mailing.  True spam email will be quarantined in a location outside of your Mailbox where you can view it if you wish. 

In order for the filter to function optimally, you must disable the junk mail filter in Entourage or Outlook.  The junk mail filter in Outlook Web Access (webmail) will be turned off universally when the spam filter is activated. 

You can access the instructions for using the spam filter and disabling email client junk mail filters as well as the instructions will be posted at https://home.asdk12.org/index.asp?redirect=CIO .

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the IT Help Desk at 742-4615.

Automatic email deletion, which was suspended for the summer break, will resume October 21, 2008 .  All emails older than 90 days will be permanently deleted.  All emails older than 60 days will be moved to a system cleanup folder. This folder will appear in your mail folders only if mail has been moved to it.  Click the expansion arrow next to “System Cleanup” to view messages.  An email deletion message is sent to everyone whether mail has been moved or not.  If emails are deleted, the message will include how many and from which folder.

Emails you wish to keep should be moved to “Personal Folders” in Outlook and “Folders on My Computer” in Entourage.    Instructions can be found on the E-Mail Help link at https://home.asdk12.org .

Please take a moment to review and re-familiarize yourself with the District's email procedures and guidelines.
- Email Policy
-Acceptable Use Agreement

Please use the BCC address field when sending bulk mailings such as news letters in order to protect the recipients' email addresses from misuse.

In an effort to prevent spam attacks, ASD has turned off mail relay, which is used by Micrograde, Easy Grade Pro, Apple mail, and POP mail.  These applications will work within ASD.

When using applications such as Entourage, Outlook, Micrograde or Easy Grade Pro which send emails through the district network from home, you must use VPN or dial up to connect to the email servers.

You may use webmail at http://webmail.asdk12.org  without connecting via VPN.

The VPN software and installation instructions can be found in the Outlook Public Folders and can be accessed via webmail.  You must already have an internet service provider such as GCI, ACS, or MTA before you can use VPN.

This is a reminder that email attachments are limited to 10 MB. When you add your attachment to your email, its size will be displayed next to it.

Entourage users need to be particularly careful about attachment size because it will continuously try to send the attachment and severely slow down the network.

FYI, IT Help Desk hours are 6:00 am through 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays and district closures.  Phone calls and emails received outside of that period will be returned when normal working hours resume.

Microsoft released their new Operating System Vista and they are now also shipping Office 2007 for Windows.  The ASD standards are Windows XP, Office 2003 for Windows systems and OSX 10.4, Office 2004 for Macintosh systems.    There are plans to upgrade to the new OS Office products in the 09/10 school year. I/T will begin testing these new products and provide you with impacts and recommendations. 

Filemaker version 7 is no longer being shipped and will not be supported by Filemaker. 

Filemaker version 9 is the current version.   Filemaker does not send a copy of the media any longer and it is only a download. If you wish to have a copy of the media, it will cost an addition $20 with the purchase of a license.  Filemaker states that version 8, 8.5 and 9 are compatible with 7.  You will need to upgrade your Filemaker Server version to 8.5 in order for those databases to support the workstation versions 8, 8.5, and 9.  If you have questions please contact your building support tech.

I/T Application Development and Programming does not support Filemaker.

Is your work location or phone number incorrect in the email global address list or Employee Directory?

You can check your personal information by logging into the District Connection at http://home.asdk12.org. Click Personal Options in the upper right-hand corner, under your name. Then click View/Edit my contact information. Follow the instructions on how to make changes if necessary. This will also update your phone number in the global address list.

Questions about GED can be submitted to the following:

GED Information
Alaska Department & Work Force Development
PO Box 25509
Juneau, Alaska 99802-5509
Phone: (907) 465-4685
Fax: (907) 465-4186

Anchorage School District does not keep records for private schools or all other public schools in Alaska. The following website is helpful for locating other schools districts in Alaska: http://www.eed.state.ak.us/Alaskan_Schools/

As we development more web based applications and it has become necessary to standardize our programs to support only IE and Safari web browsers.  This should not have any impact on you since both of these programs are standard loads on the Dells and Apples. 

The IT Department does not support Windows operating systems such as Bootcamp, Parallel, etc. on Macintosh computers.

There has been a noticeable increase in  network bandwidth usage around the district, with the heaviest use occurring during the 7:30 AM-3:30 PM timeframe. An investigation into this issue uncovered that much of the problem results from students and staff using district computers for personal use such as, Internet radio and music and video downloads that are not directly related to instruction. Computers purchased by the district are provided solely as a resource for instructional or job-specific uses. Please limit your use of bandwidth intensive resources during peak hours so that available bandwidth can be reserved for student instructional use. Please remember: bandwidth is a shared resource.

This is a reminder that district network resources are to be used for instructional or district business purposes.  There has been a great deal of activity on two web blogs related to contract negotiations. Visiting these sites during the work day is a violation of the district Internet User Agreement (http://www.asdk12.org/internet).  In addition, high activity during the school day impacts classroom and library network access. Please refrain from visiting these web sites during the work day or the district will need to block access from the network.  You are also reminded that email should not be used to communicate about religious, political or union-related matters (except as outlined in each bargaining agreement).

Email is an important part of communication in our district and each employee has signed an Internet User Agreement.  Please review the User Agreement and our Acceptable Use Guidelines and make certain you understand these guidelines for using the district email and network.  The agreement and guidelines are online at the district connection  https://home.asdk12.org/CIO in the Email/Internet section (right hand column).

As a reminder:

• Email should be used for instructional purposes and to conduct district business
• Please do not use district email for bargaining or union business.
• Email accounts should not be used for monetary gain or private businesses       
• District email is not to be used for political or religious advocacy
• Please post items for sale in the personal folders want ads area
• Email correspondence is the property of ASD and may be reviewed at anytime.

Please be considerate of your fellow employees and use email in a respectful manner.

The AV Services Repair Staff are HP Certified.

“Dell has identified a potential issue associated with certain batteries sold with Dell Latitude™, Inspiron™, XPS™ and Dell Precision Mobile Workstation™ notebook computers. In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies, Dell is voluntarily recalling certain Dell-branded batteries with cells manufactured by Sony and offering free replacements for these batteries.  Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could pose a risk of fire. ”

Please see the link offered below for more information, to check for eligibility, and to order a replacement if covered.

Dell Battery Exchange Program

Attention Apple iBook and PowerBook Users:

Apple Computer is recalling some of the laptop batteries sold between 2003 and 2006 for safety reasons. Please use the link offered below to learn more about the potential risks and to determine whether your battery is eligible for replacement. If your battery is eligible, please use the online request form provided in the link to order a replacement as soon as possible.

Apple Battery Recall

This message is for those who use IFAS/Alpha for purchase requisitions, leave activity, addenda, etc.

“Fatal Errors” occur fairly often in IFAS and are not fatal nor need to be reported.  Simply press the “Return” key, the letter “c”, and “Return” again to continue logging in and working normally.

INTEL Macs:  The I/T Department has completed the testing of the new INTEL Macintosh systems and have found no major problems.  These tests did not include all the various software products that are in use at ASD.  See the attached PDF for a list of the tested software.

 It is recommended that before you purchase one of the new INTEL Macs that you carefully review all the applications that you are planning to use and compare them with the attached test results.  If you don't see the software listed in the attached document, contact the Vendor for their recommendation.

*This message is for Macintosh computer users.*

We've received several calls about Internet Explorer not working and have determined that there is a problem with the MSN home page.  The imaged laptops have msn.com as the default home page and some desktop computers may be set to it.  To change it without locking up your computer, you'll need to disconnect your computer from the network (unplug your Ethernet cord).  Open Internet Explorer, click Explorer, and select Preferences.  Change www.msn.com to www.asdk12.org or another site of your choice.  Close the window, reconnect to the network, and launch Internet Explorer again.

The district has received a rash of email offers for discounted software and toner. These offers are spam mail and should be disregarded. Although the offers may seem attractive, the vendors and/or products may not be reliable. Please use trusted vendors for purchases and check out www.oetc.org for software.

You may receive emails that include an attached zip file which can be a variation of any of the names listed below. DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT AND DELETE THE EMAIL IMMEDIATELY. Information Technology is remotely updating VirusScan.

The Microsoft Office Software Assurances that were issued through Insight expired in July of 2005 and those issued through OETC expired in February 2006. The ASD did not “true-up” the software assurances at the end of those terms.

The current Microsoft Office version that the District will support will be Office 2004 for Mac and Office 2003 for PC. Any new versions that are released after will not be installed or supported by IT Department.

The voice mail system at the Facilities/Maintenance/Operations/Student Nutrition complex was briefly compromised by a group of criminals that are stealing long distance telephone service. While ACS Communications has made technical changes for additional protection, there is an important step that you can take. Please make certain that your voice mail password is not one that is easily guessed, such as “1111” or “2222”. Also the password can be up to 8 digits in length and a longer password is a more secure one.

This is a new form of fraud that has occurred on a national basis. More information is available at this FCC website - http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/voicemailfraud.html.

The link to change Outlook passwords on Macs is http://webmail.asdk12.org/chgpassword.

Please be sure to update your antivirus software as soon as possible.

PC users should click the link below. This will install an "epo agent", which will keep your antivirus software current - \\Asdpublicx\Public\AntiVirus\Windows\ePoAgent3.0.1\FramePkg.exe

MAC users should go to http://www.mcafeesecurity.com/us/downloads/updates/default.asp. Click "DATs" under Software Updates and choose Virex 6.x for OS 9 or Virex 7.x for OS X.

If you have questions please contact the Help Desk at 742-4615.