Computer Science Department - Systems Staff Monthly Update

WREQ Problem Reporting Tool
Email work requests and problem reports are now being entered into the WREQ problem reporting tool. You should submit all requests directly to WREQ and not to ntadmin or individual staff members. You can do this by posting a request through the web interface at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~wreq or simply by sending your email request to WREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu.

WREQ Problem Reporting Tool for Administrative Requests
There is now a WREQ Problem Reporting Tool for work requests directed to the department secretarial and administrative staff. You should use secwreq for requests such as requisitions, course room changes, office supplies, grade changes, room reservations, payroll issues, tuition issues, reimbursements and building management needs. This tool can be found at http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~secwreq or you can send mail to SECWREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu.

New/Upgraded Software for Solaris
Tcl/tk has been upgraded to version 8.4.10. Tcl/tk includes the Tool Command Language and a set of software widgets for building GUIs. The primary source of information on the net is www.tcl.tk.
The R software package for statistical computing and graphics has been installed in /usr/shareware. Access it using /usr/shareware/bin/R. Information about this package is available at http://cran.r-project.org.
"Automake" has been upgraded. Automake is a tool for automatically generating `Makefile.in' files compliant with the GNU Coding Standards. More information is available at http://www.gnu.org/software/automake.
"Autoconf" has been upgraded. Autoconf is an extensible package of m4 macros that produce shell scripts to automatically configure software source code packages. More information is available at http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf.
Bzip2 and libbzip2 have been upgraded. Bip2 is a freely available, patent free, high-quality data compressor. For more information see http://www.bzip.org.
The libtool software package has been upgraded. Libtool is a generic brary support script. The program has a consistent, portable interface to make using shared libraries simpler. Libtool supports building static libraries on all platforms. It also includes GNU libltdl, the libtool dynamic loader library.
Perl version 5.8.7 has been installed. You can access it with /usr/local/bin/perl5.8.7. At the present time the default perl will
remain version 5.6.1, but in the future the two will be reversed. For more information about perl see http://www.perl.org.

New/Upgraded Software on MS Windows

Translabs
The Translab machines for the undergraduate students are being upgraded to Dell's Optiplex GX280s with 17" Flat Panels. GX280s are Pentium 4 based, with 3.4GHz clock, 40GB hard drives and 1GB of main memory. The machines are running Windows XP Professional, with service Pack 2.
The translab machine room 2126 has been completed and is already available to summer students for use. Room 2114 will also be available shortly. Most of the application softwares are being upgraded to their latest releases.

PCs and Laptops
All of the MSDNAA disks in the library should now be working correctly. MSDNAA is the program through which students and faculty can get free software from Microsoft. For more information please see the FAQ at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~faq/MSDNAA.html.
Anyone running Windows 2003 server's in their labs should consider applying Service Pack 1 + Security configuration wizard (after backing up important data).
Please refer to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/servicepacks/ sp1/default.mspx for additional information.
In addition if you are running Veritas Backup Exec in your lab please see the CERT advisory at http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA05-180A.html. Please send mail to NTADMIN at cs dot sunysb dot edu if you have any questions about either of
these tasks.

Virus/Spyware/Security
The Computing Center sent out this warning to all campus members: "There have been reports of email circulating recently on campus that ask you to go to a Web site to confirm your user name and password. Some of these emails are reportedely being sent by the Notes Security Team or the SUNYSB.EDU Team etc. and "appear" to come from the systems administrators of various systems and are examples of "phishing" attempts. Please rest assured that the actual systems
administrators of the various systems will never ask you to confirm your username and password via Web links sent by email or send you an attachment via email that you have to open and run on your computer to verify your identity.

Please do not divulge sensitive personal information (passwords, credit card information, Social Security number, date of birth, Solar PIN etc.) on Web sites that you go to by simply clicking on Web links from emails. Other common phishing attempts purport to be from other trusted sources (banks, credit unions, etc.). Passwords and other sensitive information can be used to steal your identity. In addition to identity theft, sensitive personal information can be used to compromise University systems. It is more than likely that emails with such links are forged and are fraudulent attempts to steal your account and personal information. There have recently been a large number of such attempts.

If you feel you have compromised your Notes password, please change it immediately. Instructions to change your Notes Password are available at the Client Support Web site (Stony Brook Home Page, For Faculty and Staff, Computing and Tech, Client Support, Account/Password issues)."

Be advised that the Computer Science Systems Staff will never send you mail from any generic systems account (staff, admin, etc) and will never instruct you to open an attachment or visit a website to confirm personal data nor any other suspicious sounding activity. We also do not send generic emails advising you that your account has been closed or deactivated. If you receive any such mail and are unsure what to do please forward the mail to root so we can confirm it is a forgery.

HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM or MAKE A WORK REQUEST
First you should check the FAQ pages at:
http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~faq

There is also a link to an index of FAQs.
If the answer to your question is not in the faq's you should use wreq to report the problem or make a work request.
There is a short blurb on wreq in the faq area (search by index).
Wreq lives at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~wreq/

You can also send email to:WREQ at cs dot sunysb dot edu from your dept account, or campus account. The subject line should cover what is wrong or what you need. The body of the email can supply any details.

Your problem report must include the following information for us to be able to help you promptly:

The room you are working in, either room number or lab name.
The name of the host you are working on (hostname command in Unix, machine number in 1239, the number written on the bookshelf by your desk in the student offices).
The sequence of things you did just prior to having the problem as best you recollect.
The exact text of any error message you see on the screen, or a complete description of the problem that occured.

Please report problems promptly as they occur so they can be investigated under the same set of conditions as far as possible. When in doubt, feel free to send email to: