Unable to Access Adobe Connect Recordings

Since the Adobe Connect server was upgraded on May 13th you may receive reports of previously recorded Adobe Connect session not being accessible.

Users attempting to view an Adobe Connect recording may get the following error:

Not Authorized. You do not have permission to access this item.

To resolve this issue, the host of the Adobe Connect meeting room will need to follow these steps to make the recordings accessible to the public.

1. Log into the Adobe Connect meeting room where the recording took place
2. From the Meeting menu in the upper left corner, select the Manage Meeting Information option and a new browser window will open
3. In the new browser window, click the Recordings link that is on the link bar directly above the gray Meeting Information bar
4. Check the box beside the recording(s) that should be accessible to the public
5. Check the top box (to the left of the Name header) to select all of the recordings
6. Click the Make Public button
7. Close the browser window

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the IT Help Desk.

Adobe Connect meetings unavailable May 13, 2010

This is a reminder that you will NOT be able to log into ANY Adobe Connect meeting spaces on May 13, 2010. ITS will be performing an upgrade to the Adobe Connect Professional service that will impact all Adobe Connect Pro services.

If you’d like to read more, here’s an article that appeared in eNews: http://agsci.psu.edu/it/news/2010/04/agsci-news-its-plans-upgrade-to-adobe-connect-server-on-may-13th

Services will resume on May 14, 2010. If you have questions, please enter an AgIT Help Desk Request: http://agsci.psu.edu/it/help-request or contact the Penn State Adobe Connect team: breeze@psu.edu

Dubious Facebook pages scam you, Send Spam to your Friends

Chris Boyd, a security researcher at Sunbelt software, has reported how dubious Facebook pages can trick you into spamming people on your Facebook friends list.

The scheme relies on you manually copying and pasting information into your browser's address bar and then into completing a "survey." If you complete the survey and follow instructions on several misleading dialog boxes, you would be giving away the keys to the kingdom and grant access to your friends list to the scammers.

To read Chris Boyd's May 9, 2010 blog post and see sample screenshots of the ruse in action, go here:

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/javascript-code-this-on-facebook.html

Upgrade to Exchange 2010 - Impact on Outlook Web Access Log On

On April 27, 2010, Ag IT completed our scheduled update to Exchange 2010. You will notice a slight change to the log on page for Outlook Web Access.

When you go to http://email.ag.psu.edu/, you will see a log on page for Outlook Web Access called Outlook Web App.

Please note that you will no longer need to use "ag\" in the User name field.

Once logged on, you will be redirected back to Outlook Web Access 2003. Full functionality of Outlook Web Access 2010 will be available when mailboxes are moved to Exchange 2010.

Note: Since you are redirected back to Outlook Web Access 2003 once you login, when you click Log Off, you will see the old OWA 2003 log on screen. This screen will not appear when your mailbox is moved to Exchange 2010. You will be receiving more information concerning the moving of your mailbox over the coming weeks.

You can find additional information on logging in to the new OWA in this How To:

http://agsci.psu.edu/it/how-to/access-outlook-web-access

Sun Releases Java(TM) 6 Update 20

As of April 15, 2010, the current version of Sun's Java client is Java(TM) 6 Update 20.

Action Required:
If you see the Java Update icon or "Java Update Available" balloon in the lower right corner of the screen, the latest version of Java should be ready to install. You can click the icon and follow its prompts to apply the update.

Note: We recommend that you do not install any offered "extras" like Carbonite Backup, Microsoft's Bing Toolbar, MSN Toolbar, or OpenOffice.org Installer. Please un-check these options if they appear.

Or, our How To Update Sun's Java Software has complete steps on how to install Java from either the "Java Update Available" message or how to download and install Java manually .

Fixed:
This release DOES contain fixes for security vulnerabilities. The full list of changes may be found here: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u20.html

FireFox 3.6.3 and Adobe Connect

It has been reported that Adobe Connect Meeting hosts who use the latest FireFox version 3.6.3 are not able to open the Meeting Information Page (from the Meeting menu choose Manage Meeting Information). The "Known Issues" documentation for FireFox indicates that there may be compatibility issues still to be resolved with FireFox 3.6.3 and Flash, along with other addins and plugins.

Their recommendation at this time is reinstall FireFox's Flash plug-in: http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/OSX.html#Flash

If this fails to remedy the issue, Windows users should switch to the use of Internet Explorer until the issue is addressed in a future release of FireFox.

Security updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat

Adobe shipped a critical security update to its Adobe products on April 13, 2010 that addresses a vulnerability that can cause the application to crash and allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Note: To determine the version of any of the above applications, open the Adobe program. Then from the Help menu choose About Adobe, (name of program). You should see the version listed in a new box. Then, you can click anywhere on this box to close it.

The current version of the Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader is version 9.3.2. If you have an earlier version of Adobe Acrobat Professional, version 8, Adobe has released an 8.2.2 update as well.

Action Required: Ag IT recommends that College of Ag Science faculty and staff update any Adobe products to the current version.

Note: Along with applying this update, we also recommend that you follow these steps to Secure Adobe Reader to Prevent Malware once you have your Adobe products updated!!

1. To update Adobe Reader 9 to the current version, follow our How To Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows.
   
   
2. If your computer has Adobe Acrobat Professional v8 or v9 installed as well, you should be able to use the built-in Updater program to update the software.
   a) From the Help menu choose Check for Updates.
   b) If updates were found, follow the on-screen steps to update.
   
   Note: If an update is downloaded, close Adobe before applying the update.
   Then re-open Adobe. Repeat steps a - b until no more updates are available.
   
   Note: If the automatic updater does not find the latest updates, and your version is not the most current one, go to the Acrobat for Windows downloads page. Scroll down to locate the update for your version. Download and install.
   
   Note: Earlier versions of Adobe Acrobat Professional (version 7 or lower) will not be patched.

If you have Adobe Reader version 8.x on your computer, you should remove this version and update to Adobe Reader 9.3. See our How To Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows.

The Adobe Security bulletin, Security Updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat, has additional information and links.

Sun Releases Java(TM) 6 Update 19

As of March 30, 2010, the current version of Sun's Java client is Java(TM) 6 Update 18.

Action Required:
If you see the Java Update icon or "Java Update Available" balloon in the lower right corner of the screen, the latest version of Java should be ready to install. You can click the icon and follow its prompts to apply the update.

Note: We recommend that you do not install any offered "extras" like Microsoft's Bing Toolbar, MSN Toolbar, or OpenOffice.org Installer. Please un-check these options if they appear.

Or, our How To Update Sun's Java Software has complete steps on how to install Java from either the "Java Update Available" message or how to download and install Java manually .

Fixed:
This release DOES contain fixes for security vulnerabilities. It also added seven new root certificates, removed three root certificates and five root certificates replaced with stronger signature algorithms from VeriSign, Thawte and GeoTrust. The full list of changes may be found here: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u19.html

QuickTime 7.6.6 Update Released

On March 30, 2010, an updated version of QuickTime was released (7.6.6). This update fixes an issue where opening a maliciously crafted image or movie files may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. In simple terms, malware could be installed on your computer. See more details here (Scroll down to the Security Updates section and click the link for QuickTime 7.6.6).

Action Required: Please see our How To Install QuickTime for Windows using the Standalone Installer for steps on updating QuickTime to the latest version.

QuickTime is installed on all Enterprise computers. Apple's QuickTime software allows your Enterprise computer to view graphics, videos, on-line video streams (ex: Candidate Interviews in the College), and more.

Massive Earthquake in Chile Leads to a Surge of Rogue Antivirus

Search engine results returned for terms such as “Chile Earthquake” are being poisoned to lead users to rogue antivirus web sites.

Learn more at Symantec's Security Response Blog.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/massive-earthquake-chile-leads-surge-rogue-antivirus

Security Updates Available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat v9

Adobe shipped a critical security update to its Adobe version 9 products on Feb 18, 2010 that patches a critical vulnerability that could cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system

Note: To determine the version of any of the above applications, open the Adobe program. Then from the Help menu choose About Adobe, (name of program). You should see the version listed in a new box. Then, you can click anywhere on this box to close it.

The current version of Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader is version 9.3.1.

Note: If you have Adobe Reader version 8.x on your computer, you should remove this version and update to Adobe Reader 9.3.1. See our How To Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows.

Action Required: Ag IT recommends that College of Ag Science faculty and staff update any Adobe version 9 products to the current version.

To apply these updates:

1. Close all other programs and then open your version of Adobe Reader or Acrobat Professional.
2. From the Help menu choose Check for Updates.
3. If updates were found, they should begin to download. If not, click the Download and Install Updates button.
4. The updater will prompt you to close the program before the update can be installed. Click Continue.
   
   Note: The Installation Progress window may be minimized to the lower right of the screen (in the notification tray). To see the Installation Progress window, right click on its white icon and choose Show Progress.
   
   
5. When the process completes, click Quit.
6. The Adobe Reader or or Acrobat Professional program will re-open.
7. From the Help menu choose Check for Updates. If no updates are available, click Quit.
8. Close Adobe Reader or or Acrobat Professional.

Note: Earlier versions of Adobe Acrobat Professional (version 6 or lower) will not be patched.

The Adobe Security bulletin, Security Updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat, has additional information and links.

Security Update Released for Adobe Flash Player

On Feb 11, 2010 Adobe released a Security advisory called Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player that announced the availability of an update to their Flash Player 10 software. The advisory states in part:

Summary
A critical vulnerability has been identified in Adobe Flash Player version 10.0.42.34 and earlier. This vulnerability could subvert the domain sandbox and make unauthorized cross-domain requests.

Affected software versions
Adobe Flash Player 10.0.42.34 and earlier versions

Severity rating
Adobe categorizes these as critical issues and recommends affected users patch their installations.

Action Required: Ag IT recommends that you update the Adobe Flash Player on your Enterprise machine to mitigate the effects of malicious SWF (Shockwave Flash) files that you might view in your web browser.

For steps, see our How To Install Updates to Adobe Flash Player, http://it.cas.psu.edu/1590.htm.

Note: If you use multiple browsers, perform the check for each browser you have installed on your computer.

Exchange 2010 - Active Directory Server Updates

UPDATE: Thursday, Feb 18, 2010, 11:50 PM

The first of our Active Directory servers (AGDC1) was updated successfully. This server will be monitored for issues as it enters use on Friday, Feb 19th. The remaining two Active Directory servers (AGDC2 and AGDC3) will be updated according to the original schedule below.

---

The College of Ag Sciences Exchange 2003 Server (managed by Ag IT) provides E-mail/Calendaring services to all Extension offices as well as a number of University Park departments. This server is nearing its end of life. As a result, Ag IT has started a project to upgrade to Exchange 2010, the latest version of this E-mail/Calendaring service. Before we can upgrade the Exchange server, we need to upgrade supporting services.

First, we need to upgrade our Active Directory environment. In brief, an "Active Directory" is nothing more than the behind the scenes database that stores information about the network and Windows based computers and objects such as users. In other words, we need to take the current Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory database and upgrade to Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Something like updating a Word file from Office 2003 to Office 2007.

Schedule for Active Directory Upgrade:

Thursday, February 18th 9:00p.m – 1:00 a.m.
Friday, February 19th 9:00p.m – 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, February 20th 9:00a.m – 4:00p.m

What to expect during the upgrade:

We did not see any major service interruptions during the upgrade of our Active Directory in our test environment. You may see short periods of time during the upgrade that you will be unable to log onto the network. This would include connecting remotely to shared drives and E-mail. Logon times did increase during the upgrade activity.

We will provide updated information at this Tech Alerts page. Please check here first if you are experiencing an issue.

If you have any questions or experience issues after the upgrade please contact support at http://it.cas.psu.edu/contactform.htm or call (814) 865-1229.

Sun Releases Java(TM) 6 Update 18

As of Jan 27, 2010, the current version of Sun's Java client is Java(TM) 6 Update 18.

Action Required:
If you see the Java Update icon or "Java Update Available" balloon in the lower right corner of the screen, the latest version of Java should be ready to install. You can click the icon and follow its prompts to apply the update.

Note: We recommend that you do not install any offered "extras" like Microsoft's Bing Toolbar, MSN Toolbar, or OpenOffice.org Installer. Please un-check these options if they appear.

Or, our How To Update Sun's Java Software has complete steps on how to install Java from either the "Java Update Available" message or how to download and install Java manually .

Fixed:
Improved performance and better startup of Java applications and applets are featured in this update. This release does not contain any new fixes for security vulnerabilities. The full list of changes may be found here: http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u18.html

Security updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat

Adobe shipped a critical security update to its Adobe products on Jan 12, 2010 that addresses a vulnerability that can cause the application to crash and allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Note: To determine the version of any of the above applications, open the Adobe program. Then from the Help menu choose About Adobe, (name of program). You should see the version listed in a new box. Then, you can click anywhere on this box to close it.

The current version of the Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader is version 9.3. If you have an earlier version of Adobe Acrobat Professional, version 8, Adobe has released an 8.2 update as well.

Action Required: Ag IT recommends that College of Ag Science faculty and staff update any Adobe products to their current version.

1. To update Adobe Reader 9 to the current version, follow our How To Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows.
   
   
2. If your computer has Adobe Acrobat Professional v8 or v9 installed as well, you should be able to use the built-in Updater program to update the software.
   a) From the Help menu choose Check for Updates.
   b) When the update is ready, click Install Now.
   c) Follow the rest of the prompts to install the update.
   
   Note: If the automatic updater does not find the latest updates, and your version is not the most current one, go to the Acrobat for Windows downloads page. Scroll down to locate the update for your version. Download and install.
   
   Note: Earlier versions of Adobe Acrobat Professional (version 7 or lower) will not be patched.

If you have Adobe Reader version 8.x on your computer, you should remove this version and update to Adobe Reader 9.3. See our How To Install and Configure Adobe Reader v9 for Windows.

The Adobe Security bulletin, Security Updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat, has additional information and links.

Adobe Connect Meeting layout issue - They may be missing

From PSU's ITS: (posted Nov 30)
Due to a recent bug with Adobe Connect, a small number of users have reported that their meeting layouts are missing. We are currently working with Adobe to identify the affected meetings.

More information and any updates on this alert is provided at http://alerts.its.psu.edu/alert-1321

Action Required: If you plan to use an Adobe Connect/Breeze meeting space in the upcoming days/weeks, confirm that your layouts do indeed exist. Do this the day BEFORE your actual meeting time since it will take you time to recreate the layout and possible re-upload your missing content.

Security Updates Available for Adobe Flash Player

On December 8, 2009 Adobe released a Security advisory called Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player that announced the availability of an update to their Flash Player 10 software. The advisory states in part:

Summary
Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Flash Player version 10.0.32.18 and earlier. These vulnerabilities could cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Affected software versions
Adobe Flash Player 10.0.32.18 and earlier versions

Severity rating
Adobe categorizes these as critical issues and recommends affected users patch their installations.

Action Required: Ag IT recommends that you update the Adobe Flash Player on your Enterprise machine to mitigate the effects of malicious SWF (Shockwave Flash) files that you might view in your web browser.

For steps, see our How To Install Updates to Adobe Flash Player, http://it.cas.psu.edu/1590.htm.

Note: If you use multiple browsers, perform the check for each browser you have installed on your computer.

QuickTime 7.6.5 Update Released

On November 19, 2009, an updated version of QuickTime was released (7.6.5).

This update is a Windows-only release that increases reliability and improves compatibility.

Unlike previous QuickTime updates that appear on the Apple security updates page, there is no entry on this web page for QuickTime 7.6.5.

Optional Update: Please see our How To Install QuickTime for Windows using the Standalone Installer for steps on updating QuickTime to the latest version.

QuickTime is installed on all Enterprise computers. Apple's QuickTime software allows your Enterprise computer to view graphics, videos, on-line video streams (ex: Candidate Interviews in the College), and more.

Update on Network issues - Resolved

As of 5:30 pm, all services have been restored. Some are slow to update but they should be up and totally functioning in the next few hours.

If you are still having issues, you may put in a Help Request.

Network Outages Continue

Network outages continue for Exchange mail and most file servers in the College. We are working on fixing the issue.