Announcements >>

TAMU Email Scheduled Outage on Saturday, November 21, 2009. >

TAMU Email (Neo) will be unavailable for all users on Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. for software upgrades. Planned maintenance includes moving to Zimbra version 5.020 and installing operating system upgrades to the mail servers. This planned TAMU Email outage should have no effect on other email services provided by colleges, departments, or campus organizations. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Help Desk Central at 979.845.8300 or helpdesk@tamu.edu.

New Student Payment / Billing System is now online. >

Students may now give their parents access to the new TouchNet Student Payment / Billing system. The student will: Log into https://howdy.tamu.edu/ Click on the "My Record Fall 09" tab Locate the "Billing Services" box Click on the "My account" link After the new window appears, log in with NetID and password Click on the "Authorized Users" tab at the top of the page Click on "Add an Authorized User" button at the bottom of the page Enter an email address for the parent/guardian Select the information the parent/guardian will have access to Click on the "Add User" button Read and accept the agreement Click on "Continue" The newly authorized user will receive an email message containing the appropriate URL for accessing the system along with the username and a password which will need to be changed after logging into the system.  The parent/guardian will also need to fill in additional profile information the first time he/she logs in. There are videos available with instructions for using the new system in the "Billing Services" box in the "My Record Fall 09" tab in https://howdy.tamu.edu/.

New Phishing Email Scam >

Yet another Phishing Email Scam! From: Webmail Service Help Desk [mailto:borje.stalberg@comhem.se] Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 7:22 AM To: undisclosed-recipients: Subject: Webmail Account Verification! Your mailbox quota has been exceeded the storage limit which is 20GB as set by your administrator, you are currently running on 20.9GB. You may not be able to send or receive new mails until you re-validate your mailbox. To re-activate your account please click the link below: http://app.formassembly.com/forms/view/104307 Thanks and we are sorry for the inconviniences Localhost.

New Phishing Email Scam >

There is another email phishing scam going around which relates to adding to one's quota.  The message is similar to this: IT Department Service,   You have exceeded the limit of your mailbox set by your IT Department service. And you will be having problems in sending and recieving new emails. To prevent this, you will have to contact the IT Department Service by email with your:   Current username:{    } and Password:{    } to help increase your storage limit.   IT Department Service E-mail: it.dept@administrativos.com   Failure to do this, will result in limited access to your mailbox.   Regards, IT Department Service. Please be mindful that TAMU-IT will NEVER ask you for your password.  If you see a message like this in your inbox please feel free to delete it :-).

Yet another Phishing Scam >

The message below was received on Sunday, April 19, 2009 and is obviously a phishing scam.  As always, please do NOT reply to a message like this one.  TAMU and CIS will NEVER ask you for a password. Subject: Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit Dear Webmail User, This message was sent automatically by a program on Webmail which periodically checks the size of inboxes, where new messages are received. Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit set by your administrator. You may not be able to send or receive new mail until your mailbox size is increased by your system administrator. To help us re-set your SPACE on our database prior to maintain your INBOX,you must contact your system administrator by replying this e-mail and enter your: Current Username: { } and Password: { } to increase your storage limit. You will continue to receive this warning message periodically if your inbox size continues to exceed its size limit or between 18 and 20 MB. Thank you for your cooperation. System Administrator. This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and contains information that is privileged and confidential.

Upcoming Virus Threat: Conficker >

Many computer security experts are warning of a virus threat named Conficker which activates on April 1st.  While this may sound like a crude April Fool’s joke, it’s anything but because the virus can spread fast and disable security and anti-virus programs you already have on your computer. We recommend that you take the following steps to reduce your chance of infection: Make sure Windows is updated using the Windows Update feature.  In particular, check for the update KB958644 by opening Control Panel (using Classic View) and double clicking on “Add or Remove Programs” (in Windows XP) or “Programs and Features” (in Vista).  Then select “Show updates” (XP) or “View installed updates” (Vista) and make sure you have an entry similar to Security Update for Windows (KB958644).  If you don’t have the update, you can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx and manually install it. Make sure your anti-virus program is up to date with the latest virus definitions. You may also run the online scan from Microsoft found at http://safety.live.com/.  You will need to use Internet Explorer and accept the installation of an ActiveX control to start the scan. For further information, please see the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, Sophos Conficker Cleanup Tool, or The Tech Herald.

Phishing attempt: "Urgent news, please read" >

The following e-mail message was not sent by Texas A&M University.  Please disregard and delete the message if you receive it.   Subject: Urgent news, please read Please read our latest news using the link below: http://www.tamu-edu.net/1/?email Regards, Texas A&M University

New Hallmark E-Card email virus on TAMU campus. >

There is a new email virus circulating on the TAMU campus which has a Subject line of: You have received A Hallmark E-Card. The message body says:        You have recieved A Hallmark E-Card.    Hello! You have recieved a Hallmark E-Card from your friend. To see it, check the attachment. There's something special about that E-Card feeling. We invite you to make a friend's day and send one. Hope to see you soon, Your friends at Hallmark Your privacy is our priority. Click the "Privacy and Security" link at the bottom of this E-mail to view our policy.    Hallmark.com | Privacy & Security | Customer Service | Store Locator   There is a zip file attachment with the message.  Please DO NOT click on the zip file attachment!  This virus will look in your email address book and send itself to every email address there.  If you see a message like this, delete it from your Inbox.

Wireless Unavailable On MSC 2nd Floor >

In order to accomodate a professional conference hosted in the MSC, standard TAMULink (WPA) wireless will be unavailable in the MSC 2nd floor area until February 6, 2009.  Wireless connections should continue to be available in other areas of the MSC and throughout campus.

Scheduled Outage: January 3, 2009 >

From http://problem.tamu.edu/: A power outage for the CIS Machine Room is scheduled for Saturday, January 3, 2009. The outage is required in order to connect a new 225 KVA UPS to the computer room power grid. We expect all systems and services in the Machine Room to be powered off before 08:00, and be unavailable during the duration of the maintenance. Power may not be restored until the evening. In addition to CIS services located in the machine room (such as MVS, email.tamu.edu, DNS1, etc.), many local and Wide Area (WAN) networks will be unavailable due to the power outage. These locations include but may not be limited to the local networks 707 Texas Avenue, Crystal Park Plaza, Eastmark, 1701 Rock Prairie, Connally, GERG, 200 Greens Prairie Road, SAGO, TEEX Prodigene, Riverside Campus, TAES Annex, Eller O&M Building, Teague Building VPN, Campus Wireless, Door Controller, all CSCE Machine Room Networks, Help Desk Central, Wells Fargo Building, and 700 University Drive. WAN sites affected include Ag Lubbock, Ag Beaumont, Ag Brownwood, Ag Fort Stockton, TAMU CDLR, Caldwell ISD, Hearne ISD, Mumford ISD, Snook ISD, Lexington ISD, AALT NG911, and TPBEN. Help Desk Central will be able to offer only limited support during this outage.  Calls for network- or service-based support, like password resets and campus connectivity issues, will necessary be delayed until after the outage.