Information Technology routinely performs updates, upgrades, and maintenances to ensure the security and performance of technologies and data accessible at Valdosta State University. Except for critical issues, maintenances are scheduled at times deemed least disruptive to services. Most notices are posted at www.valdosta.edu/it, @VStateIT on Twitter and Facebook, and via campus email. For USG Information Technology Services systems status and maintenance schedule, please visit https://status.usg.edu

Microsoft 365:

4.20.23 2:38 pm UPDATE: According to Microsoft 365 support, the rollback of a previous update has been completed and additional resources have been added to affected infrastructure to alleviate utilization issue. There have been reports of services being restored but they are still monitoring to make sure the issue has been resolved. 

Clear your web browser’s cache and close your browser before attempting a fresh log in to MyVSU to access your Microsoft 365 email and related online applications. If necessary, log out of any online Microsoft 365 applications first.  

If you need assistance, please contact our Solutions Center during normal business hours.

4.20.23 11:05 am: Microsoft is investigating an infrastructure issue that is impacting North and South America regions. When trying to access your Microsoft 365 web email and apps (ex: Teams, Word & Excel online), you may experience a long delay before your email appears or your apps may not appear at all. We are monitoring the situation and will keep you posted. In the meantime, Microsoft states that users can use the following direct links to access the web-based services: 

 PEACHNET SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE

Thursday, August 24, 2023, from 11:00 pm until 7:00 am on Friday, August 25, 2023
USG Network Support Services (NSS) will be swapping the active supervisor modules on the TELX1 and TELX2 core routers. There are no expected outages during this maintenance.

USG BANNER & DEGREE WORKS MAINTENANCE

Friday, August 18, 2023, from 10:00 pm until 7:00 am on Saturday, August 19, 2023
Degree Works and Banner, including related services (Banner Web, Banner Admin, online payment systems, etc.) will be unavailable during this time while Information Technology Services (ITS) completes Oracle Critical Patching Updates (CPU).

To learn more about Banner, visit https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/it/helpdesk/vsu-accounts/banner.php

To learn more about Degree Works, visit https://www.valdosta.edu/academics/registrar/dw.php

WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM (OS) PATCHING

Wednesday, August 9, 2023, at 11:00 p.m. until Thursday, August 10, 2023, at 7:00 a.m.
USG Information Technology (ITS) will be conducting Windows Operating System maintenance. During this period, the following services may be intermittently unavailable:
- Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence - Authentication
- Georgia Archives: Content Manager
- GeorgiaBEST Banner Managed Services: *Axiom *BDM *CampusLogic Connect *AIMS Parking services

-and Other applications
View full scheduled maintenance details

2FA/SSO AUTHENTICATION MAINTENANCE

Beginning at 10 pm, August 4, 2023, until 1am, August 5, 2023
During this time, MyVSU/Office 365 sign-in and two-factor authentication (2FA) access may be interrupted for all single-sign on (SSO) applications. Afterwards, it may be necessary for you to restart your web browser and clear your cache before attempting to login. Visit https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/it/solutions/clear_cache.php to learn how to clear cache.

BANNER MAINTENANCE

Friday, July 28, 2023, from 5:30 pm until Saturday, July 29, 2023, at 7:00 am
USG Information Technology Services (ITS) will perform maintenance to update some background Banner web addresses. During the maintenance window, Banner and all related services (Banner Web, Banner Admin, online payment systems, etc.) will be unavailable. As a result of the URL changes, there may be a potential outage with Visual Schedule Builder(VSB) until the vendor can update the related links that are embedded in that program. If you experience an issue registering for classes while using VSB, we advise you to use Banner instead. Please reach out to our Solutions Center during normal business hours if you experience any issues after the maintenance is complete.
To learn more about Banner, visit https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/it/helpdesk/vsu-accounts/banner.php

VOIP PHONE MAINTENANCE

Beginning at 5 pm, July 21, 2023, our VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone system will be under maintenance.
During this time, there may be some interruption to services and phones may reboot intermittently or become unresponsive temporarily. We will notify campus once maintenance is complete.

USG BANNER MAINTENANCES

Friday, July 21, 2023, from 5:30 pm until Saturday, July 22, 2023, at 7:00 am

Friday, July 28, 2023, from 5:30 pm until Saturday, July 29, 2023, at 7:00 am
Banner and all related services (Banner Web, Banner Admin, online payment systems, etc.) will be unavailable during this time while Information Technology Services (ITS) completes maintenance. To learn more about Banner, visit https://www.valdosta.edu/administration/it/helpdesk/vsu-accounts/banner.php

PASSWORD RESET TOOL

Friday, July 14, 2023, at 10pm until Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 8am
The MyVSU Password Reset Tool will not be available during the upgrade process.

USG Systems Support Services - Windows Operating System (OS) Patching

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 11pm until Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 11pm

Data Warehouse and BI, Banner, MoveIT, Georgia Archives, and several other applications and services may be intermittently unavailable during the maintenance window.

Citrix Security Update

Friday, June 16, 2023, at 8am until 11am

Access to VSU’s virtual computer labs will be unavailable intermittently during the maintenance window. You can learn more about virtual labs at www.valdosta.edu/administration/it/remote-labs.php.

MoveIT Login Change

Beginning Friday, June 16, 2023, at 9pm

For those who utilize the MoveIT file transfer system, USG will enforce single sign-on login and multi-factor authentication similar to how users currently log in to OneUSG Connect. This maintenance was originally scheduled for June 9, 2023. Please read USG’s detailed message at https://status.usg.edu/incidents/6q76c42kqd0y

WEEKLY COMPUTER MAINTENANCE

EMPLOYEES: On Mondays, save your work AND log-off your office computer at the end of work. Do not restart or shut down your computer.

IT routinely performs required maintenances on office computers to ensure security patches and applications are up to date and performing at their best. If and when your computer has been targeted for maintenance, you will receive a pop-up notification stating that a maintenance is required and to restart your machine so that updates can take effect. As a best practice to prepare for weekly maintenances, we encourage you to use OneDrive to store and backup your files routinely.

Sample notifications (minutes remaining to restart time will vary from image):

rebootmessage.png
rebootmessage2.png

BANNER AND DEGREE WORKS SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE:

Information Technology Services (ITS) has a standing maintenance schedule for their GeorigaBEST Managed Services (Banner and Degree Works) as follows:

1st/3rd Friday of each month; 10pm – 7am

These schedules are used to perform upgrades, patches, backups, and other routine tasks.

IMPACT: Depending upon specific maintenance requirements, services may not be available during this time and/or it may not be necessary for ITS to use any or all of this reserved time.

Please refer to https://status.usg.edu for all maintenance related and service affecting outages. 

Dear Blazers:

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, bad actors are taking advantage of the situation to not only spread misinformation through social media and websites but are also using phishing emails to obtain personal information or spread malicious software.

Here are some tips to avoid being victimized.

  • Obtain information from trusted sources. Refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) (https://www.who.int), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (https://www.cdc.gov) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (https://dph.georgia.gov/) for official information on COVID-19.
  • Check email addresses and links. Inspect web links by hovering your mouse pointer over the URL to see where it leads. Review the sender’s email address.
  • Beware of online requests for personal information. A COVID-19 themed email requesting personal information like your Social Security number or login information is a phishing scam. Never respond to these emails.
  • Watch for spelling and grammatical mistakes. If an email includes spelling, punctuation or grammar errors, it is possible this is a phishing email.
  • Look for generic greetings. Phishing emails are likely to use greetings like “Dear sir or madam.” These usually signal an email is not legitimate.
  • Avoid COVID-19 themed emails requiring an immediate response. Phishing emails often create a sense of urgency. Stop-Think-Then Click.
  • Report suspicious institution emails. Contact the USG Enterprise Service Center at helpdesk@usg.edu (706-583-2001) if you receive suspicious email from your institution account.

Be well and be cyber-safe!