Faculty/Staff Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is my wireless connection unreliable?
2. What are viruses and how can I avoid them?
3. To change your network password:
4. To change your E-mail password:
5. How should my workstation be defragmented?
6. What is a browser?
7. I do not have a laptop but would like to use one in my class. Can i borrow one?
8. I am not scheduled to teach in a Technology Classroom but would like to use a LCD. What is available for me to use?
9. Where can I learn more about the technology resources and services available at Framingham State College?
10. How can I block senders from delivering e-mail to my account?
11. I received an e-mail with an attachment named winmail.dat (or ATT00008.dat). Why am I unable to open it?
12. I am unable to send e-mail because I am over my quota.
13. How do i setup a mail filter in Microsoft Outlook 2000?
14. How do I set an away/vacation message?
15. How do I access email from off campus?

1. Why is my wireless connection unreliable?

The laptop computers on campus are networked using radio frequency. Each laptop has a built-in antenna or transceiver (similar to a transistor radio) and receives its signal from an "access point". The greater the distance from the access point, the weaker the signal will become. Radio waves can not penetrate metal or water. If you are in a classroom and you can improve your signal by shifting your laptop, chances are you may have been behind a metal file cabinet. Wireless is a slower medium in comparison to ethernet. If you have the option, a wired connection will always be faster.

2. What are viruses and how can I avoid them?

A virus is a programming code that is designed to cause damage and is disguised to appear to be a normal program. Most viruses are also designed to clone themselves if they find a network environment where they can move onto other computers. The potential damage in these cases can be limited if the workstation is not operating under the control of an administrator. All campus workstations are equipped with Norton Anti-Virus software. The software, although installed locally, is managed by our server which receives updated cures or "definition files" on a live basis. The system is designed to automatically scan your workstation late at night. If you are in the habit of powering off your workstation you will not receive the scheduled virus protection. As a result, we recommend logging off your workstation or re-booting but NOT shutting down.

3. To change your network password:

• After you have logged onto your computer (the campus domain) press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
• Click the change password button.
• Type in your old password.
• Type in your new password (it is a good idea to make your password at least 5 characters long).
• Type the password again to confirm it. Click OK.
• Click OK to confirm the change, and then click Cancel to close the Windows Security Dialog Box.
• If you change your network password and are an Ingress user you will need to notify ITS so we can recreate your Ingress Client Installation.

• Open a web browser and connect to Web Mail: http:/sagan.frc.mass.edu
• Type in your e-mail user name (the name is what is listed before the @frc.mass.edu in your e-mail address)
• Type in your e-mail password (this is different from your network account password)
• Click on the Options button located on the toolbar.
• Click on Password.
• Type in your old password.
• Type in your new password (make your password at least 5 characters long.)
• Type your new password in again for confirmation. Click OK.
• Click Inbox to return to your e-mail.
• Remember that if you normally use Outlook or another mail client, you will have to update your e-mail program to reflect the changed password.
• Your system will prompt you to enter the correct password when it attempts to check for new mail with the expired password.

5. How should my workstation be defragmented?

As files are added and deleted from the computer's hard disk, the amount of continuous available space on the hard disk decreases. If a file saved to the hard disk is larger than the available block of space, the computer splits the file among sectors of the hard disk. When the files are "fragmented," the computer must search the hard disk each time the file is accessed to find all the file's parts, which slows the response time. Bigger hard drives and better operating systems (such as Win2000) have reduced the necessity to frequently run defragmentation programs If your system is performing poorly and you would like to run Disk Defragmenter, please call the Helpdesk and arrange for a technician to analyze your workstation.

6. What is a browser?

Short for Web Browser; a software application used to locate and display Web pages. The two most popular Web browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The main distinction between the two is the manner in which they interpret HTML and Java Script.

7. I do not have a laptop but would like to use one in my class. Can i borrow one?

Yes, you can borrow one from the Laptop Helpdesk. If you would like to borrow one for the semester, you will need to fill out a loan form that requires both your signature and your department chair’s signature. If you would like to borrow one for just a class period, you may sign one out with 24 hour advance notice.

8. I am not scheduled to teach in a Technology Classroom but would like to use a LCD. What is available for me to use?

Technology carts, which are mobile audio-visual carts that have an LCD projector, document camera, powered speaker, VCR/DVD player and audio cassette player, are located in each academic building. There is no laptop on the cart so you must provide your own. If you do not have a laptop, any faculty or staff member can temporarily sign one out from the Laptop Helpdesk with 24-hour advance notice.

The sign-out procedure for the technology carts is the same as for TVs and VCRs. Faculty members should contact the building secretary to sign up for a technology cart on a given day, at a certain time, and in a particular room. It is incumbent on the faculty member to get the key to the building storage area from the secretary, pick up the technology cart and roll it to the classroom. At the conclusion of the class, the faculty member must return the technology cart to the closet and the key to the building secretary.

Faculty wishing to use a technology cart after hours should contact the Faculty/Staff Helpdesk 24 hours in advance for set up and returns from the evening ITS staff.

9. Where can I learn more about the technology resources and services available at Framingham State College?

For more information about the technology resources and services, visit the Information Technology Services Technology Guides at http://www.framingham.edu/techguides/. There you will find an Employee Guide to Framingham State College Information Technology Services and a Faculty Guide to Framingham State College Instructional Technology

10. How can I block senders from delivering e-mail to my account?

• In Microsoft Outlook 2000:
• Right click on any unwanted message.
• Go to "Junk e-mail" on the menu that appears and select either the Add to Junk or Add to Adult Content Senders List.
• You can edit your Junk e-mail lists by clicking on the "organize" button located on your toolbar.
  From there you should select the following links:

1. Junk E-Mail
2. Click Here
3. Edit Junk Senders
   

11. I received an e-mail with an attachment named winmail.dat (or ATT00008.dat). Why am I unable to open it?

This problem is caused when the sender's mail client (i.e. Outlook) is configured to send mail in "rich text" or "html" format. It can be resolved by requesting that the senders re-configure their mail client to send mail in "plain text". The message should arrive in a legible format if it is sent following the changes outlined below.

In Microsoft Outlook 2000:

1. From the TOOLS menu select OPTIONS.
2. Select the "Mail Format" tab.
3. Set the drop down menu to plain text
4. Select "OK"
5. Compose a new message and send the document again.

12. I am unable to send e-mail because I am over my quota.

Users who are storing e-mail on the mail server (Sagan) have a 50MB limitation on space. This group includes people who use Web mail exclusively and/or people who use the IMAP protocol. To check the status of your server space log into Web mail and click on "options". There you will find out statistics on your mail space. This space can be managed by either deleting unnecessary e-mail or moving it to your Personal Folders which are local (residing on your computer not the mail server). Messages can be clicked-and-dragged to any of the mail boxes in your Personal Folders, as illustrated in the screen shot (on left). Keep in mind that attachments have a tendency to eat up most of your free space.

13. How do i setup a mail filter in Microsoft Outlook 2000?

These instructions apply to both POP and IMAP e-mail accounts.

1. Start Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard.
(Outlook uses the term "rules," but rules and filters are the same thing.)

3. When the Rules Wizard dialog box is displayed, click the New button.

4. For the type of rule you want to create, click Check messages when they arrive. Then, click Next to continue.

5. In the conditions section, scroll down the list and select with specific words in the subject.

6. In the rule description section, click the link for specific words.

7. When prompted to specify a word or phrase to search for in the subject, type #### and then click Add. Click OK to close the dialog box.

8. Click Next to continue.

9. When prompted on what to do with the message, check the box for move it to the specified folder.

10. In the rule description section, click the link for specified folder.

11. Click the New button to create a new folder.

12. In the Create New Folder dialog box, enter the following information:

• Name: type Filtered Spam (or any name you wish)
• Folder contains: ensure that Mail Items is selected.
• Select where to place the folder: click the folder under which you want the Filtered Spam folder to be created. If you are using IMAP you may want to create the Filtered Spam folder on the server.

13. Click OK to close the Create New Folder dialog box.

14. When asked if you would like a shortcut to this folder added to your Outlook Bar, click Yes to add the shortcut or click No to not add the shortcut.

15. Click OK to close the dialog box.

16. Click Next to continue.

17. No exceptions are necessary, so click Next to continue.

18. Enter a name for this rule, verify that the box for Turn on this rule is checked and click Finish.

19. The last screen of the Rules Wizard will be displayed.

• If you have multiple rules, you will probably want the spam rule to run first. Rules are run in order from top to bottom.
• Select the spam rule and then click the Move Up button to move the spam rule to the top of the list.
• If you only want to run this rule on new messages, click OK to exit the Rules Wizard.
• If you want to run this rule on selected folders, ensure that the spam rule is checked and click Run Now.

20. If you chose to run the spam rule now, the Run Rules Now dialog box will be displayed.

• Ensure that spam rule is checked.
• If you want to run the rule on a folder other than the one displayed in the Run in Folder field, click Browse to select a new folder.
• Select the type of message to which you want the rule to apply: all, read, or unread.
• Click Run Now to run the spam rule on the selected folder.

21. After the spam rule has run, click Close to close the dialog box.

22. Click OK to exit the Rules Wizard.

14. How do I set an away/vacation message?

A vacation message can only be setup via the webmail interface which can be found at http://sagan.frc.mass.edu. Log in to webmail and click on "Options". Under options click on "Vacation Message" and fill out the dates and the content of the message. Don't forget to check the box marked "enable".

15. How do I access email from off campus?

E-mail can be accessed from anywhere off-campus via the Internet at http://sagan.frc.mass.edu. If you also use Microsoft Outlook on campus, please make sure that the program is closed before accessing e-mail from off-campus.