Guest Wireless Account Changes

Archive for 2018

Guest Wireless Account Changes

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Faculty/Staff,

For the past few months, we have been working to transition our guest wireless accounts (also called AGOT accounts) away from the TCU Guest network and over to the eduroam network.  Please, see the details below about how to connect TCU Guest accounts to the eduroam network in the future. 

How does this affect me?

All current faculty and staff have the ability to create 1-3 day credentials for up to 7 guests per week to connect to the Internet. You can create these credentials in myTCU by choosing the Technology tile and then selecting Create Guest Wireless Account on the left. 

You will continue to have this capability, but we would like for you to begin instructing your guests to use the eduroam Wi-Fi network with these credentials instead of the TCU Guest network. TCU Guest will remain in the air for the time being, but will eventually be removed in the future.

Why are we doing this?

In order to make onboarding guest devices easier, we are moving to a new system that simplifies the connection process. Here are the connection instructions for eduroam so you can include those with the information that you pass along to your guest users.  https://it.tcu.edu/eduroam/ If you have any questions, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance

Announcing TCU Registered

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Students,

We have heard overwhelmingly positive feedback about the move from the old StuWireless network to eduroam at the beginning of the fall semester and are excited that it streamlined your onboarding experience. 

As part of a multiphased plan to enhance the student wireless experience, we are launching a new network today called TCU Registered.  This network is designed to allow your non-WPA2 Enterprise devices to connect to the wireless network.  These are items like the Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, Google Home, and a series of other tools. 

If you are interested in connecting these devices to the new TCU Registered network or are thinking about buying one of these devices during the holidays then make sure to review the information below.

How does this affect me?

Until now you were only able to connect your Mac, Windows, iOS, or Android devices to the wireless network via eduroam.  With the launch of TCU Registered, you will now be able to connect your other equipment to the Internet as well. 

Note: The TCU Registered network is less secure than the eduroam network and you should NOT attempt to move your current devices on eduroam over to this new location. Additionally, devices that are registered on this network that do not comply with policy will be removed without notice. 

How do I register a device on TCU Registered?

Unlike the eduroam network, TCU Registered requires you to register the mac address of the device in myTCU before it can be connected.  Here are some instructions to begin the process:

Registration Page in myTCU: 

Login to myTCU -> Technology Tile -> TCU Network Registration

Add the mac address of your device to this page and then wait three minutes before attempting to connect it to the TCU Registered network. 

Registration Instructions:

In many cases, getting the information that you need to complete the registration can be a complicated process.  We recommend that you visit the IT FrogPad in the Library with your device to get connected to the TCU Registered network. 

Smart TVs, Wired Streaming Devices, and Game Consoles:

While these devices can be connected to the new TCU Registered network, we recommend that you leave them connected to the wired network for a better video streaming and gameplay experience.  If you have any questions, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance.

Apple Releases Mojave

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Faculty/Staff,

Apple recently released its newest operating system named macOS Mojave for their laptop and desktop computers. While the update to Mojave (10.14) isn’t expected to be dramatic, IT still needs to test key applications and University systems before installing it on campus machines. 

While macOS Mojave is free, we have a process in place that will keep you from being able to perform the upgrade on your TCU machine until we have completed the testing phase.  This is a standard process and one that applies to all releases of new operating systems (including Windows machines).

We already have some common software applications that have reported issues with Mojave and it is customary for vendors to take 60 to 90 days to fully support the release of a new operating system.

Once the new operating system has been tested for compatibility/security and approved by the macOS Committee, then we will send out a message about how to upgrade your machine.  As long as we don’t find any problems, we expect this upgrade to be available by early next year.  Warning:  If you decide to upgrade your personal machine at home to Mojave, you could run into compatibility issues until the campus is ready to support this new operating system. 

Prepare for Classroom Changes

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Faculty,

We hope that you had an enjoyable summer break and recognize that we are only a few short weeks away from the beginning of the semester.  The IT Instructional Support team has been hard at work upgrading classrooms and we wanted to share a few things that will help you prepare for the first day of class. 

Big Changes This Summer

  • The Instructional Support team is in the middle of replacing 90+ projectors in classrooms across the campus with brighter more advanced models. 
  • The reshoring in Reed, Tucker, and Sid Richardson will bring about some amazing new changes to your classroom experience.
  • A new network called eduroam is now available for your personally owned devices to connect to the network.  Not only is the connection process very easy, it also gives you the ability to connect while visiting thousands of other campuses across the globe. 

How do I get help in a classroom?

This semester you are going to see a huge difference in how we plan to help make your classroom experience a positive one.  Our team is currently doing classroom checks to ensure that all technical issues have been resolved before you walk in the door on the first day of class. 

You should also see new signage in each of the classrooms giving you a quick reminder on who to call when you run into trouble while in front of your students.  We can generally have someone in your classroom within five to ten minutes of the report of a classroom emergency.  Use the number below when you need technical assistance in a classroom. 

***817-257-7121***

Visit Your Classroom Before the First Day of Class After August 13th, most of the reshoring and projector replacement work in the classrooms will be complete.  The best advice that we can give is to visit your classrooms before the first day of school.  We are always willing to offer one-on-one or group orientation sessions if you would like to learn more about the equipment that you are using.  Just give us a call or fill out a request on our website to get something scheduled.

New Network for Students

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Students,

We are excited to announce that we have deployed a new wireless network called eduroam that will replace StuWireless before the beginning of the fall semester.  If you are on campus this summer, we want you to begin moving your devices over to this new network so you can take advantage of a series of new benefits. 

Please, follow the instructions in the link below to connect your devices and note that you will be required to login with your TCU email address as your username.

Benefits to eduroam over StuWireless

Here are some of the new benefits to using the eduroam network:

  • The new system is extremely easy to connect to and has a minimized onboarding process. 
  • The eudroam network doesn’t require you to register your devices in order to get online. 
  • Moving to eduroam means that you will no longer have a limit on the number of devices that you can connect to the wireless network.
  • This new network is also available in hundreds of institutions across the world which will provide you with guest Internet access when you visit other eduroam campuses. See the section below for more details. 

What is eduroam?

The eduroam (education roaming) network is a secure, world-wide roaming wireless service that many campuses have deployed to their networks. Once you are connected to eduroam, you can enjoy secure Wi-Fi access at TCU, and other participating educational institutions across the globe.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance.

New Two Factor Authentication Feature

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Faculty/Staff,

We are excited to announce that a secondary email option has been added to the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) system in myTCU.  This means that you now have the ability to send a PIN number to a personal non-TCU email address which will make it much easier if you are traveling abroad or don’t have access to your cell phone.  Follow the instructions below to take advantage of this new feature. 

How do I add a secondary email for 2FA?

Adding a secondary email can be done by logging into myTCU and clicking the following options:

  1. Click My Employee Center
  2. Click Personal Details
  3. Click Contact Details
  4. Click the + button above the Email Address section

Warning:  You must connect to myTCU from on-campus or you will have to use the 2FA tool from off-campus in order to gain access to these pages. Please, reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk if you have questions about this process.

2018 DR Test

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Faculty/Staff/Students,

Over the course of the past three years we have done extensive work to prepare the campus for a true technology disaster. Last year we did a disaster recovery test in June and are now ready to run a similar trial this summer. Please, make note of the dates below so you can plan accordingly.

The 2018 Disaster Recovery Test will start on Sunday, June 10th and end at 5pm on Monday, June 11th.

What does this mean for you?

With all of the recent changes we don’t expect this test to impact the campus greatly. All of TCU’s primary systems have backup servers running in our secondary data center which will take over when we do this test. Our goal is to ensure that our redundant systems do their job in the case that TCU is faced with a true emergency.

Major systems like email, printing, file shares, Internet access, myTCU/PeopleSoft, ID card access, and TCU websites are expected to make a seamless transition or have minimal downtime. We DO expect the following systems to be unavailable on June 11th, so please plan your use of these services accordingly.

  • Phone Systems:
    • Non-IP Office Phones – Worth Hills, Physical Plant, Baseball, Tennis, Track and Soccer
    • Emergency Phones – Worth Hills, Physical Plant, Baseball, Tennis, Track and Soccer
  • Other Systems:
    • Archfile
    • ArcGIS
    • Dspace
    • Tableau
    • Wellness Gold
    • Several other select systems that will be communicated directly to the owner of the service.

If you have any questions or problems, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk using the information below and we will route your questions to the appropriate contact.

TCU Personal Replaced by Eduroam

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Faculty/Staff,

On Wednesday, June 6th, we will decommission the TCU Personal wireless network for current faculty/staff personal devices.  If you have a personal device that is still connected to the TCU Personal network, we recommend that you transition over to eduroam before the old system is taken out of service.  Please, review the brief instructions below on how to connect to eduroam when you are on campus.    

Why are we doing this?

In order to make onboarding your personal devices easier, we are moving to a new system that minimizes the connection process.  Moving to eduroam means that you will no longer be limited to connecting four personal devices like you were with the previous system.  This new network is also available in hundreds of institutions across the world which will provide you with guest Internet access when you visit other eduroam campuses.

What is eduroam?

The eduroam network is a secure world-wide roaming wireless service, available at campus locations, that was developed for the international research and education community. Once you are connected to eduroam, you can enjoy secure Wi-Fi access at TCU, and other participating educational institutions across the globe.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance using the information listed below.

Two-Factor Requirement For Students

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TCU Students,

On Tuesday, May 29th we will begin requiring your enrollment in the TCU two-factor authentication system when you login to myTCU.  This feature is no longer optional and will now be required for everyone that uses the portal.  Having a feature like this in place reduces the chances that someone can get access to your sensitive personal information in the event that your account is ever compromised. 

What is two-factor authentication?

Two-factor authentication is a text, email or voice calling service that provides you with a PIN number when you are trying to access a secure page in the portal.  Once you are enrolled, you will only be prompted to validate your identity via two-factor when you are connecting to myTCU from an off-campus Internet Service provider. 

How will this requirement affect me?

Once you complete the enrollment process, you will be prompted to enter a two-factor PIN every time that you click on a secure part of myTCU from off-campus. 

Warning:  If you share your credentials with your parents to pay bills or view your account, that will no longer be a viable option.  Please, make sure to create Grant Access accounts for these users in myTCU so you can give them access to the resources that they need without sharing your credentials.  Please, reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk if you have questions about this process. 

Mac OS High Sierra Available to Campus

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Faculty and Staff,

Information Technology division announces the launch of Apple’s newest operating system, macOS High Sierra, to the TCU campus. The new version is now available for all on campus Macintosh computers and has been approved by the Mac OS X Committee.  Please, see the information below for upgrade instructions.

Why should I upgrade now?

We encourage you to upgrade at your earliest convenience so you have the opportunity to plan for the transition. Otherwise, the upgrade will be mandatory this summer and will be pushed out to machines that have not yet completed the upgrade. 

Upgrading also presents you with a series of enhancements that will help to improve your overall experience.  Check out the latest features on the following website (copy and paste the link into your browser):

https://www.apple.com/macos/high-sierra/

How do I start the High Sierra upgrade?

We have attached a document to this email that includes step-by-step instructions on how to complete the process on your own.  The process is very simple, but it is important that you understand what needs to be done before you begin.  Please, review the following reminders before opening the attachment.  

Here are a few important reminders:

  1. This upgrade will take approximately two hours to complete so plan accordingly.
  2. Backup any important data in case you run into problems during the upgrade.
  3. Laptops should be connected to power and a wired network connection before starting the process.
  4. Your machine must already be running Mac OS 10.8 or later to be eligible for the upgrade and must meet the minimum requirements.
  5. Be prepared to upgrade any specialized third party software that you installed on your machine in case the version that you are running is not compatible with High Sierra.  

The IT Support HelpDesk will be more than happy to answer questions about this change, but the process is easy enough that you should be able to complete the upgrade on your own.  

Voicemail to Email

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Faculty/Staff,

We are excited to announce that you can now choose to have your TCU voicemail recordings forwarded to your email account.  Recordings will be sent to your Inbox as an audio file attachment to the email message.  If you would like to take advantage of this new feature, please see the instructions below. 

How do I request this feature?

Submit a self-service ticket or contact the IT Support HelpDesk with the following information:

  • Your Name
  • Your Extension
  • Your Email Address – Voicemail can also be forwarded to a group distribution list by providing the email address for the list instead.  
  • Deletion Preferences – Note whether you want the messages to be deleted from your voicemail or to stay after the message is forwarded to email.

If you have any questions, you can contact the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance.

New VPN Solution

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Faculty/Staff,

We are reaching out directly to those of you that have been connecting to our old VPN solution to remote into your computer at TCU.  At some point in the last month, we have seen you connect to this resource and wanted to encourage you to start thinking about moving your devices over to our new F5 VPN toolset.  The old VPN will be turned off at the end of the month so you only have a few weeks to transition over. 

How do I install the new VPN?

We have created instructions on how to install the VPN on your device.  Keep in mind that the VPN tool only needs to be installed on a device that you are using off campus in order to securely connect to TCU resources (i.e. Remote Desktop). 

How does this affect me?

We recommend that you take time to test out the new VPN connection tool now before we retire the old system at the end of the month to ensure that your devices work to connect to TCU resources from off campus. If you use the old VPN and have upgraded your iPhone/iPad to iOS 10 or your Macintosh computer to macOS High Sierra, then you must use the new VPN tool as Apple has removed the old PPTP VPN protocol. 

We are excited about this change and hope that you enjoy using the new tool.  If you have any questions/problems with VPN, please reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance.

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