Lent Term - March 2012

Make big savings with Microsoft discounts for LSE students

Did you know that as an LSE student, you can purchase Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7 at a discounted price? You can purchase these products directly from Microsoft or from an authorised education reseller.

Some suppliers, including Apple, also provide discount on IT hardware such as laptops for those that are employed in the Education sector.

Visit lse.ac.uk/itservices/purchases/personal for more information.

The annual licence key for the Sophos Anti-Virus software that staff and students can download free from the LSE website expires annually. This means that new credentials have to added to your computer to ensure it remains protected

If you find that the Sophos icon on your desktop alerts you that it was not successfully updated you may need to follow some simple instructions to update your anti-virus. Visit out guide at lse.ac.uk/itservices/sophos

If you experience any problems following these instructions please contact thelaptop surgery.

IT Services at Re-orientation 2012

At the start of term, the Re-orientation event took place to help students settle back in and reacquaint themselves with the services provided at LSE. IT Services staff and student advisors were on hand to answer some of those niggling IT questions you had about our services. Please remember that we are still here if you need any IT assistance. If you need help with IT facilities we provide contact the IT Help Desk in the Library or your Residence IT Advisor (residence IT facilities only). If it’s a problem with your laptop, mobile phone or tablet you can come along to the Laptop Surgery where our team will be happy to help. Alternatively we have an array of self-help guides for you to browse.

As well as giving away some LSE IT Services brandies goodies (microfiber cloths, usb drives and folders) at the event, we offered a £10 Amazon voucher to one of the lucky students who signed up for this ITS termly newsletter. Congratulations to Andrew Hendrix, a masters student from International Relations who won.

How safe is your LSE password?

Passwords are in many cases the only way in which we can protect access to your computer and your data. It is therefore important that your password is strong. It needs to be hard to crack electronically, hard to guess (especially if someone knows you), and changed periodically (just in case someone did get to know your password over time – computer viruses containing key loggers are more common than most people imagine).

Later this year, students will have to change their passwords to something more secure, so why not do it now? We have a simple guide to choosing a password.

Try to pick a password that means a lot to you but nothing to someone else. If you are opting to use dates, don't pick your birthday or any date that can be easily guessed or you publish online (e.g. on Facebook). Don't use dictionary words.

And finally, don't share your password with anyone else. Ever. IT Services will never ask you to reveal your password and neither should anyone else!

Scam emails

You may have noticed a number of scam emails making their way into your inbox this year. We manage to block most of these emails before they reach you but we are now receiving more than ever. These scammers have already led a number of LSE staff and students to divulge their LSE account details. Most scams are derivations of a theme and hopefully, by seeing some known scams, you'll be able to notice more quickly that an email isn't legitimate.

Most scam emails have the same characteristics:

• They ask you for personal details
• Come from an unusual email address
• The email address that appears when replying does not match the address that the original email comes from
• There are spelling mistakes

If you get something that matches this, or you are unsure, please contact us.

There are some simple things that you can do to protect yourself:

• Never reply to these emails, even to tell them that you know they're a scam. It only means you'll get more spam
• Never give your password to anyone by email
• Report these emails to us.
  

Going away this Easter vacation? Remember that you can access your email and LSE files remotely

If you’re going away this Easter but still need to access your LSE email and files, there’s a variety of ways you can do this depending on your device, where you are and your personal preferences. The (see below) mimics the LSE Windows 7 desktop and gives you quick and easy access to your email, email archive, H: space, Office 2010 and other specialist software applications. The VPN is another option to access your LSE email and H: space. If you’re out and about with your mobile phone or tablet, you can sync it with your LSE email.

Visit our Using your own computer and mobile device pages for more information.

Access the LSE desktop – from anywhere in the world

The LSE remote desktop offers students access to their email, H: space and other network drives, allowing them to work in a window that resembles the School desktop.

The remote desktop provides access to Office 2010 applications and has a Windows 7 look and feel.

You can log on to the LSE remote desktop from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.

The current list of applications installed include:

remote desktop page

Getting help with IT

Student IT Help Desk: Contact the IT Help Desk for support regarding School-owned hardware and software on the LSE network, network and email account issues, and general IT enquires.

Laptop Surgery: Drop-in service. Free advice and hands-on assistance with problems connecting to LSE resources from your own laptop or mobile device.

VITA (Virtual IT Assistance): Double click on the VITA icon on the desktop of a campus PC to get real-time assistance from a Help Desk Advisor during opening hours.

Online guides and FAQs: A series of online guides and FAQs that offer advice and quick solutions to the most frequently asked IT-related questions.

IT support for students with disabilities: One-to-one support is available to any student who wishes to become familiar with assistive technologies and software.