LITS Items

ALERT: Phishing attempts

By June 29th 2022

Reports of phishing attempts were brought to the attention of LITS today by several in the Allegheny community. The message includes a link that appeared to be going to Allegheny’s Web Help Desk, but actually directs the user to a malicious page.

This is a good reminder to be cautious when receiving unexpected emails.

If you get a message you think is phishing/spam:

  1. Do not click on links in the email or reply to the email.
  2. If you know the sender, reach out to the sender by other means (for example, via chat or phone, or in person) to confirm whether they did legitimately send the message.
  3. If you don’t recognize the sender, be especially cautious before taking any action.
  4. Report it as spam/phishing in Gmail.

Please do not hesitate to contact the InfoDesk at infodesk@allegheny.edu to report phishing attempts or obtain more information.

LITS always encourages safe account practices and would encourage you to visit the LITS website to change your password if you ever feel that your account credentials have been compromised.  In addition, 2-step verification provides an added layer of protection against this possibility.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Show Trimmed Content in Gmail

By April 26th 2022

Today’s Tech Tip was suggested by an anonymous user. Feel free to suggest topics for future Tech Tips you’d like to see!

Gmail has many useful features, including conversation threading, email scheduling, powerful searching, and labels. But sometimes a feature can cause confusion.

One such feature is the way that Gmail will trim the content of an email if it contains text you’ve already seen in the same conversation. This can be a big help in a conversation thread with lots of replies, as it keeps every email message from becoming long and unwieldy. But sometimes it’s helpful to see that information–especially since sometimes the trimmed content includes the sender’s signature.

If you feel like Gmail has trimmed a message you’d like to see more of, look for three dots at the end of the message. When you hover your mouse over them, a little popup will say “Show trimmed content.”

Screenshot showing the "Trimmed Content" mouseover in Gmail

Clicking on those three dots will expand the hidden content so you can see it in full.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Safety Check in Google Chrome

By April 12th 2022

Google Chrome now has a feature called “Safety check”, which can help make sure your browser and passwords are as secure as possible. To access the Safety check:

  1. At the top right, click More  Settings.
  2. Click Privacy and Security .
  3. Under Safety check click Check now.

The results will give you information on whether Chrome is up to date, if you have any saved passwords that you might want to double-check, whether standard or enhanced browsing protection is enabled, how well protected your browser is from potentially harmful extensions, and whether Chrome can detect any harmful software on your device.

Screenshot of sample Safety check results in Google Chrome

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Troubleshooting Login Issues

By April 5th 2022

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you get a “wrong username or password” error while trying to log into one of the many online services Allegheny Colleges provides. Here are some tips for troubleshooting:

  1. Make sure you don’t have Caps Lock turned on. It’s an easy mistake we’ve all made, and luckily the easiest one to fix.
  2. If you’re logged into a non-Allegheny Gmail account, some Allegheny College online services might fail to recognize your @allegheny.edu account login correctly. If you’re experiencing difficulties logging into services such as Canvas, Self Service, TMS, or WebAdvisor, LITS recommends signing out of all Gmail accounts (including your Allegheny account) before trying again:

    Screenshot of the "Sign out of all accounts" dialog box in Gmail

  3. If you’re using a Chromebook, make sure you’re logged into the Chromebook itself with your @allegheny.edu account. While it can be convenient to use your personal Gmail account to log into the Chromebook, this can sometimes cause issues with logging into Allegheny’s online services.
  4. If you’re using a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, your device might have stored an old password. Try deleting old passwords and then try logging in again.
  5. Sometimes your browser may also have an old password saved that’s interfering with your login. Remember to clear your browser history, and then try again.
  6. Occasionally, rebooting your device can resolve issues with logging in. Windows computers especially should be periodically restarted.
  7. You can try resetting your @allegheny.edu password. Bear in mind that doing this will reset the password for almost all online services provided for you by the College.
  8. If all else fails, remember you can always contact the InfoDesk or open a Web Help Desk ticket.

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KnowBe4 Training Email

By April 4th 2022

This morning, many Allegheny employees received an email notifying them that they have been added to training for a service called KnowBe4.

KnowBe4 is a service that LITS has adopted to give employees a tool to manage occasional spam and phishing attacks right from your Gmail inbox.

The email, sent from <do-not-reply@training.knowbe4.com>, is legitimate. However, this email was not intended to go out to employees just yet. Clicking on the link in the email for the training portal will give users a notice that it has not been configured yet.

For now, please disregard the email as LITS works on configuring KnowBe4 Training for campus employees.

For questions, please reach out to the InfoDesk.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Mention Another User in a Google Doc

By March 29th 2022

You can now mention another user in Google Docs within the document itself. Previously, this was only possible within a comment.
When another user is mentioned, you can hover over their name for information about them and suggested actions like adding that person to Contacts or reaching out via email. This is the same information you see today when hovering over a user’s name in other Google Workspace apps, such as Gmail or Calendar.
Note that mentioning someone in a document will not send them a notification. Additionally, if you mention a user who does not have access to the doc, you’ll receive a prompt with sharing suggestions. You can share the document at that time or decline and use the regular Docs sharing function when the time is right.
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Internet Outage

By March 7th 2022

The College’s Internet service provider will conduct scheduled maintenance between midnight tonight (March 7) and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 8. Users all across campus will experience loss of internet through both wired and wireless connections for extended periods during this window of time.

Our student network will be unavailable during the outage, as will printing. Other campus services such as Self Service, Web Help Desk, and WebAdvisor will also be affected. Most campus phones will also experience loss of service during this window of time.

During this outage, incoming calls will not be received and outgoing calls will not complete a connection. In case of emergency, Public Safety can be reached during the phone outage at 814-332-2314 instead of their usual number.

Please note that you must use a non-Allegheny College phone, such as a cell phone, to reach this number during any outage. Campus phones will not be able to complete any outgoing calls during the outage.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Your Library Account

By March 1st 2022

Your Allegheny account includes full access to all resources available through Pelletier Library and other libraries across campus. You can check your library account to view what you have checked out and when it’s due. You can also ask for renewals, check to see if you have any fines or fees, and see the status of any of your requests.

Screenshot of the tabs in the "My Library Account" page in AggreGator

If you’re logged into your library account, you can also track your searches in AggreGator. Our Interlibrary Loan system also uses your Allegheny account so you can request items from other libraries if you don’t find what you need in Allegheny College’s collections.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: New Gmail Layout

By February 15th 2022

Google will soon be rolling out an updated layout for Gmail, becoming more integrated with other Google services such as Chat, Spaces, and Meet.

Some users will begin to see the option to use the new layout, starting in mid-February of 2022. Over time, Google will roll out the option to more and more users.

For a limited time, users will be able to continue with or change back to the old layout, but Google plans to make the new layout the standard experience for everyone by summer 2022.

Learn more about the new Gmail layout:

Please reach out to the InfoDesk with any questions.