4/12/13: Towson faculty and staff are particularly vulnerable to attacks because you are administrators on your Macs and should exercise caution. You are the first and best defense against attacks. You can avoid these threats by following the few good computing practices below:
Regularly check for and install updates on third-party software installed on your Mac including Adobe products, optional web browsers such as Firefox and Chrome; and any other software you have installed
Don’t download or open files from un-trusted websites
Don’t open e-mail attachments from unknown users or suspicious e-mails from trusted sources
Don’t click links on web pages from unknown sources
University Macs also have the ClamXav antivirus software installed to help protect them.
Contact the Faculty/Staff Help Center, 410-704-5151, options 2+2+2 if you have questions.
Mobile Devices at Towson University
4/05/13: With the popularity of mobile devices on campus the Office of Technology Services has published the information below for Towson students, faculty, and staff.
10/7/12:
Below are a couple general announcements for all university Mac users. .
• Welcome to the 23 new tenure track faculty members that started at Towson this fall and are Mac users.
• The university Mac Corner web site has been rebranded to Apple Corner to reflect Apple products including the iOS devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Popular resources listed on this site include: Apple Quick Help Guide, iOS Resources and Guidelines for TU Mac Users, and the Self-Help Documents that include documents and movies.
Purchasing University Apple Products
Make certain to follow the university purchase procedures for Apple products, for details see: Apple Hardware and Software Purchasing FAQs.
Students: contact the Student
Computing Services (SCS) Service Desk at 410-704-5151,
menu options 2+1+3.
Verify Net Notify Installed on University Mac Computers
9/27/12: The university Net Notify service sends emergency text messages to university computers. To receive these messages on a university Mac or PC, the Net Notify program needs to be installed on the computer. This software is pre-installed on all computers that have been set up by the Office of Technology Services (OTS).
To receive Net Notify messages on a Mac or PC the following requirements must be met:
1. The computer must be university-owned.
2. The "Net Notify" client must be installed on your Mac or Windows computer
3. The computer must be connected to either the wired network; or the tu-secure or tu-guest wireless networks to receive alerts.
4. Mac computers must have someone logged in to the computer to receive alerts. (Windows computers will receive alerts whether someone is logged in to the computer or not.)
5. Mac computers must be awake, and not in sleep mode to receive alerts.
If your Mac meets the requirements above but does not receive alerts, contact the Faculty and Staff Help Center, 410-704-5151, menu options 2+2+2 to report that you are not receiving Net Notify alerts.
You may see a Daily Digest announcement this fall for a scheduled test of the Net Notify service on campus.
Standard Towson University Mountain Lion Configuration Completed
8/12/12: The OTS Mac Support Team has completed a standard configuration that will be installed on new Macs purchased for the university.
For details about upgrading to Mac OS 10.8 on older Macs or purchasing Apple products see the News article below: Apple Releases Mac OS10.8 Mountain Lion
Apple Releases Mac OS10.8 Mountain Lion
7/25/12: Apple released the new Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion operating system (OS) this week. Staff on the OTS Mac Support Team are completing a university Mountain Lion configuration that will be used for university-owned Macs. The configuration will be tested to work with the university network products and services. The Towson configuration should be completed within several weeks. OTS staff will configure Mountain Lion on new university Macs that are shipped with the new OS.
What about upgrading Towson University Macs to Mountain Lion?
At this time, OTS is requesting that you not purchase Mountain Lion to upgrade university-owed Macs until we have had time to complete a university configuration. If you are considering an upgrade to a university Mac, there are some requirements and considerations, for details see: Guidelines for Upgrading a Mac Operating System.
Purchasing University Apple Products
Make certain to follow the university purchase procedures for Apple products, for details see: Apple Hardware and Software Purchasing FAQs.
