Technology Bulletin March 2023

Welcome to the Technology Bulletin, a periodic email from Engineering Technical Services (ETS) that highlights important technology news, helpful reminders, and resources impacting the FSE community.

Overleaf Software Now Available for Free

Overleaf is an online platform that allows researchers to share and edit research documents with ease. Through a collaboration of the Fulton Schools of Engineering, Knowledge Enterprise, W.P. Carey School of Business, and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, funding was secured to provide Overleaf access to all ASU researchers, faculty, staff, and students, making ASU the only institution in Arizona with such an agreement. You can access the new Overleaf subscription immediately. If you already have an Overleaf account, learn how to combine your account with the ASU subscription.

Classroom Technology Upgrades

We are excited to announce the completion of the technology upgrades in several FSE classrooms. Look for an improved hybrid learning experience supported by a new digital projector, a ceiling-mounted microphone, and two cameras in the upgraded rooms. We have also installed monitors at the rear of each classroom for improved visibility for those in the classroom, and online. Thank you to our desktop support teams and vendors for completing these upgrades quickly!

LastPass Security Breach

After two security breaches in August and November of 2022, we no longer recommend using the LastPass application to manage your passwords. ASU is currently researching an enterprise alternative. Meanwhile, several other password managers are available, including: Bitwarden, 1Password,  Dashlane,  Keeper, and KeePass. If you used LastPass during last year’s breaches, we encourage you to individually update each of your account passwords. Read the latest information in our LastPass Security Update.

New Security Training for 2023

Please complete the latest Information Security training. By completing this training, you are helping to minimize security risks at ASU, and you are fulfilling your annual requirement. Additionally, your completion is used as a metric for our annual risk assessment. The training covers four concepts: how to avoid phishing attacks, how to keep your physical devices secure, how to improve your passwords, and how to protect against identity theft. The course takes 30 minutes to complete and includes activities and quizzes. To pass, you must achieve a combined score of 85% or higher.
 
Information Security Training

GitHub for FSE Academics

We are currently exploring the possibility of expanding the use of ASU’s Enterprise GitHub Program for academic purposes here in FSE. This would provide students and faculty with several additional benefits, such as unlimited full-featured private repositories, project management tools, security controls, and the convenience of ASURITE single sign-on. To gauge the level of interest in this initiative, we are asking actively-teaching FSE faculty to complete the GitHub Questionnaire. Your participation is valuable and will inform our exploration process. Thank you.

New Version of TAS Coming Soon

The feedback and testing phase of the Time and Attendance Support (TAS) refresh is complete. The new release is scheduled to launch Sunday, March 26. It includes exciting new features such as enhanced reports, mobile support, and an option to add events to your calendar. We would like to express our gratitude to all users who participated in the testing and provided feedback. Your collaboration and support were instrumental in ensuring a successful and timely rollout.

Tips and Tricks

Password Strategies 

When creating a new password, longer is usually better. We recommend that you compose your password using a sentence of 5 or more words, which is referred to as a passphrase. Separate each word by a space or special character. Make sure that your passphrase is easy to remember and avoid difficult spellings. Additionally, do not reuse passwords for more than one account. If available, use two-factor authentication, which incorporates your mobile device as a secondary identifier. Some account providers allow you to login with your Google, Apple, or Microsoft account. We recommend this approach because it saves you from creating another password.