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November 2003 Update

In This Update

Nebula Drops Rates for Centrally Managed PCs

Nebula, the system of networked personal computers that C&C centrally manages and supports, has reduced its rates. Nebula offers continually updated security patches, daily backup of data, shared group directories, and more, depending on which level of service you choose (see link below for details). As of October 1, 2003, rates are:

  • Nebula Gold desktops: $52/mo per device ($624/yr)
  • Nebula Gold laptops: $58/mo ($696/yr)
  • Nebula Bronze desktops: $26/mo ($312/yr

This is the latest in a series of rate reductions Nebula has offered as more users have been added and its management and support structure has been refined. The move to Windows XP, which allows remote management, diagnosis, and support, was also a factor in this price drop. In addition, Nebula has enhanced a number of its support tools, which has increased overall efficiency.

For more information about Nebula services: http://www.washington.edu/nebula/description.html


New Disk Space Viewer Helps You See What to Delete

Are you out of disk storage space on UW central systems? C&C has created a viewer that lets you quickly see not only how much space you are using on central systems, but also which of your email files and folders are consuming the most space.

The viewer lists each folder's size and when it was last accessed, to help you identify which would be best to delete. Once deleted, you can update the viewer to see how much space you've freed up.

You can access the viewer through MyUW or the "Manage Your UW NetID Resources" page. (Select the "Details" link under the Disk Usage section.)

For more information, read the University Week story or view Managing Your Storage Space.


Significant Spammers Blocked

Starting in October, email messages from well-known spam sources mailed to the UW's central email system are being automatically discarded.

This move is necessary to protect the UW's email system from overloads due to increased email traffic. Between January and September, some 65 million of 155 million messages received by UW mailers, or 42 percent, were classified as spam. When possible, the UW must stop accepting email from sources that are sending only spam to UW email addresses.

As of the end of October, C&C identified 26 spam sources that account for about 40,000 spam messages to the UW per day. Messages sent to @u addresses from these sources are now being discarded rather than tagged as spam and sent to your Inbox. Other spam sources will be added if they are high-volume spammers that do not send legitimate mail.

While these blocking efforts will help, they will block only a fraction of all spam. Other filtering methods you currently may be using are still necessary.

For more information, including a list of the sources blocked: http://www.washington.edu/computing/email/spamblock.html
Send your questions or comments to help@cac.washington.edu


New Outages Service

C&C has launched a new service to notify the UW community about major computing and network outages. It will provide up-to-date information two ways:

This service is a response to requests from deans, computing support staff, administrators, and others for more information on major outages. While it will not solve all outage notification needs (especially when email servers are affected), we hope it will prove useful, and welcome your feedback.

Please send comments or suggestions to C&C Client Services at help@cac.washington.edu


Security: Free UWICKs and More

In response to serious computing security incidents, including a critical vulnerability in the Windows operating system that left Windows computers open to attack, C&C has launched the following security outreach efforts:

  • Free UWICKs and Computer Vet Service: The Autumn 2003 UW Internet Connectivity Kit (UWICK) CD is being distributed for free at the University Book Store while supplies last. UWICK includes a "patch and scan" option that checks your computer for infection and installs the latest security patches. Anti-virus software is also included. In addition, C&C offered free "computer vet" clinics in several locations on campus through October where students could have the necessary security patches installed, have their computers scanned for viruses, get anti-virus software installed, and pick up free copies of the UWICK.
    For more information: http://www.washington.edu/computing/software/uwick/

  • Unblock: Help is available to users whose access to the UW network is blocked because their computer is compromised and could infect other systems. C&C has created a Web page where users can see if their access is blocked and follow steps to re-enable access.
    For more information: http://unblock.cac.washington.edu/

  • New Web Page on Windows Vulnerability: This new C&C Web page explains how computers are vulnerable to attack and provides information and help.
    For more information: http://www.washington.edu/computing/alerts/rpc_alert.html

For more information on all computing security issues: http://www.washington.edu/computing/security/