Spring has sprung and if you are at our Forest Grove Campus you’ve hopefully already seen some of our beautiful trees start to blossom. We continue to optimize our systems and want to remind everyone to reach out if they have questions. Specifically, this month we will help with some ideas on how to better search through Google Gmail. Please enjoy your Spring Break (either as a vacation or opportunity to get some great work done). As I always say, your UIS team is just a phone, email, or Zoom connection away!
Thank you and go Boxers!
Brandon Gatke
CIO / CISO
Shared Google Drive Content Can Be Exposed
We've recently discovered that some Pacific users' Google Drive content, unbeknownst to that content's owners, has been visible to other Pacific users in their search results. To see if you have content that has been made available in this way, and to see instructions on how to fix it, see our knowledgebase article and video tutorial and on the problem.
UIS Purchase Deadline is April 25
For purchases that UIS makes on behalf of other departments (e.g. for computers, Microsoft or Adobe software, audiovisual installation contracts and other purchases where UIS has a special relationship with a vendor) the final day to request such purchases is April 25. This is necessary to give UIS time to receive orders and reconcile purchases before the end of the financial year. To avoid delays, please request purchases through the Technology & Software Purchasing entry in our service catalog.
Google Ending Support for Less Secure Apps
To help keep your account secure, starting May 30, 2022, Google will no longer support the use of third-party apps or devices which ask you to sign in to your Google Account using username and password only (bypassing Duo). If an app or site doesn’t meet Google's security standards, Google may block its access to your account. Blocking sign-ins from these less secure apps helps keep your account safe from hackers. Please see the Google's announcement for further details.
UIS Project Request Changes
UIS has a new system for requesting technology projects, as well as pre-project planning inquiries. There are two phases of request. The first is when you have a need, idea or plan that may eventually become a project that involves technology. When you report it here, a project request coordinator can help you with next steps and connect you with subject matter experts who can help you make plans and find solutions. The second phase is an official UIS project request, which will be evaluated using our new project evaluation process. See our service catalog entry for UIS Projects/Partnerships/Integrations, in the services portal, for more.
Welcome Mathew Flaherty to the UIS Team
We're proud to welcome Mathew Flaherty to the UIS team. Mathew is our new Helpdesk Specialist and special liaison between the Helpdesk and the College of Optometry. Mathew is a 2019 alumni of the College of Business and while attending Pacific he worked as a student worker for the Helpdesk and Conferences and Events Support Services. We're happy to have Mathew join the team!
Invoice Scams Go Beyond Email
We've reported previously about phishing emails that claim to be an invoice to try to trick you into going to a link or opening a file. We've also seen a different type of invoice scam: actual invoices but for services that have never been asked for. These can come via email or as physical mail. The scammers hope that the person receiving the invoice, especially if it's for an obscure technical topic like "search engine optimization," will just pay it assuming it is something their department ordered. If you receive an invoice for a technology service and aren't sure whether it's legitimate, inquire about it with UIS.
Google Tip: Finding Emails For and By People
In the Boxer Mail web interface, a search of "from:XXXX" where XXXX is an email address or first or last name, will show you any* matching email in your mailbox. (Note that there is no space between "From:" and the search term.) For instance if you search "from:Jennifer" you will see every* email by a person with the first name Jennifer in your mailbox. Since not every email system reports first or last name correctly, a search by email address is the most accurate search you can do. Similarly, if you search for "to:XXXX" it will show all* emails in your mailbox that were either sent by you to that person, or sent to you and also to that person.
*The search results will not show emails in your Trash or Spam folders, but if there are matching emails in those folders you will see a link at the bottom of the search results reading "Some messages in Trash or Spam match your search. View messages."
Whenever you type a search query in Boxer Mail, some suggested search results will automatically pop up below your search. This is not a full listing of search results. To see the full list, be sure to use the Enter key after entering your search results.
For more information, see Google's article on Search operators you can use with Gmail.