COLA ICR Scheduled Maintenance
CNS will be performing maintenance on the Customer On-Line Access (COLA) system during the morning of, Thursday, November 12 from 0700-0800.
Description: Maintenance will be conducted on the Customer On-Line Access (COLA) system, specifically related to the Interdepartmental Communications Request (ICR) tool.
Date: Thursday November 12
Maintenance Window: 0700-0800
Expected Outages: Expected outages should be in short durations.
COLA will be down for a matter of minutes, while the ICR tool should be down no longer than one hour.
Details: We will be upgrading the ICR tool in COLA.
Contact: Should you have any further questions or problems after 0800 on the 12th
please contact Virginia Tech 4Help at 540-231-4357.
Student Residence Hall PhoneMail Change
The Student Residence Hall PhoneMail is set to NOT accept messages by default. Students can set PhoneMail to accept messages by following the instructions available here. This change does not affect departmental PhoneMail.
Many VT-Wireless Certificates Are Expiring
VT-Wireless Personnal Certificates last one year from the date they were created. Several users on campus are going through the process of aquiring new certificates. If you are eligible for Virginia Tech's wireless service, you may obtain a new certificate at any time. You need not wait until the old one expires.
To continue to use the VT-Wireless network, you must:
If you have questions, please contact 4Help online at http://4help.vt.edu/ or by phone at 540-231-HELP (4357).
CNS Phishing Scam Reminder
Virginia Tech e-mail system users are often harassed by online phishing messages. Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft ("phishing" www.webopedia.com). Private information requested in phishing e-mail messages often includes user names, account passwords, credit card, social security, or bank account numbers.
Do Not Respond!
Although Virginia Tech continually warns e-mail system users about phishing scams, some users are still responding to phishing messages. The University does not monitor e-mail content and cannot determine whether e-mail system users are providing their credentials, but responding to these scams in any way can have a negative effect and is likely to increase the amount of spam received.
Never Share Your PID & Password
Virginia Tech will never request your PID and password. No matter how eloquent, realistic, or grammatically correct a note appears to be, if it requests your password or other personal information, it is fake. Do not respond to any e-mail messages requesting your Virginia Tech PID and password. Anyone who requests this information intends to use it in a malicious manner.
More E-Mail Security Tips
- Never send any passwords of any type via e-mail - don't be part of the problem!
- Change your PID password occasionally
- Don't use your VT PID password as a password for other acccounts, especially if you use your PID as your user/account name.
- Consider using an e-mail alias instead of your PID as your e-mail address. For more information, see Using E-mail Aliases With Your VT Mail Account.
To keep up-to-date with current phishing schemes (in email and social network sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others) take a look at http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/.
Student Wireless Access Sign-ups
To all incoming students:
You can save yourself a little time during orientation by activating your University Wireless Network account now using COLA (Customer On Line Access).
It's as easy as 1-2-3!
- 1. Log into COLA at https://cola.cns.vt.edu using your PID and the password associated with your PID.
- 2. Select "Activate Wireless Network" under "Actions" on the right hand side of the screen.
- 3. Click on "Activate" at the bottom of the screen.
It's just that simple! However, if you experience any difficulties, please stop by our office, located at 120 Student Services Building, Monday thru Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, when you are on campus for orientation. You can also contact 4HELP Computing Consultants (4help.vt.edu or 540-231-4357) for assistance. Remember that we are all here to help make this process as easy as 1-2-3.
Student Network Services
(Previously known as "Student Telecommunications Services")
CNS Website Change
The Communications Network Services (CNS) Site is currently undergoing renovations. If you have any trouble locating information on the site, please contact CNS at 540-231-6460 or via email at ASK-CNS@vt.edu. Additionally, please contact the CNS Webmaster if have links to the current CNS site, as many of these links will be changing.
