Beginning this summer, a new cloud-based service powered by Office 365 will begin to replace Webmail, UF’s primary student email client. In addition to email, the student cloud service will provide expanded storage capacity, access to UF’s global email address list, and integrated calendaring. Upcoming additional features for the student cloud service include SkyDrive cloud storage, videoconferencing and messaging, file-sharing and file-collaboration capabilities through SharePoint, and browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote.

Your email address will remain the same, and the contents of your current Webmail mailbox will automatically migrate to your new cloud mailbox. The switch from Webmail to Office 365 is optional through fall 2013 and spring 2014. However, in summer 2014, students who haven’t opted in to cloud email will be automatically moved to Office 365, as the Webmail system will be retired.

For more information and updates on when to register to move to the student cloud service, visit the Student Cloud Services Website. For further questions or support, stop by the UF Computing Help Desk at the Hub, or call (352) 392-HELP [4357] or visit them online.

The 2013 State of UFIT was held on Friday, May 17, in Emerson Alumni Hall. This year’s event drew 207 attendees–including campus IT directors and leadership from UFHealth–making it the best-attended State of UFIT in its three-year history.

Vice President and CIO Elias Eldayrie’s presentation centered on three areas:

■ 2012 – Year in Review
■ Notable Achievements
■ Budget for 2013-2014

A video stream of the State of UFIT is now available. The video stream includes Elias’s PowerPoint presentation. The Operational Excellence presentation that opened the 2013 State of UFIT is also online.

Questions, comments, or suggestions for upcoming divisional events are welcomed.

SafeConnect checks—-the process that checks whether a Mobile device connecting to UF’s wireless network has required anti-virus and malware prevention software—are underway.
If you try to connect a device that doesn’t meet the requirements you are now blocked from the Wi-Fi.

Keeping devices updated protects your information as well as the university’s information (data), systems, and networks. In addition to anti-virus and malware checks, updated versions of Java and Flash are also required. Having trouble getting your device compliant? The UF Computing Help Desk is here to help you.

No one is immune to malware attacks. Powerful viruses are circulated in email attachments and embedded in popular videos found on social media sites. UFIT provides resources to learn how to better protect your personal devices and information. The Office of Information Security & Compliance Website has information on identity theft scams, safe Web surfing, and much more.

Faculty and staff can also register for a free Cyber Self-Defense class. The class, taught by UF information security incident management specialist Derrius Marlin, provides insight about the ways you may leave yourself vulnerable when online. Derrius’s class is fun and interactive! Topics include learning to recognize phishing attempts and how scammers can steal your personal information. The next Cyber Self-Defense class is June 24, 2pm-4pm, in the HRS Building. To register visit myUFL and navigate to:

Main Menu>My Self Service>Training and Development>Request Training Enrollment

UFIT’s Video & Collaboration Services team provides video production and streaming services for the university’s academic and administrative needs. These services mean that presentations, lectures, training, and special events become instantly available to the UF community. The videoconferencing services available allow people at multiple locations to meet in virtual conference rooms, which saves staff time and travel expenses while reducing UF’s carbon footprint.

On April 29, Operations Supervisor Brian Smith and IT Service Specialist Alison Kwiatkowski accepted the 2013 Prolific Use award on behalf of UFIT at Sonic Foundry’s Rich Media Impact Awards. The award is in recognition of the dramatic increase in demand for services at UF. Last year there were more than 4,000 videos recorded and over 500,000 streaming video views.

The Video & Collaboration Services team recently upgraded UF’s Mediasite server. A new, user-generated content portal will be rolled out this summer. The portal will allow faculty to record rich media presentations from their own desktop and upload videos in many popular formats. Visit the Video and Collaboration Services Web site to learn more or to submit a request for services.

On May 7, UF administrators, research faculty, Dell executives, and Gainesville community leaders gathered at the East Campus to celebrate the grand opening of the UF Data Center. The event marked the unveiling of one of the most powerful university-based supercomputers in the country: HiPerGator.

“The UF Data Center is home to the fastest supercomputer in Florida, enabling UF and the state to recruit the brightest scholars from around the world,” said Vice President and CIO Elias Eldayrie. “Our expanded computing capacity will reap global dividends scientifically and strengthen Florida as a hub for technology and innovation.”

HiPerGator will attract the best faculty and post-doc candidates because of the supercomputer’s ability to process ‘BIGDATA’. The computational speed of HiPerGator is an astounding 150 trillion calculations per second. What does this mean? Data is processed faster, allowing faculty to analyze research and move/share findings with top institutions around the world. Before HiPerGator, UF professor David Ostrov needed months to conduct drug tests. Now, computations can be done in just hours.

“HiPerGator can help drugs get from the computer to the clinic more quickly. We want to discover and deliver safe, effective therapies that protect or restore people’s health as soon as we can,” Ostrov said.

Check out the HiPerGator fact sheet to learn more about the first supercomputer in the state of Florida! Additional information is available on the UF Data Center Web page or by contacting UF Research Computing.

The Center for Instructional Training and Technology (CITT) Faculty Lab is available for hands-on assistance with a variety of needs. Visit the lab for help editing videos and photos for online or in-class use, converting VHS tapes to DVDs, and getting rid of piles of papers by scanning documents with the multi-document scanner.

Members of the CITT Faculty Lab staff are eager to help with teaching tools like PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere. Faculty can meet with a staff member for one-on-one assistance with video and photo editing, presentation design, and help creating course handouts. TAs may also access lab services. (A letter from their supervising faculty member stating the nature of their project is required.) Katherine Betz, senior educational technician, said the lab staffers offer comprehensive hands-on technical assistance for complicated programs.

“We’re always available for questions,” Betz said. “We don’t like to throw them into the deep end.”

The CITT lab is located in 2215 Turlington Hall. The lab is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. all summer, and no appointments necessary. Betz said faculty members frequently become self-sufficient after a few rounds of assistance. However, the staff is always present during lab hours to offer support. For more information, visit the CITT Faculty Lab Web page or call (352) 273-4902.

The Research Computing Matching Program, now in its third year, has $300,000 available in 2013 for faculty who participate in one of the system acquisitions by the High Performance Computing Center. The program effectively doubles the buying power to support research needs for faculty working with the HPC.

Participants of the program must be members of the UF faculty. Investments below $3,200 are not eligible. Matching funds may be applied to CPUs, GPUs, and storage in any combination.

The deadline to submit a proposal for 2013 funds is August 31, 2013.

Matching fund grants are at the discretion of the director of Research Computing, and investments above $25,000 may be matched at a lower rate. These decisions are made so that as many faculty as possible have the opportunity to benefit from the program. Faculty can find the template for submitting a proposal on the Proposals Web page.

More information about the Research Computing Matching Program is available online. Questions and proposals may be sent to Erik Deumens, Director of Research Computing, or Charles Taylor, Associate Director.

The Spring 2013 Peer2Peer event was packed on Thursday, April 18, with more than 80 people attending. UFIT hosts P2P twice a year during the spring and fall semesters, focusing each event on timely training sessions for the IT technical community.

The first speaker at the Spring P2P was IT Manager Kevin Hanson, who presented options on how to manage Apple devices on campus. “Just like Windows machines, there is a need on campus to manage Apple products and ensure UF’s security policies are followed,” he said. “This presentation lets people know what tools to use.”

Other presentations included updates from the Information Security & Compliance team, an overview of the UF Data Center, Shibboleth changes and features, and the Enterprise System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

“This is the only event I see on campus that serves to distribute info to a wide IT audience,” said Erik Schmidt, chair of the IT Training Committee. “Attendance is up, so it shows people are interested in the presentations.”

For those unable to attend this semester, the Spring P2P presentations are available online. Have a suggestion for a Fall 2013 P2P topic? Email the IT Training Committee.

Finals week is upon us! So are ‘SafeConnect’ checks — the process that assesses whether a device connecting to the UF wireless network has the required anti-virus and malware prevention software.

Also, starting in May, any device used to access the UF wireless network from the Main and Academic Health Center campuses will be checked for updated versions of Java, Flash, and Reader. Devices without updated programs will be denied network access. (The only access will be to a Website that provides remedies for outdated software.)

Why is UF doing this?

Checking for updated Java, Flash, and Reader strengthens the security environment and helps prevent malware-related attacks to UF’s network. Keeping your device updated protects your machine…as well as ensures your consistent connection to UF’s Wi-Fi.

Both UFIT and Housing and Residence Education IT recommend Microsoft Security Essentials be installed on Windows-based devices, and Avast be installed on Apple devices. On-campus residents can visit the DHNet SafeConnect site, or the DHNet@Home Help Desk on the Beaty East ground floor through 6 p.m. on Friday, May 3 for assistance. For anyone else needing help or information, call (352-392-HELP/4357) or visit (132 HUB) the UF Computing Help Desk.

UFIT will be updating ProofPoint, the email scanning tool in use with UF email systems.

The ProofPoint tool checks all emails that pass through the campus SMTP services. ProofPoint helps protect the university’s networks and computers by identifying and blocking spam and emails suspected of being potentially hazardous, such as an email with an unsafe attachment. The upgrade is being performed so UF will continue receiving technical support from the vendor–the current software is out of date. No email “downtime” is expected during this upgrade.

When ProofPoint identifies a suspicious email, the message is quarantined, and the recipient of the email is prompted to follow a link and either release the email to their inbox or confirm the email is spam and delete.

All faculty and staff with UF Exchange email accounts should check their current quarantined messages. Currently-quarantined emails must be released or deleted at the original URL before the upgrade to ProofPoint, scheduled for 6am on Tuesday May 7. All quarantined emails received after the upgrade will be located at http://spam.mail.ufl.edu.

For help retrieving quarantined email or any other questions related to the ProofPoint upgrade, visit (132 Hub) or contact the UF Computing Help Desk.