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Computer Technical Support
| Technical Support | ListServs |
| Getting technical support | What are they? How are they used? |
| Computer Software/Hardware Purchases | Network |
| Ordering Computer Software/Hardware | Managing your NetID |
| NU Technical Recommendations | Getting network jack installed |
| Backups | VPN – Wireless Connectivity |
| Setting up VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection when off-campus | |
| MIMPO | Computer Safety and Tips |
| Placing an order Microbiology ordering system | Computer Maintenance, Virus/Safety, and User Tips |
| Download Computer Safety .PDF | |
| Toner Ordering and Recycling | |
| How to order toner, and recycling old cartridges |
Technical Support can be obtained from Scott Jeffress. Scott is the Technical Support Consultant for the Department of Microbiology-Immunology. If you have questions concerning a purchase, have problems with your computer, phone, network connection, and/or audio-visual equipment, please contact Scott at; 312-503-1026, or email; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
Ordering Computer Software/Hardware
When considering the purchase of a computer, printer, audio-visual, and/or peripheral equipment contact; Scott Jeffress at 312-503-1026, or email; s-jeff@northwestern.edu. Scott can provide consulting services and locate the best pricing for your purchase.
All NU faculty, staff and students are eligible for special pricing provided through vendor relationships with NU. Please go to the following URL link and log onto the secured web page, using your netID and password.
http://aquavite.northwestern.edu/virtualstore/
When considering the purchase printer toner cartridges, the department has a contract with Genesis Technologies. Ordering toner through Genesis will save labs and the department money. If you have any questions concerning the toner program, please contact Scott Jeffress at 312-503-1026, or email; s-jeff@northwestern.edu. Scott can provide any information needed to order and recycle toner cartridges through Genesis.
How to Order Toner
A lab member calls Genesis at; 847-498-0606, ext. 2
A Genesis representative will answer and ask for a street address. For all ordering purposes, the address to use is; 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Next, the Genesis representative will ask what department you are ordering for. You will tell them Microbiology-Immunology.
Next, the Genesis representative will ask for a name. You will tell them your lab name (Example: Laimins Lab)
You will then tell the Genesis representative the type of printer you have and whether you need black, and/or color toner cartridges, and the number needed of each type of cartridge.
Once you have completed the above tasks, the Genesis representative will give you a confirmation number.
Now go to MIMPO, create a new order and enter in Genesis as the vendor, a quantity of the toner ordered, a description, the method of order...ie...phone, and the confirmation number provided to you by Genesis.
Then submit the order in MIMPO and you are done.
The toner will arrive the next day via Genesis' delivery service, with no delivery charges.
Recommended PC Hardware - http://www.it.northwestern.edu/hardware/pc/index.html
Recommended Mac Hardware - http://www.it.northwestern.edu/hardware/mac/index.html
Other Hardware Recommendations - http://www.it.northwestern.edu/hardware/other/index.html
Person Digital Assistants (PDAs) - http://www.it.northwestern.edu/hardware/pda/standard.html
ListServs – What are they? How are they used?
Microbiology-Immunology has numerous listservs for Faculty, Staff and Student use. A listserv is an electronic mailing list that offers an efficient way to disseminate information to large numbers of people using a single e-mail address. Due to "outside-hackers" sending unsolicited emails to the listservs, they are now locked. This means only members of the actual listservs can send messages to the group.
The available Microbiology-Immunology listservs are:
Mim-all@listserv.it.northwestern.edu -
Sends email to all Microbiology-Immunology primary and secondary faculty, staff and students.
Mim-faculty@listserv.it.northwestern.edu -
Sends email to all Microbiology-Immunology primary faculty.
Mim-secondary@listserv.it.northwestern.edu -
Sends email to all Microbiology-Immunology secondary faculty.
Mim-students@listserv.it.northwestern.edu -
Sends email to Microbiology-Immunology students.
Mim-postdocs@listserv.it.northwestern.edu -
Sends email to Microbiology-Immunology Post Doc fellows.
You can click on the above links and they will automatically open a new message within your email application. They can also be copied and pasted within you email application’s address book. To learn more information about listservs, and how to obtain a listserv for your group mailing purposes, click on the following URL link to access NU’s main listserv web page. http://www.it.northwestern.edu/listserv/index.html. If you have further questions about listservs, please contact Scott Jeffress at 312-503-1026, or send email to: s-jeff@northwestern.edu
Managing your NetID (Network Identification) account, Email and password
Information about your netID, Email and password can be obtained from the following URL link. Click on the link to access NU’s web site. http://www.it.northwestern.edu/accounts/index.html. If you have questions, concerns and/or problems with your netID, Email or password, you can contact Scott Jeffress at; 312-503-1026, or send an email to; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
Northwestern offers network services to all faculty, staff and students. To learn more about what NU network services are available, click on the following URL link; http://www.it.northwestern.edu/network/index.html. If you have questions, concerns and/or problems with your netID, Email or password, you can contact Scott Jeffress at; 312-503-1026, or send an email to; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
Daily Backups – What are they? Why do we perform them?
Microbiology-Immunology provides daily backup of data on faculty, staff and student computers.
This service is provided as a courtesy for the computer users within the department, and is provided as a voluntary service to the end-user.
If you choose to have the data on your computer backed up on a daily basis, please contact Scott Jeffress at; 312-503-1026, or send an email to; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
The backups are handled by a Dell server, with over 2Tb of data storage capacity. The software used for the backups is Retrospect Remote with Proactive activity. Proactive activity allows the server to actively seek out Retrospect clients on individual computers. When the server finds a client on the network that hasn’t been backed up for the last 24-hours, it will initiate a backup sequence and start backing up the data of the user’s computer. If the server sees that it is the first time the computer is to be backed up, the backup software will back up all the data on the user’s computer. After the initial backup, future backups will only back up the data that has changed.
NOTE: In order for Retrospect server to access the hard drive data on the user’s computer, the computer must be on, the Retrospect Client software on the user’s computer needs to be on, the hard drive must not be set to sleep, and/or computer set to sleep (applies to Macs and PC using managed power services). If the drive is asleep, and/or “spun-down”, the Retrospect server has no way of waking the machine and backing up the software. Also, laptop users must be plugged into the network (using "hard-wire" cable), and not on the wireless network, in order for a backup to begin. Retrospect is set up to only look for the department's wired network. The wireless network is configured for ease-of-use, web surfing, and mail, not for transferring large amounts of data.
Placing an order with Mircobiology-Immunology electronic ordering system
All Lab order purchases are made using the Microbiology-Immunology purchase order system. The purchase ordering system can be accessed using any web browser. Designated lab individuals have been granted access to ordering. To learn who has access to the ordering system in your lab, please contact Jimmy in the business office – j-gurchek@northwestern.edu.
Access to the ordering system is done using your netID and password.
If you have any questions concerning use of the PO system, contact Iris Santana at 312-503-1423, or send an email to; n-santana@northwestern.edu. If you have technical questions, or problems accessing the web page, contact Scott Jeffress at; 312-503-1026, or send an email to; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
Click on the following URL link to access the MIMPO web site: https://mim.po.northwestern.edu
Setting up VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection when off-campus
In order to access university resources while working from home, or while traveling, you will need to know how to connect to the university using a VPN (virtual private network) client. The VPN client allows the user to connect to university resources while off-campus. The client tells the university network that you are an authorized network user. VPN clients can be downloaded from NU’s VPN web page. You will need your netID and password when using the VPN client.
A VPN client is also needed when using a laptop wirelessly on an official NU wireless access point. Wireless access is available in many NU buildings. You need a VPN client, your netID and password in order to access NU’s wireless network. NU wireless network is available locally in the Atrium of the Tarry-Morton-Searle Blds. (Superior Street Atrium)
Click on the following URL link to access the NU VPN web page, and download a VPN client, and learn more about VPN, how to use it, and what it is for. - http://www.it.northwestern.edu/oncampus/vpn/.
If you have questions, concerns and/or problems with your VPN client, you can contact Scott Jeffress at; 312-503-1026, or send an email to; s-jeff@northwestern.edu.
Computer Maintenance, Virus/Safety and User Tips
Desktop
The computer Desktop is actually a file that grows and decreases in size, depending on your activities on the computer. Storing files and folders on the Desktop is a dangerous practice. If actual files and folders are stored on the Desktop, and the Desktop file fails, then you stand the chance of losing anything that was stored on the Desktop. Through the use of diagnostic and repair utilities, these items on the Desktop can sometime be recovered and repaired. But, in some cases, the files are lost forever. Therefore, it is important to store actual files and folders within the hard drive (C:/). If you have files and/or folders that you access frequently, you can make Aliases (Mac) or Shortcuts (PC) of the items and place the Aliases/Shortcuts on the Desktop, instead of the actual items. Aliases/Shortcuts are small files (about 15k) that point to the actual item and open it.
You can create Aliases on a Mac by highlighting the item you wish to alias, then using a keyboard shortcut (Apple Key + L), or go to the “File Menu” and select “Make Alias.”
On a PC, you highlight the item you wish to make a Shortcut of, then right-click with your mouse. A contextual dialog menu will appear. Within the menu select “Create Shortcut.”
Password
It is important to keep your netID password to yourself, and not share it with anyone. This netID password identifies you as an authorized user on the NU networks. Having your netID fall into the hands of someone who is malicious, can cause you great trouble with accessing the NU network. Therefore, it is important to keep your password secret.
You password should consist of at least 6 (six) characters. Within the six characters, your password should contain one of the acceptable symbols, other than numbers and letters. This will keep your password secure, and make it harder for anyone to copy your password and use it with your netID. You should get into the habit of changing your netID password every three months. This will provide more security for your netID and you. NUIT sends out notices when it is time for you to change your password.
To find out more about changing your password, updating your directory listing, activating/deactivating your email while on vacations, mail forwarding, etc., and policies about your netID, please go to the following URL link: http://snap.it.northwestern.edu
OS and Virus Protection
The best way to prevent your machine from becoming infected with a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or any other type of malicious code, is to always keep your machines as updated as possible. You should have your machine automatically set to check for OS (Operating System, ie…Windows 2000, WinXP, Mac OS 10.X.X) updates on a regular basis. If your machine is not set to do it automatically, or you choose not to have this feature turned on, then you should get into a regular schedule of checking for OS updates. You should also run Norton’s Live Update on a frequent schedule. Running this utility will update your machine’s virus definition file. This file is comprised of a listing of all known virus strings. Keeping this file updated will help reduce the potential for infection.
Macintosh
To update your Mac OS software, open the System Preferences (found under the Blue Apple Menu).
Locate the Software Update icon. Double-click on it to open it.
Select the “Check Now” button to run the Software Update application. The software will contact Apple’s OS download site and scan to see if any new updates are available for your machine.
You can set Software Update to check for new software automatically by selecting the “Check for Updates” feature within the dialog window. Once you have checked this feature, you can determine how often you want the software to go out and check for update. It can be daily, weekly or monthly. Weekly seems to be the best selection.
Windows PC
To update your Window software, go to the Start Menu and open the Control Panels.
Locate the Automatic Updates icon within the Control Panels.
Double-click on the icon to open it. Select the appropriate setting for when you want the software to go out and look for updates, and how you want it to react when it finds new updates.
Windows allows you to download the software and install it, notifies you when software updates are available for download, and/or downloads and installs the OS updates automatically.
When using email, it is important to closely monitor what is being delivered to your machine. Mail that is not from the NU community, or from someone you know, should be directed to the “Junk” mailbox. Adjusting the “Junk” mailbox properties can be done by accessing the “Settings Menu” from within Eudora. At the left-hand side of the dialog window, locate the “Junk” icon and select it. The dialog window will change at the right, showing you a slide-bar and different features concerning junk mail. You can make adjustments to these settings to filter unwanted and/or unsolicited email to the “Junk” mailbox.
If you receive an email message from someone you don’t know, please do not open it or any associated attachments. Hackers frequently distribute malicious code through e-mail attachments. If you are unsure about a specific email, the best practice is to just throw it away…un-opened. Please do not forward any email that you are unsure of. This can cause an epidemic of malicious code coursing through the NU network community…just throw it away.
Web Browser
There are a few things that you can do to help protect yourself while “surfing” the web. They are; clear your history directory frequently, clear your web cache, and delete Cookies. You can do this by opening the Preferences and/or Internet Options (depending on which browser you are using). Within this dialog window, you can clear out your web disk cache, delete your history (web sites you have visited), and/or delete your Cookies.
The last item in the above paragraph is important. You want to get into a regular schedule of performing the above tasks, especially with deleting Cookies. Cookies are little identifiers for specific web sites. These little applets gather information about your web surfing activities, etc., and send this information back to the site that has downloaded a Cookie to your computer. You can shut this feature down within the Preferences/Internet Options, but you will loose the ability to access some sites. It is best to leave this service on within the browser, and getting into the habit of deleting the Cookies on a regular basis. I would recommend deleting your cache and Cookies at least every other week. This will prevent you from unknowingly infecting your machines, and/or the NU network. Not only do Cookies track user information and activities, they are also being used as vehicles by hackers to deliver malicious code to unsuspecting users. Deleting Cookies will also help in reducing the number of “pop-ups” that appear when browsing. In a lot of browser applications, you can turn this feature off, to block all pop-ups. Depending on which browser application you are using, would determine whether you can turn pop-ups off. It is best to have the latest version of the browser application you are using.
Disk Maintenance
It is important to keep you hard disk up to optimal performance. On a PC, you will want to run Defrag.exe on a regular basis. This will de-fragment your hard drive and help your machine run smoother. On a Mac, you will want to go to your Utilities Folder, found within the Applications Folder, and open Disk Utilities. Launch this application. This application will analyze you hard drive and accounts for any problems, and give you the option to fix, and/or repair any bad items.
You should get into the habit of running these pieces of software of a regular basis. I would recommend running the software at least once a month. While running these softwares, please make sure no other applications are running. This will impair the application and prevent it from making necessary changes and/or repairs. Plan on time. These applications take some time to run and perform their tasks, because they are performing intensive inspections of your entire hard drive. With hard drives much larger than a few years ago, times to run diagnostic softwares has increased. Plan on doing something else while the diagnostic software does its work.
Any questions, concerns and/or comments, please send them to; Scott Jeffress, s-jeff@northwestern.edu, Ph. 312-503-1026
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©2008 Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Microbiology-Immunology.
All rights reserved. Last updated: July 2008