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Technology Department
News April 2012
Goodbye PATH and Hello Dashboard
On July 16th, 2012, we will complete the transition from our PATH site to Dashboard for internal and external access to applications. Through the Dashboard, you can access some of the following applications as well as other applications you accessed through PATH:
- PARS
- Employee Self Service
- Network Drive
- OCG
- Infinite Campus
The Dashboard can be accessed from Inside or Outside the district at the following address, http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/dashboard/. The Dashboard is under continued development and we will be expanding the application list throughout the year. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Campus Technology Access
Campus Technology Access, also referred to as CTA, is internet access for staff and student owned devices (cell phones, iPads, and tablets) through the Parkway network.
Timeline – Initial rollout will be based on the completion of wireless infrastructure upgrades across the district.
Spring 2012 – Middle school staff will be given CTA access in the Spring of 2012.
Fall 2012 – Elementary and high school teachers will be given CTA access in the fall of 2012. We will also have guest wireless access district wide available in the fall of 2012.
Fall 2012 – We will pilot CTA with students at one middle school and one high school.
More CTA information can be found here.
Year End Email Purge and Outage, May 25th!
In order to keep GroupWise running at its best, routine maintenance or purges must be performed. On May 25th we will take down GroupWise for 12 hours to perform maintenance and the purge. In addition to the normal purge items listed below, we also include in the maintenance deleting all Calendar Events and all INBOX MAIL over 365 days old from every user’s mailbox. This will include mail that is moved to other folders in your cabinet.
GroupWise will be down for maintenance starting at 5:00pm on May 25th through 5:00am. Any email received during the outage will be delivered when the system is brought back up.
The following items are also performed when normal maintenance is run:
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All SENT ITEMS older than 2 months are deleted. This means any SENT ITEM mail stored in your cabinet, trash or document folder.
- All ATTACHMENTS over 500 KB will be deleted from your mailbox, cabinet, document folders, and trash.
You can Archive mail or calendar events to your computer's hard drive if you need to save these files. The directions are located below:
Please contact your CRS or the Technology Help Desk if you have any questions.
Network Password Reset and New Requirements
Over the summer we are implementing new password requirements for your network password. Your network password is used to log into your Parkway computer and a number of district applications. These new requirements are listed below:
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Your password must be a minimum of 8 characters with at least 1 non-alpha character, any position (ex. parkway1).
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You will not be able to use your previous 4 passwords.
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All network passwords will have to be reset annually.
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After 5 failed login attempts your network account will be locked. You can contact the Technolog Help Desk to have your account enabled.
This process will begin July 16th, 2012. After this date, when you log into the network, you will be prompted to reset your password. You can immediately change your password to meet the new requirements. If you choose to not reset your password at that time, you will have 3 more login attempts to change your password. After that, you will be forced to change it to the new standards.
Between now and July 16th, we will be sending out more information regarding the upcoming change and information on how to create strong passwords or passphrases.
Since “parkway1” was just used as an example, it is no longer considered a strong or secure password. The word, "parkway" + any number is not considered a secure password. Please read this page created by Dale Rapp on creating strong passwords, http://bit.ly/I9Y4vF.
If you have any questions please contact your building CRS or the Technology Help Desk at 314-415-8181 option 3 or email us at helpdesk@parkwayschools.net.
There has been a lot of information in the news regarding the FBI cutting off internet access to computers who have a specific type of malware. Below is a brief news story from STLToday.com.
Infected computers may lose Internet in July | ksdk.com http://on.ksdk.com/IjTsXs
We encourage all Parkway users to check both Parkway and personal computers for this specific malware at the following site: http://www.dns-ok.us/.
More detailed information can be found in a November FBI newsletter, http://1.usa.gov/IjUKSz.
Malware is typically installed when a user clicks on a malicious link on a webpage or in an email. Microsoft recommends the following steps to avoid malware:
"The best defense against spyware and other unwanted software is not to download it in the first place. Here are a few helpful tips that can protect you from downloading software you don't want:
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Only download programs from websites you trust. If you're not sure whether to trust a program you are considering downloading, enter the name of the program into your favorite search engine to see if anyone else has reported that it contains spyware.
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Read all security warnings, license agreements, and privacy statements associated with any software you download.
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Never click "Agree" or "OK" to close a window. Instead, click the red "x" in the corner of the window or press Alt + F4 on your keyboard to close a window.
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Be wary of popular "free" music and movie file-sharing programs, and be sure you understand all of the software packaged with those programs."
Please notify your CRS or the Technology Help Desk if you believe your Parkway Computer is infected.
Thank you,
Technology Help Desk
helpdesk@pkwy.k12.mo.us
314-415-8181
Cyber Security Resources
- StaySafeOnline.org, National Cyber Security Alliance
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Microsoft Safety and Security Center
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Google Security Center
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inobtr.org
Help Desk Twitter Updates