Information Technology

Slow IT Support Today: May 23rd, 2018

Despite dozens of warnings from IT over the past several years over 70 Amherst users gave away their account credentials last night to an obviously bogus phishing email. As it takes upwards of 30 minutes to get someone back into their account with a new password, etc. we will be unable to respond as quickly as we would like to help requests from the community. We appreciate your understanding.

If you still can't distinguish between a legitimate communication and a bogus one, just do the following:

1. BE SUSPICOUS OF ANY EMAIL THAT CONTAINS A LINK

2. IF A LINK IN AN EMAIL TAKES YOU TO A LOGIN PAGE, DO NOT LOG IN! EVER!!

 

Details of the latest phishing attack.

Don't Get Phished: How to Identify a Legitimate Amherst College Login Page

Windows Updates Breaks Remote Desktop Connections

A recent Windows update may be keeping you from connecting to various college servers via RDP. 

 

How to Fix RDP

Highlights

Megan Motyka Accepts Phishing Reporting Prize

Employee Winner Megan Motyka Receives Her iPad

Every semester one employee and one student are randomly selected from everyone who forwards at least one phishing email to phishing@amherst.edu and are awarded a new Apple iPad. For Spring 2018, the employee winner is Megan Motyka (second from left) of Dining Services. Congratualtions Megan!

You could win too
Senior Antonella Dominguez With Her Apple iPad

Senior Wins Apple iPad

Antonella Dominguez '18 (far right) is the Spring 2018 student winner of an Apple iPad for helping the campus combat phishing attacks. Many thanks, Antonella

You could win too
Cartoon shark chasing three cartoon fish

Don't Get Phished

Rather than giving hackers access to your email, course websites, and ACDATA information, take five minutes to learn the difference between a legitimate Amherst login page and a phony one.

KNOW WHERE YOU ARE LOGGING IN
Microsoft Office 365 logo

MS Office for Your Devices

Get Microsoft Office for free on up to five of your personally-owned devices including Windows and Mac computers and iOS devices.

Get Office

Information for Seniors and Recent Alums

When do you lose your email account? What email address should you use on applications and resumes? How do you get transcripts? Learn what you need to know about your technology life after Amherst.

Information for Seniors and Recent Alums

Malicious Email with subject "{SPAM?} URGENT: Emergency Situation on Campus"

Late yesterday afternoon an email with the subject line "{SPAM?} URGENT: Emergency Situation on Campus" was sent to about 1000 mailboxes on campus. The From address was "Courtney Flint <Courtney.Flint@usu.edu>."

The fact that the message was labelled SPAM and had a non-Amherst sending address were huge indicators that the message was fake, as was the URL of the login screen presented to you if you persisted in clicking the VIEW link in the message. Despite this, a couple of dozen members of the community ignored the obvious and gave up their Amherst usernames and passwords to the scammers, thus compromising their accounts and the security of College systems. 

If you can't log into your Amherst account this morning please come to the Help Desk on the first floor of Seeley Mudd and we will help you set a new password for your account.

If at this late date you still do not know how to tell whether you are on a real Amherst login page or a fake one, please read Don't Get Phished: How to Know Where you are Loggin in.

Please contact AskIT with any questions.

Don't Get Phished!

You Have a Faculty message from your Department

Scammers are sending phishing emails to Amherst mailboxes with the above subject line. Do not respond to the message or click the SIGN IN HERE link. If you clicked the link and entered your Amherst username and password, change your Amherst password immediately. If you can't change your password, contact AskIT.

 

For more information

Adobe License Fix

If you are getting a login prompt or a prompt to enter a license number when you open an Adobe product on an IT-supplied computer, see the information on the link below.

Instructions to Apply the Adobe License Fix