Topics

1) Lab News: Logging off the WindowsNT PCs
2) Security News: Don't let browsers save passwords
3) Security News: Astronomy was hacked again
4) General News: mail to everyone@chemistry
5) Unix News: New software on chemistry
6) Unix News: "xit's in your mail spool"
7) General News: osu.edu email slow; use chemistry
8) General News: Grad Student database available
9) General News: New and updated documentation
10) General News: Buckeye Bundle
11) General News: Computer-based Training Modules available

Newsletter Archive:

        http://www.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/compsupp/Newsletter/

Due to the many hyperlinks, COMPNEWS is best viewed on the web
at the above URL, or by going to the main Chemistry page and
clicking on Internal --> Computer Support --> The Newsletter Archive



1) Lab News: Logging off the WindowsNT PCs:


Don't forget to logout from your NT account on the PCs in the Lab! Otherwise,
other people can access or delete the files on your U: share and abuse your
account. You are responsible for your own account.

To logout from your WindowsNT account, hit CTRL-ALT-DEL and select "Logoff".
Do NOT LOCK the PCs.


2) Security News: Don't let browsers save passwords:


Because remembering your passwords is a pain (you do have more than one),
many programs are set up to remember them for you. Exactly how they do this
is a risky business. Netscape didn't do it right. Beyond simply stealing
email passwords, this flaw provides a gateway to other accounts and systems
since people often use the same password everywhere.

Our recommendations:

 - don't let browsers and other programs save passwords

 - use different passwords on different computers

 - if you have broadband network access for your home computer (cable
   modem, DSL), get a personal firewall

 - read the article "RST discovers defective crypto in Netscape mail password
   saver" in the Security section of our web pages

For more information and pointers to security-related web sites, see

        Internal --> Computer Support --> Security and Virus Information


3) Security News: Astronomy was hacked again:


Over Xmas, the Astronomy Department was hacked again. This was the second
serious compromise within a few months. Almost all computers had to be taken
off the net and reinstalled, a monumental amount of work and a substantial
loss of productivity.

You can find a general discussion of security in the FAQ "Why is computer
security so important?" under

        Internal --> Computer Support --> Chemistry Related FAQs

This and other documents are also available in the Security section of our
web pages under

        Internal --> Computer Support --> Security and Virus Information


4) General News: mail to everyone@chemistry:


Many users have complained about messages to everyone@chemistry trying to
sell items (football tickets, girl scout cookies, etc.). We have created a
new list,

	misc@chemistry.ohio-state.edu

This list is subscribable/unsubscribable by individual users. We start out by
subscribing all of our users. If you are annoyed by messages sent to the
list, you can unsubscribe, and you won't get any of those messages in
the future. The information how to unsubscribe will be appended at the end of
all submissions to misc@chemistry.ohio-state.edu.


From now on, if you want to sell football tickets, sell other stuff, give
animals away or, in general, have ANY NON-CHEMISTRY RELATED material, DO NOT
USE EVERYONE@CHEMISTRY, but use misc@chemistry instead!

This new policy will be strictly enforced in order to prevent further
complaints.


5) Unix News: New software on chemistry:


We have installed or upgraded several programs and software packages on the
chemistry Unix server and other Unix hosts in the Department. Here is a brief
list:

 - Java 1.2 on chemistry

 - new gs (ps2ascii, ps2epsi, ps2pdf, pdf2dsc, pdf2ps), gv (alternative to
   ghostview), xpdf (pdfinfo, pdftopbm, pdftops, pdftotext) on Solaris

 - new tth 2.60, along with ps2gif, ps2png, latex2gif on Solaris and AIX

 - new pine 4.21 and pico 3.7 on all architectures (Solaris, AIX, IRIX,
   DUnix)

 - mutt on chemistry (this is an elm-like email program and a possible
   replacement for elm)

More details about these upgrades can be found under

        Internal --> Computer Support --> The Support Bulletin Board

Note: The default for pine on the chemistry Unix server will be switched
      from version 4.10 to version 4.21 shortly.


6) Unix News: "xit's in your mail spool":


When you try to invoke elm or pine to read your email on the chemistry Unix
server and you get error messages such as

Folder is corrupt!!
[Can't open inbox: not in valid mailbox format]

then you probably "have a xit in your mail spool" (the characters "xit").

You can solve this problem yourself by editing your mail spool (file
/var/mail/username) with an editor of your choice and removing the extra
characters preceeding the word "From".

Remember to always quit elm with the characters, "q", "Q", "x" or "X".

For more information, see the FAQ "How can I fix problems with pine or elm?"
(second problem) under

        Internal --> Computer Support --> Chemistry Department Related FAQs


7) General News: osu.edu email slow; use chemistry:


The university-wide email server, osu.edu, has had several problems in recent
months. Email messages have, on occasion, been delayed for 8 hours or more
due to congestion, overload, misconfiguration and overtuning. The most recent
outage occured after the Martin Luther King holiday, when osu.edu was
unavailable for an extended period of time. On February 21, another notice
was posted on the UTS website, http://www.osu.edu/units/uts/, that the
osu.edu email system was working slowly and that they were trying to
stabilize it.

We recommend that you advertise your chemistry email address rather than your
osu.edu address. Email through chemistry is faster and more reliable (we
handle about 500 users, osu.edu has to deal with in excess of 50,000 users).

For more information about email and email addresses (all you ever wanted
to know about email, but were afraid to ask), see

	Internal --> Computer Support --> The Great Email Primer


8) General News: Grad Student database available:


The new grad student database is available on the web under

	Education --> Grad -->
		Current Graduate Students 

and under

	Contact Us --> Graduate Student Directory

This database can only be accessed locally (i.e. from IP-addresses within the
Department). It does not contain room numbers or phone numbers.

Any questions about the content of the database as well as requests for
updates should be directed to Martha McDowell (292-7937) in the Graduate
Office.


9) General News: New and updated documentation:


We have updated a lot of documentation on the Computer Support web pages and
added new documents. We would like to draw your attention to the following
material:

 Introduction for New Users (updated)
 Online Manuals and Frequently Asked Questions (new/updated items)
 Chemistry Department Related FAQs and "How to's" (many new and updated
		documents, especially with regard to WindowsNT services
		and the various types of accounts in the Department)
 Unix information (software listings)
 PC and Mac information (software listings and WindowsNT FAQ)
 Security and Virus Information (new documents)


10) General News: Buckeye Bundle:


Q: Does Computer Support have a Department distribution for the Buckeye
   Bundle (the bunch of Microsoft software for $99), or should research
   groups purchase individual packages at the bookstore?

A: As far as current knowledge goes, a departmental purchase is no more than
   the department deciding to purchase n copies at $99 (+ $59 for each set of
   media) to distribute to staff and faculty. In light of the tight budget,
   there is no such plan. The Department purchase would be more attractive,
   if a price break for volume purchases had been negotiated.

If there is any new information, we will let you know. You can borrow the
media from us, but you need to buy your own license(s). The cost is $99
for the licenses, and $99 + $58 for licenses and CDrom media.

For more details on the site license agreement and what software is available
through it, go to

	http://www.osu.edu/units/uts/site_license/mslicense/


11) General News: Computer-based Training Modules available:


Web access to more than 200 computer-based training courses on a wide variety
of computer-related topics is available to faculty, staff, and students
through an arrangement with SmartForce, an e-Learning company (formerly CBT
Systems). SmartForce's online, interactive training modules cover the
products in Microsoft Office 2000, which is the same software distributed by
OSU as Buckeye Bundle. The library also includes the latest software versions
of networking, database, Internet, and end-user applications and
technologies. The self-paced courseware features a graphical interface that
simulates the technology and requires interaction. Most courses range from
5-15 Mb. The training modules are Windows-based, but Macintosh users can
access the courseware using Virtual PC or SoftWindows.

For more information, go to

	http://www.osu.edu/units/uts/serviceguide/trainingtogo.html