In recent years, technological advances have continued to change the way people live day to day. Social media, virtual reality, cell phones and the internet are all common uses in modern society, so it comes as no surprise that these advances impact the collegiate experience.
“Being able to understand Blackboard is one of the biggest [problems] students have,” said Shyanna Reyes, WSU Vancouver TechTalk host.
With the start of another school year, students and faculty alike at WSU Vancouver are faced with the challenge of navigating the various WSU online systems. With a myriad of university related websites, usernames, password changes and interface updates the conversation has shifted to questioning just how helpful all of these sites really are.
The TechTalk event covers the usage of the websites Blackboard and my.WSU and focuses on helping students become familiar with the more heavily used online platforms at WSU. Blackboard is a third party service used throughout the WSU school system to submit assignments, participate in online discussions and check grades for classes (amongst other things). For official grades and transcript requests, my.WSU.com is the place to look; it is also a resource where students can schedule advising appointments, pay tuition and register for classes.
Reyes highlighted some services students seem to be unaware of, specifically computer labs and loaner laptops. Computer labs campus-wide are available for student use when not occupied by a class. Students may work on the computers by signing in with their network ID and password, the same information used to log into blackboard. The WSU Vancouver library also offers loaner laptops to students.
According to the WSU Vancouver Information Technology website, “Each laptop may be checked out for 3 or 7 days and comes with a power cable, mouse and carrying case.” It is encouraged that students plan ahead as the laptops “are available on a first-come, first-serve basis,” according to the IT statement on the website.
Students new to WSU may not be aware of the school’s spam email issue. Chuck Harrsch, an information security officer for WSU Vancouver said the emails have been, “far more direct and clear,” and added how “the language is a lot cleaner. I had to do a double take on some of the messages coming through.”
Phishing emails are designed to look like official correspondence communication, some containing links designed to steal the user’s information and the ability to take over the user’s account. After clicking the link, users are brought to a form asking for their WSU login information. Harrsch explained how once the hacker receives the information from the user clicking the link, “they can then craft any type of email and then send it out to individuals in that user’s address book.”
However, a compromised address book is not the only potential issue. “It is a bad habit of individuals to use that same password and usually the same user ID on other services that they have,” Harrsch said.
Netflix, bank accounts and gmail accounts are also at risk for potential phishing attacks, according to Harrsch. He recommended using different passwords for every account, as well as using a password manager.
“In the past, these types of exploits were just individuals having fun. Now it’s usually controlled by large criminal organizations,” Harrsch said.
The intent of these groups may not always be known, but the concepts behind their sophisticated methods are nothing new. The first phishing attacks came about in the early 90s, according to a Cornell University study.
There are potential solutions for phishing emails, like spam email filters, but over the years the best filtering option is to learn how to recognize a potentially malicious email. WSU Vancouver offers assistance to students who might struggle with the obstacle that various technologies have seem to become. Technology support is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Classroom Building rm. 225.