UNHCE Information Technology & Distance Education Blog: May 2005 Archives

NIOSH, (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) has an excellent website with a wealth of information on ergonomics, including epidemiological research. It can be accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/

OSHA (The US government's Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has a section entitled, "Good Working Positions "

This section has information, including diagrams, of appropriate positions to avoid injuries. In particular, it addresses the insidious injuries caused by repetitive motion. These injuries occur before the worker is aware. Therefore, proper position and techniques are important for ALL workers, not just those who are already injured.

To access their informative section on workstation positions, go to: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/positions.html

Proper configurations and work patterns help prevent injuries due to repetitive motion.

OSHA (The US government's Occupational Safety & Health Administration) offers ergonomic tools for various job classifications.They have a very helpful section on computer workstations at: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/index.html

Other eTools are also available at: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/outreach.html#etools They may be useful resources for UNHCE staff who work with people in various industries.

OSHA (The US government's Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has an article titled, "How do I look for conditions that may contribute to musculoskeletal disorders?" It is designed for supervisors to assess the potential risks and accommodations different jobs may require.

It incudes analysis tools for different jobs, among other things.

To access this information, go to: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/contributing_conditions.html

Loaner Mice

The design of a mouse can make a huge difference in your long-term comfort.

The ITDE Office has some mice available for UNHCE staff to borrow (one at a time) for a period of 2 weeks. This will give you the opportunity to see which mouse is most comfortable for you.

The mice currently available for loan are:

Evoluent Vertical Mouse
Available through Jaymil Ergonomic Solutions
* Neutral, handshake position for support
* Optical
* Five programmable buttons

Logitech Marble Mouse
* Optical
* Large track ball on top
* Stationary no problems with the cord tangling

Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer
* Tilt wheel
* Wireless & Optical
* Ergonomic design available in right-handed only
* Five programmable buttons

Logitech MediaPlay Cordless Mouse
* Wireless
* Titled wheel for scrolling
* Optical

For further information, contact Barbara Wright at the ITDE office.

To assess the ergonomics of your workstation, the ITDE office will perform an ergonomics assessment for any UNHCE staff member.

You can do this on your own as well. Check this form at: Download file

If you need further assistance with this process, contact Steve Judd in the ITDE office.

Hand, Wrist, & Forearm Stretches

Stretching is an important part of keeping your muscles loose and preventing injury. This is especially important when doing repetitive motions, such as are required with extended computer usage.

Take a break every now and then, and try these stretches:
http://www.shelterpub.com/_fitness/_office_fitness_clinic/hwf.pdf

Setting Up Your Workstation

OSHA (The US government's Occupational Safety & Health Administration) has published an evaluation checklist to see if your workstation needs adjustments to make it more ergonomically correct.

To access this checklist, go to: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/pdffiles/checklist1.pdf

From the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team:

Effectively Erasing Files - Cyber Security Tip ST05-011

Before selling or discarding an old computer, or throwing away a disk or CD, you naturally make sure that you've copied all of the files you need. You've probably also attempted to delete your personal files so that other people aren't able to access them. However, unless you have taken the proper steps to make sure the hard drive, disk, or CD is erased, people may still be able to resurrect those files.

Where do deleted files go?

When you delete a file, depending on your operating system and your settings, it may be transferred to your trash or recycle bin. This "holding area" essentially protects you from yourself--if you accidentally delete a file, you can easily restore it. However, you may have experienced the panic that results from emptying the trash bin prematurely or having a file seem to disappear on its own. The good news is that even though it may be difficult to locate, the file is probably still somewhere on your machine. The bad news is that even though you think you've deleted a file, an attacker or other unauthorized person may be able to retrieve it.

What are the risks?

Think of the information you have saved on your computer. Is there banking or credit card account information? Tax returns? Passwords? Medical or other personal data? Personal photos? Sensitive corporate information? How much would someone be able to find out about you or your company by looking through your computer files?

Depending on what kind of information an attacker can find, he or she may be able to use it maliciously. You may become a victim of identity theft. Another possibility is that the information could be used in a social engineering attack. Attackers may use information they find about you or an organization you're affiliated with to appear to be legitimate and gain access to sensitive data (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information).

Can you erase files by reformatting?

Reformatting your hard drive or CD may superficially delete the files, but the information is still buried somewhere. Unless those areas of the disk are effectively overwritten with new content, it is still possible that knowledgeable attackers may be able to access the information.

How can you be sure that your information is completely erased?

Some people use extreme measures to make sure their information is destroyed, but these measures can be dangerous and may not be completely successful. Your best option is to investigate software programs and hardware devices that claim to erase your hard drive or CD. Even so, these programs and devices have varying levels of effectiveness. When choosing a software program to perform this task, look for the following characteristics:

• data is written multiple times - It is important to make sure that not only is the information erased, but new data is written over it. By adding multiple layers of data, the program makes it difficult for an attacker to "peel away" the new layer. Three to seven passes is fairly standard and should be sufficient.


• use of random data - Using random data instead of easily identifiable patterns makes it harder for attackers to determine the pattern and discover the original information underneath.


• use of zeros in the final layer - Regardless of how many times the program overwrites the data, look for programs that use all zeros in the last layer. This adds an additional level of security.

While many of these programs assume that you want to erase an entire disk, there are programs that give you the option to erase and overwrite individual files.

An effective way to ruin a CD or DVD is to wrap it in a paper towel and shatter it. However, there are also hardware devices that erase CDs or DVDs by destroying their surface. Some of these devices actually shred the media itself, while others puncture the writable surface with a pattern of holes. If you decide to use one of these devices, compare the various features and prices to determine which option best suits your needs.

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Matt Lytle

This document can also be found at:

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST05-011.html

Copyright 2005 Carnegie Mellon University

May 2005 ITDE Training News

Listings of hands-on instructor-led courses available to UNHCE staff are listed in this month’s newsletter.

Read on!

FREE VideoConferencing In-service

A new training offering on Videoconferencing is available to UNHCE staff

Dave Foote will be offering an in-service entitled Videoconferencing 201: Enhancing Your Videoconference with Tools and Teaching Techniques. Thee date is yet to be determined, but will likely be in May or June.

For further information, contact Dave Foote.

The following training opportunities are available in the next two months.

I. UNH CIS

Sign up early for CIS classes. Not only are the most popular classes oversubscribed early; CIS has begun to cancel classes which are under enrolled two weeks prior to the class date.

FREE sessions

CIS is offering the following sessions free for UNHCE employees.

• Introduction to Video Editing – May 13 th
  
• What’s New with Windows XP – May 26th

Vendor-based Training - CIS has arranged with outside vendors to offer classes on a variety of topics for a nominal fee. The cost is typically $99 for a full day or two half-day sessions, or $198 for 2 days or 4 half-day sessions. That is less than half the cost of the training offered to the public.

Classes in the following topics will be offered in the next two months.

• Adobe Acrobat
• Access
• Dreamweaver
• Excel
• PhotoShop*
• PowerPoint

All Microsoft Office applications are taught using Office 2003. Dreamweaver is version MX 2004.

For further information, an outline of each course, or to register, please consult their web site at: http://www.cistrainingcenter.unh.edu/

II. UNH Division of ContinuingEducation is offering in-service training opportunities in the following topic in the next two months.

• PowerPoint

Note that all UNH status employees are eligible for a tuition waiver on credit classes, and to a reduction (50% discount) on non-credit classes offered through the university system, which includes DCE. See the Human Resources website at: http://www.usnhhr.unh.edu/benefits/tuition-waiver.html for more information.

For further information on DCE classes, consult their web site at: http://www.learn.unh.edu/pcw/index.php

III. TheState of New Hampshire offers classes “at cost” to all UNH employees. This is at considerable savings from what one would pay with an outside vendor.

The state is offering classes in the following topics during the next 2 months.

• Access* - various levels
• Excel* - various levels & special topics
• Word

Please consult their website for further information on the above listings.

To consult their website, go to:

http://www.nh.gov/hr/docs/ Then scroll down to the section on training and select the term for which you’d like information. (Note – The URL for the specific calendar changes each semester. If you bookmarked their site, you may want to replace it with the new URL listed above. Then follow the directions for scrolling to the appropriate term’s document.)

Note – The state also offers a multitude of courses in other areas such as Effective management, strategic planning, supervisory techniques (certificate program), communication and writing skills, conflict resolution, grant writing, learning styles, and Myers-Briggs, to name a few.  

CBT and Training Resources Guide

Training Resource Listings

The UNHCE Training Resources Guide contains information on training resources available in applications utilized by employees of UNHCE, including Microsoft Office, Adobe products (Acrobat, PageMaker, PhotoShop), and Eudora, as well as operating systems, and applications used by smaller audiences, such as PictureTel, DreamWeaver, Blue Ribbon YOUTH enrollment, or WordPerfect. To access this guide, go to: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Intranet/ITDE/trg/indextrg.htm

• Computer Based Training (CBT) - Included in this guide is a listing of Extension or University-owned Computer-based Training CD-ROMs (CBT), which can be used for FREE. UNHCE has a library of CBT (Training CD-ROMs) available from the ITDE office. The CDs are free to UNHCE staff, and can be borrowed for up to 2 weeks. CIS also has free CBT available to be used on campus.
  
  This CBT can be used interactively, and allows you to receive information on just the topics where you desire training. For instance, you can select a topic such as “Creating/modifying headers and footers” in Word. It will show you how to do that step-by-step. You can repeat any sections as needed, and skip to other sections.
  
  For further information on our CBT and a listing of the offerings, go to: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Intranet/ITDE/trg/trcdtoc.pdf

• New online tutorial section offered by ITDE

New tutorials are available on our ITDE website. You can view step-by-step demos showing techniques for accomplishing a variety of computer-related processes.

Topics include using various applications as well as general and Windows topics. Each demo is accompanied by documentation, so you can print out directions to do them on your own.

To access this new area, go to: http://cecf1.unh.edu/tutorials/index.cfm

To access the complete, Training Resources Guide, go to: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Intranet/ITDE/trg/indextrg.htm

Source: Allen Wyatt's WordTips

Text is linearly spaced according to the specifications set up by the
makers of the font you are using. Word allows you to override the
spacing so that letters appear closer together.

Read the full tip: http://wordtips.VitalNews.com/T1137

Source: Element K Tips newsletter

Have you ever added an item to a list that has already been
formatted and then had to format the new item to match the
others? Excel 2002 can automatically format the new item using
the Extended Formats And Formulas option. For this feature to
work, at least three of the preceding five rows must have the
same format.

For example, let's say you have five items listed in cells A2
through A6. Format the items any way you want. In cell A7, type a
new item for the list. When you press [Enter], the new item is
formatted to match the preceding items.

This feature also copies down a formula if the preceding rows
contain the same formula. For example, suppose you have several
rows of data in columns B through G with column H containing a
formula at the end of each row. When you add a new row data to
the bottom of the list and press [Enter] for the last item of
data, the formula will be filled in the last cell for that row.

To turn this option on or off, choose Tools | Options from the
menu bar and click on the Edit tab. On the right side of the
dialog box, either select or deselect the Extend List Formats And
Formulas check box.