2022 October Newsletter

Theme: Cybersecurity Awareness

October is cybersecurity awareness month. The University of Chicago has a number of cyber security tips, events, and resources to help you learn more about safe computing at Lab. With this in mind, Lab’s IS team would like to highlight a few tools available to you to keep you productive and safe. 

Crashplan: Having backup copies of your files is an essential protection against ransomware, theft, and file corruption.  On your work laptop there is an application already installed that has the ability to create a daily backup of all files on your machine.  This application is called Crashplan. To initiate Crashplan you have to login in with your Lab Google credentials and select what you want backed-up.  To learn how to do this, follow this link. Additionally, you can login into Crashplan and view your backups and recover any files you may have misplaced or deleted and seamlessly transition files to a new machine. 

Falcon- Crowdstrike: An important layer of protection in cybersecurity is protecting the devices you use everyday. Falcon is a next generation information security tool that monitors in real time your device for suspicious activity. It allows threats for data security to be identified nearly immediately and remedied in real time. Falcon is already running in the background of your Lab device and can also be installed for home use. To learn more about Falcon click here.  

To install a copy on your home device, click here. To ensure Falcon is running on your device go to system preferences. Next, go to the network icon. You should screen that looks like this

These applications provide a baseline level of security for the campus as a whole. If you ever have questions about cybersecurity or data use, please contact IS ([e-mail])

Helpful Tips and Tools:

Printing from home with UChicago VPN: Have you ever been at home and needed to print 

something at school for the next day?  Information Systems has you covered, all you have to do is connect to UChicago through a Virtual Private Network. (VPN)  This will create a secure connection between your computer and the UChicago network, thus giving you the ability to print those documents ahead of time. Note this applies to non mobility printers.

DyKnow:  For teachers grade 3 through 12 DyKnow helps make teaching with technology easier by giving the instructor more control over student devices. DyKnow helps teachers make sure students stay on track while using their Chromebook. The software allows teachers to monitor student activity, give students a voice in the classroom through anonymous polling, allows teachers to restrict web usage to only approved sites, and allows teachers to distribute content easily.  

If you have any questions, please take a look at this knowledge base article or reach out [e-mail]  

Edpuzzle: Looking to use interactive videos to increase student participation and engagement? Take a look at Edpuzzle: Lab has a premium subscription.  Below you will find links and videos that will help you set-up your first Edpuzzle and assign it to your students.

Mail forwarding: Be advised that forwarding email from your UChicago.edu account to your UCLS account comes with the risk that not all mail will be delivered.  To see remedies for this situation click here

Knowledge Base: The answers to commonly asked questions and Lab specific systems are accessible in our IS knowledge base.  You can view it here.