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Student Email Migration to O365

Exciting news! In May 2021 OIT will be migrating student Crimson email accounts from Google to Microsoft. We’re doing this for several reasons, to enhance cybersecurity, to provide a cohesive directory, to increase collaboration with tools like Microsoft Teams, and to better prepare UA students for the workforce. Visit our migration webpage for more information and answers to frequently asked questions like, “Will my email address stay the same?” Ok, we’ll go ahead and answer that one: yes.

Crimson Migration

Feb. 28 – Oracle Patch

OIT will install the quarterly Oracle patch on Sunday, Feb. 28, from 4:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. The following services will be unavailable during the installation period: Appworx, BITPRD, Banner, CEME, CENSUS, Crystal Report Server, Degree Works, myBama, OIRA, PCR360 and SiteFile. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the IT Service Desk at 205-348-5555 or itsd@ua.edu

LifeLock with Norton – Personal Machines Only

As a part of the benefits package offered to faculty and staff, The University of Alabama offers identity theft protection from LifeLock with Norton.

This service provides enrollees with identity protection and credit monitoring as well as Norton 360 antivirus software. Enrollees are permitted to use the Norton 360 antivirus software on personal machines only. University machines are protected with McAfee antivirus software which will not work effectively alongside Norton antivirus software.

If you have installed Norton 360 on a University machine please work with IT support in your area to remove the software. Additionally, Norton 360 customers may contact member services at 800-607-9174 for assistance removing the software. Dedicated Norton agents are available 8am-6pm CST for assistance.

Jan. 14 Network Outage – Rose, BDS, Edge

Thursday, Jan 14, 2021 parts of Rose Administration, Bryant-Denny Stadium and the Edge building experienced a network outage due to a faulty electrical breaker. The breaker was replaced with temporary equipment at 5pm on Jan. 14, and will need to be replaced with a permanent solution when equipment becomes available.

Blackboard Learn Database Upgrade

Blackboard Operations will be performing data center maintenance Friday, Dec. 25 from 1am – 5am. A 30-minute outage is expected for UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn at some point during the maintenance window.

Box Update – Jan. 7

On Thursday, Jan. 7 OIT will be enabling the new Box user interface for all UA students, faculty and staff. The new interface features a sleek design and provides users with the ability to better organize content. Learn more on the Box website.

Student Technology Needs

The Division of Student Life, Office of Information Technology and University Libraries are partnering to provide students with necessary technology tools. Hotspots, web cameras and laptops are available for lease to students in need. Students may submit a Technology Need Application on the Student Care and Well-Being website.

myBama Database Upgrade

myBama will be unavailable Saturday, Dec. 19 from 7am – 10am for a scheduled database upgrade. Blackboard Learn and Banner Self-Service features will remain available.

Student Phishing Alert – Dec. 1

Tuesday, Dec. 1, more than 600 UA students received a phishing email that featured the subject title “FIXED TERM (PART-TIME JOB)”.

This email is a scam, attempting to trick students into providing information for a fake job opportunity. A screenshot of the phishing message is below. If you received this message, please delete it. Take a moment to review the red flags of phishing to learn how to spot common phishing emails like these.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact OIT Security at 205-348-5555 or itsd@ua.edu.

student phishing

OIT to Implement Microsoft Safe Links

Monday, Nov. 30, OIT will implement Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection Safe Links for OIT-supported faculty and staff mailboxes across campus. Safe Links is a tool that can help users better detect malicious links and phishing emails. Safe Links scans incoming emails for malicious hyperlinks, and lets users know the real URL of a link. Learn more about Safe Links, and see examples of Safe Links on the OIT website.

OIT has tested Safe Links for several months with all OIT employees and customers from different divisions and departments across campus.