MAY, 2005

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VoIP - not your grandfather's telephone system

Internet Voice, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is an emerging technology that enables telephone calls to travel over a broadband Internet connection rather than the traditional telephone network. Homeowners can subscribe to this new form of telephone service through programs such as Time Warner's Road Runner service.  The greatest advantage in VoIP telephony is the cost savings on long-distance calls.  Most VoIP providers charge a single monthly fee that covers all calls regardless of their duration or distance.

Potential customers should be aware that since VoIP services are using the internet to transport calls, there may be reliability limitations and / or security concerns for the user.  As with many emergent technologies, many legal and technical details are still being worked out in the public arena.  Early adopters of VoIP services should stay on top of developments in the industry.

Beginning on April 11th, 2005 the SUNY Oneonta Telecommunications department began transporting outbound regional and long distance traffic via VoIP. Unlike the service provided to homeowners, the college’s VoIP calls are transported over a secure and private network, thus insuring a high level of quality and security.  We are one of the first SUNY schools to use this technology with a goal of substantial cost savings for the College on its telecommunications services.

You can find out more about IP Telephony at http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm.

Antispam efforts moving forward

The administrators of the College email system are testing a spam-filtering product from Sophos, the same company that provides the standard antivirus software for the campus.  This software, known as Pure Message, acts to tag spam messages with the string ** Possible SPAM **. 

Before using PureMessage, approximately 40% of incoming mail was filtered out as SPAM using a product called Spamhaus SBL (Spam Blocking List), 1% was generated by computer viruses, and 59% is being delivered to users' mailboxes.

With PureMessage, 49% of incoming mail is being filtered out, 3% is being tagged as possible SPAM, and 1% is being removed as viral - for a total of 53% now being blocked or tagged and only 47% is making it into users mailboxes as legitimate mail.

With PureMessage we also have better reporting tools and precise measurement of the numbers of emails being filtered. We process approximately 50,000 incoming emails a day and with PureMessage that means another 4500 emails are being rejected as SPAM and another 1500 are being tagged as possible spam over and above what we were able to intercept with SpamHaus. These numbers may grow as we adjust the PureMessage SPAM rating thresholds.

In the unlikely event that a legitimate email gets tagged as spam, please forward that message to NotSpam@oneonta.edu, and our mail administrators will put the sending addresses on a "safe sender" list so that they will not be misidentified in the future.
 

Firewalling the campus network

Over the last two years our network management staff has been working on the implementation of a firewall for the campus network.  An uncontrolled computer network can be a chaotic, Wild West kind of environment, with many kinds of applications sending traffic all over the network as well as to and from the wider internet.  Viruses, spyware and peer-to-peer applications, if not carefully managed, would bring our network down almost instantly.  A firewall is a device that regulates the flow of network traffic from place to place, allowing some kinds of traffic and prohibiting others.  Combined with the creation of Virtual Local Area Networks (breaking up the campus network into isolatable segments) and the use of a PacketShaper (a device that allocates space on the network to specific applications), the firewall does an excellent and essential job of regulating and protecting the network.

The installation of the firewall is not a one-time project like remodeling a kitchen.   It is more like a custom car - requiring frequent fine-tuning and occasional modifications.  From time to time our network administrators will make adjustments and upgrades to the firewall, and discussions are ongoing to make the campus network as secure as possible while promoting and preserving the academic mission of the college.  Oneonta is a leader among SUNY campuses in providing high-quality network and computer services as well as protecting information services from the many threats that exist and new threats that appear on a weekly basis.

MarketScore - definitely not a free lunch

Computer users are strongly advised to avoid the use of any third-party software that claims to act as a "web accelerator", at home or at work.  Many of these purported "accelerators" gather information about your interests.  One in particular, known as MarketScore, collects information about your web browsing habits and in the process defeats any security you may have for your information.  Once you sign up for MarketScore, the company routes all of your web traffic through their servers.  They could potentially gain access to your passwords, web bank transactions, bill payments and other confidential information.

MarketScore constitutes such a threat to the College's information confidentiality policies that it is treated like a computer virus;  it is scanned for on the campus network and when found, the machine that has it installed must be quarantined until MarketScore can be removed.

These third-party add-ons often come attached to "free" computer games or web browser applications.  Be alert for requests to install additional software - when in doubt, don't install it.
 

What our staff is up to

Andy Martin

Andrew is a Programming Support Team Leader and Functional Area Liaison to Accounting, Budget, Career Development, Finance and Administration, Financial Aid, Library, and Telecommunications.

Andy is the father of two and will be celebrating his 10 year wedding anniversary this summer.  He will be teaching a section of Intro to Computing Technology CSCI 100 in the fall semester.

Andy is also an avid Noon Ball player in the Chase Gym, and he enjoys spending time with the family, fishing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling.

If you have a question for Computer and Telecommunication Services about:

Computer Problems or Related Issues - Call the Information Technology Help Desk at     436-4567

Telephone Service or Problems - Call the Office of Telecommunications at 436-2577

Directory Assistance - call 436-3500

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