Saint Mary's University of Minnesota HelpDesk

SPAM/PHISHing Email Information

Wed, Mar 05, 2014

Due to the rash of emails that got into the Google SMUMN.edu domain the past couple of weeks and the fact that many responded or provided his or her information figured this would be a good time to point out the TechFAQ article about SPAM and Phishing email context and what to look for if you are unsure if it is SPAM or valid.

The link to the article is
http://techfaq.smumn.edu/index.php?action=artikel&cat=8&id=344&artlang=en&highlight=phishin

While this may never catch all scenarios, experience with these emails indicates most fraudulent emails have at least one aspect included in the article. One big trigger, which should be obvious, is that the "reply to" address is external or any links or addresses requesting the information are not associated with Saint Mary's University or smumn.edu.

Again we do not ask for information in this manner unsolicited. You, as the customer of the SMU HelpDesks and/or Information Technology Services, have already been in contact with us in some way regarding your account and we have responded, with some initial problem solving or directions, to you via email, chat, or phone.

We hope this helps you keep your information safe and assists you in helping us protect Saint Mary's University resources going forward.

Brian Behling
HelpDesk Manager - Winona Campus

Blackboards Retention Center

Fri, Feb 21, 2014

The Retention Center provides an easy way for instructors to discover which students in their courses are at risk. Instructors can communicate with struggling students and help them take immediate action for improvement.

And you can revise the Retention Center to show students that are high achievers!

Here is a summary of what can be done within the Retention Center.

To learn more, click here.

Blackboards Item Anaylsis

Fri, Feb 21, 2014

Use Item analysis to see statistics on overall test performance and on individual test questions. Identify and easily correct ineffective or misleading questions and your tests are re-graded automatically.