September 2021

September 2021, Tips and Tricks

Upgrades and Updates and Security, Oh My!

The news is regularly full of scary reports about critical security exploits on phones, tablets and computers and advice to immediately update your device. Additionally, you’ll see many articles touting the newest, greatest version of Windows, MacOS or iOS. How should you read, prioritize and act on these reports?

Upgrades

Upgrades represents a significant change to the way your computer works. Moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11, or from MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) to MacOS 11 (Big Sur) or from iOS 14 to iOS 15 is an upgrade. Usually there is a lot of media attention for these upgrades as the developers promote new features and software.

Upgrades are exciting and may mean a big change in how you use your device.

IT professionals – including Clark’s ITS – usually recommend not upgrading to a new operating system immediately on release. New operating systems often experience minor issues that the developers need to work to resolve. Additionally, software that you use regularly may not always be compatible with the new upgrade. Finally, for Clark community members, ITS will often need to spend some time evaluating the upgrade to ensure it will fully integrate with our campus resources.

Updates

Updates are smaller changes to your operating system that are used to keep your operating system secure and reliable. Sometimes called patches, updates usually do not have new names, or a new full version number – instead being represented by a “dot release number”, such as iOS14.8 to iOS14.9.

ITS recommends you install and apply updates on a regular basis, and when prompted by ITS or your manufacturer.

How to Update your Device

Windows

Please note that ITS manages software updates for the university-managed Windows devices, and while you can follow these directions anytime, you do not need to.

Click the Windows icon in your taskbar
Click the settings icon
Click Updates and Security
Click Windows Update on the left (if necessary)
Click Check for updates; Don’t click “Check online for updates from Microsoft” if you’re using a university-managed computer.

Click here for more information on how to apply Windows updates

Personally-Owned Mac

Please note that ITS manages software updates for the university-managed Mac devices and you will not need to follow these instructions; you will instead be prompted to simply close applications for the update to apply.

Open System Preferences
Choose Software Update
Click Update Now.

Click here for more information on how to apply MacOS updates on personal devices.

iPhones and iPads

Ensure that your device is plugged in, or is at least 50% charged
Go to Settings
Go to General
Choose Software Update. The screen shows the currently installed version of iOS and whether an update is available.
If an update is available, click Download and Install and follow the prompts.

Click here for more information on updating iPhone or iPads

Android

Open your phone’s Settings app.
Near the bottom, tap System
Choose Advanced
Choose System update.
You’ll see your update status. Follow any steps on the screen.

Click here for more information on updating Android devices

If you have any questions about upgrades, updates or if you should make changes to your device, please don’t hesitate to contact the ITS Help Desk.

September 2021

Ask ITS

As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month approaches, we are offering an opportunity to ask ITS all of your burning technology questions. If you’ve ever said, “I wonder why ITS does …” this is the time to ask! Questions can include asking about technology choices, policies, processes, data privacy, infrastructure, software, or anything else you can think of.

Look for next month’s Bits and Bytes where ITS will answer the most popular questions.

Click here to submit your question by October 7^th (login required.)

If you have a personal technology question (I need to change my password, I need help with Moodle, etc.) please contact the Help Desk for more immediate support. Click here for information on the Help Desk.

September 2021, Tool Spotlight, Zoom

Keep Zooming

While many of us are happy to say goodbye to days full of Zoom classes and meetings, the convenience, flexibility, and reach that Zoom offers means that it will be a part of Clark for a time to come. And while most of us are experts in its features now, we wanted to offer some new or under-used tips.

Update Regularly

The most important tip for a great Zoom experience is to update your software regularly. Zoom is constantly improving their software and to take advantages of these improvements you need to update regularly. Updating is quick and easy and as of this article, the current version is 5.8.0.

On your desktop (Windows or Mac): Open and log into your Zoom application, click on your profile icon (or initials) in the top right, click Check for Updates and follow the prompts.

On your phone, or tablet: You’ll get a prompt to update when there is a new version.

Live Transcription

An underused feature of Zoom is the ability for the host to display automatic (computer-generated) transcription, and allow participants to request live-transcription (both by name or anonymously). This can help participants who have hearing-impairments, ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) participants, participants who are experiencing poor audio on their device, and many more. While computer-generated transcriptions aren’t perfect and shouldn’t be relied on for community-members with ADA accommodations (students should contact Student Accessibility Services, while Staff and Faculty should contact HR) they can be a huge help for many listeners.

As a host: Ensuring that you’re using the most recent version of Zoom, start your meeting, click Live Transcript (may be in the More menu), click Enable Auto-Transcript.

As a participant: Ensuring that you’re on the most recent version of Zoom, look for the Request Live Transcription button (may be in the More menu), and choose to Request, or Request Anonymously. A host can agree, or decline to offer transcriptions.

Sharing your Pronouns

While many at Clark have edited their display names to include their pronouns, Zoom now supports automatic sharing of your pronouns when set in your profile. To add pronouns, visit https://clarku.zoom.us/profile, log in and chose the edit button to the right of your display name.

Note that pronouns are only displayed if you are on version 5.7.1 or higher.

Recordings

ITS often gets questions about Zoom recordings – how best to record a Zoom recording, how long they’re available for, and how to share recordings.

As a host in a Zoom meeting, you can choose to save recordings of your meeting to your desktop or to the cloud. Most hosts prefer to save to the cloud, so you don’t need to worry about the space available on your device or internet disruptions.

If you choose to save your meeting recording to the cloud, it will be automatically transferred to your Meeting Recordings folder in your My Folder in Panopto (https://clarku.hosted.panopto.com/). From there you can keep your recording private (default), share with a small group of specific people, share with the Clark community (log in required), or share it openly on the internet.

Back-up recordings are also saved to the Zoom web portal but are only available for 28 days after the meeting. You can view these back-up recordings at https://clarku.zoom.us/, and click on Recordings in the left-side menu.

Data Privacy and Security, September 2021

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

National CyberSecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) was started as a collaborative effort between the National CyberSecurity Division within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the nonprofit National Cyber Security Alliance in 2003. The month of October raises awareness about the importance of cybersecurity.

As education, socializing, and many aspects of life increasing rely on technology, it’s more important than ever to protect your digital identity and steer clear of cybercriminals. The theme of 2021 is for you to Do Your Part, #BeCyberSmart all year long.

What is Clark Doing during the Month of October for NCSAM? Clark will be promoting safe online practices through a variety of actives and resources around campus. Look for new resources or activities each week to help encourage you to #BeCyberSmart. Some topics will include:

Fight the Phish

Phishing attacks and scams have increased during the COVID pandemic. We will stress the importance of staying aware of threatening emails, text messages or chat boxes that come from cybercriminals to gain your information or personal assets.

Explore. Experience. Share (Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week)

This will inspire and promote the exploration of cybersecurity careers. No matter if you are a student or a veteran seeking a career change, the dynamic field of Cybersecurity is rapidly growing and holds something for everyone!

Cybersecurity First

Here we will raise awareness how businesses are working to integrate and build partnerships to incorporate security into their products and everyday processes. For individuals, it is about keeping Cybersecurity at the forefront of your mind as you connect daily and understand when privacy and default settings of your applications and devices. Cybersecurity should be a proactive mindset not a reactive one.

Remember that if you have any questions or are curious about how you can Do Your Part and #BeCyberSmart all year long, feel free to ask the Clark ITS Team or visit one of the following links:

Get to Know Us, September 2021

Get to know us: Alexander Magid

This month, we meet Alexander Magid, Clark’s Information Privacy and Compliance Analyst. “What’s that?” you might ask! Well, Alexander will help ITS write and implement policies to protect your data, while also keeping Clark compliant with data privacy, storage and documentation laws. He’s excited to talk to departments across campus about data privacy and help solve the new challenges faced due to the constantly evolving, fast-paced field of cybersecurity.

When Alexander joined the Clark community in May 2021, he became one of ITS’s first fully-remote staff members, living and working in the Greater Philadelphia area. He joins us with a professional certification in Cybersecurity, an MA in Law and a BA in Political Science. Alexander also works as a part-time staff editor for the Journal of Law and Cyber Warfare where he edits and peer reviews professional publications. When he’s not thinking about cybersecurity, he likes to spend time with his dog Cooper, go to car shows and watch The Big Bang Theory.