A persistent email threat is hitting us and other schools, the “gift card” scam. The hook is the email appears to come from a Williams department head, chair, or even the president, but it is really from a scammer using an external account. They have subjects along… Continue reading »
Data Privacy Day (DPD) is an annual international event held each year on January 28th to promote awareness about the many ways personal information is collected, stored, used, and shared. It is also an opportunity to provide education about privacy practices that will enable individuals… Continue reading »
Be on alert for tax scam emails and phone calls during tax season. You may also get scam emails purporting to have tax forms from your bank or even Williams. Recent scams have tried to fool people into logging into a fake Peoplesoft site. If you want to view any… Continue reading »
In 2016, for the first time ever, shoppers bought more online than in stores. It’s very convenient, but keep in mind all Internet-connected devices are vulnerable, especially when being used for purchases. The holiday season is the perfect time for… Continue reading »
Dear Williams Community, Many, many Williams people have been receiving fake emails regarding “hacked” accounts. Typically the two ways they will throw you off guard is to either display an old password in the email, or to send the message as you (with your email as the From address). Rest… Continue reading »
You need 2-step to be secure. Over 1550 Ephs and over 20 administrative departments are protected by 2-step! We need you to join the herd. Think it’s not important? Read on to see how lack of 2-step has dramatically impacted companies like JP Morgan, groups like the DNC and many… Continue reading »
Fake job emails sent to college students are fairly common. They often put you off guard since they can mention the town or the school you are in currently. There are several simple ways to avoid being scammed. How can you spot these scams? It’s very unlikely you will get… Continue reading »
Note: As of September 17th, 2018, access to the HR system from outside the Williams network will require logging in first with your Williams username (e.g. abc2) and password, before logging into the Human Resources System with your user id (e.g. W1234567). For more information see this link. Continue reading »
Colleges and universities are being specifically targeted. The scammers send potential victims an email that will… Continue reading »
Many may have received an email with the subject line of “**PLEASE READ** EMPLOYEES SURVEY REPORT 2018” . In some cases Google marked this as SPAM (which is good). In case it wasn’t clear, the email was a scam. Google quickly blocked the fake site in the message but in case you… Continue reading »
If you receive this Scam please delete it. Below are helpful links to OIT’s information concerning how to detect a scam and what to do if you responded to one: Scam and Phishing Identification https://oit.stage.williams.edu/help-docs/scam-identification/ Phishing Emails https://oit.stage.williams.edu/help-docs/phishing/ What to do if you responded to a phishing email… Continue reading »
If the password displayed is one you still use you will need to change it on any relevant accounts immediately. If the password is one you don’t use anywhere you can simply delete the message. It is very likely that old passwords of yours have indeed been exposed to… Continue reading »
You likely heard about the data breach at Health Equity which exposed personally identifiable information for some employees of Williams College associated with their Health Reimbursement Accounts. 2-step authentication and the use of encryption on sensitive data would have prevented this breach. Although this breach of course did not originate… Continue reading »
As of June 14th you may notice that when you sign in to your Williams College G Suite account the screen looks slightly different. Some of the changes will include tweaks to the Google logo, an outline around the text field, and center alignment of all items on the screen. Continue reading »
OIT will be accepting old computer equipment at the Facilities barn on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday May 30, 31 and June 1. Hours are from 12:30 to 2:30. This is your chance to discard your computer in a safe and responsible way to avoid data loss and ensure the equipment… Continue reading »
As the Cambridge Analytica scandal showed, bad actors, data aggregators, state sponsored hackers and groups looking for a political advantage are using social media to gather information about YOU. There are a few simple things you can do to limit your exposure. These recommendations are for Facebook but similar settings… Continue reading »
After upgrading your macOS computer to High Sierra 10.13.4 or higher (starting in April 2018), you may see a message about a System Extension Blocked. At Williams we have seen this warning appear for these programs: Sophos Anti-Virus Cisco VPN VirtualBox If you see the Open… Continue reading »
After upgrading your macOS computer to High Sierra 10.13.4 or higher (starting in April 2018), you may see this message the first time you launch certain programs. Click OK – this will allow the program to run and you should not see the warning again. Why is this… Continue reading »
Support fraud involves criminals contacting you to fix ostensible technology problems. Their methods include phone calls, web pop-ups and sending emails. Although this type of fraud been around for many years the level of sophistication of the attacks has grown. Recently we’ve received reports of scammers pretending to be Microsoft… Continue reading »
This morning a dangerous email started showing up on campus with a subject line of “billing”, “invoice” or “receipt”. The email has a .zip file attachment with a virus-downloader inside. IF YOU RECEIVED ONE OF THESE EMAILS PLEASE DELETE IT. We believe this to be a “ransomware” virus which encrypts… Continue reading »
During tax season you are likely to receive fake scam emails which appear to be from the IRS or Williams regarding returns, e-files, W-2s and 1099s. Keep in mind the IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. Continue reading »
Similar to what many people received yesterday, a scam email, this time with the subject “Employee Service 2018”. There is a link which takes you to a site which looks very similar to our PeopleSoft login. If you visited the site and entered your PeopleSoft account information your password will… Continue reading »
Many people have received a scam email with the subject “Employee Verification 2018”. There is a link which takes you to a site which copies our PeopleSoft login. If you visited the site and entered your PeopleSoft account information your password will need to be changed immediately. Please contact desktop@williams.edu… Continue reading »
You may have seen news articles this week about two significant new flaws found in computers, smartphones, tablets and other devices, called Spectre and Meltdown. These flaws impact the computer processors (CPUs) that are in the heart of all the computerized equipment you own and use every day. These flaws… Continue reading »
To protect the college’s financial information, from now on any authorized user who wants to access finance.williams.edu from off campus will be required to use VPN. You will not be able to get into the system without it. While this may cause… Continue reading »