The Capital Times, December 9, 2005
PSH stands
as they go wireless
By Matthew Mahoney
Staff Reporter
mlmso39@psu.edu
In today's technological and
computer-savvy world there have
been many advancements within
the last ten years to make our
lives easier. High speed Internet,
which was once a commodity
reserved only for a select few, is
now in almost every home. One
development that has taken the
lead in computing is wireless
connectivity.
Connecting to the Internet via
a wireless connection has made
many peoples lives much easier
and entertaining. A person can
now take their work with them and
find a comfortable spot to drop
down and write those last pages
of a paper or lab report. On any
given day there could be upwards
of ten laptops in Stacks Market,
all of them connected to the
Penn State Harrisburg wireless
connection. Now students are
not just limited to the lobby or the
cafeteria.
PSH is the first campus in the
Penn State system to achieve
full wireless capabilities that
cover the entire campus. When
many students first arrived they
were told only certain sections
of the campus were covered
by the PSH wireless service.
Now every building and every
area of the campus is covered.
From Olmsted to the CUB and
continuing on down to the MET
lab, PSH has become a leader
in the services provided by the
Information and Technology
department on any Penn State
campus.
Not only is this a first amongst
all Penn State campuses but it
is also a highly secure network.
Anyone that signs on to the
network is logged onto a record.
While this aids in making the
network more secure it is also a
written testament to how popular
wireless networking has become.
The VPN client that is used to
authenticate any user on the
system is also a highly secure
program that is offered for free to
all students that need it for their
laptops. There is a version of the
VPN client program available for
faculty and students to use for
their PDAs, but it is not for free;
there is a small fee to pay.
Before anyone can immediately
open up their wireless equipped
laptop and begin surfing the
Internet from the third floor
stairwell (hey, maybe it is
someone's favorite hangout),
there is one thing a person needs
to do first. Go to the library,
directly to the front desk and ask
for the VPN client that is designed
for your operating system- i.e.
Windows, Linux, Macintosh.
This one little CD comes with the
exact program anyone needs and
library staff are on hand to assist
with installation and explaining
the software.
An individual that was
instrumental intheimplementation
of the network is also available at
any time to aid students that need
help with getting on the network
is Mr. Dabis Camero. Camero is
the Senior Research Engineer
here at PSH. Camero's office is in
302 East in the Olmsted Building.
He can also be reached by email
at decl 1@ psu.edu.
As PSH leads the entire Penn
State system in its IT growth one
can only wonder what lies ahead
for our campus. Rest assured
though, fellow Staters, that PSH
will lead the charge into the
future.
!MEM
I!=M
alone
Phishing For Your Identity
By Suzann Teichert
Guest Reporter
smtsooB@psu.edu
How would you respond if you
opened up your e-mail to find
a message from eßay stating
"We suspect an unauthorized
transaction on your account. To
ensure that your account is not
compromised, please click the link
below and confirm your identity."
The return address is from eßay
and it has even included a link
you should use to securely
provide your information.
The number one statement I
heard from people when I told
them I was writing an article on
phishing, was "Oh, you mean
spam?" And the answer is no,
not spam. We all know what
spam is, those annoying e-mails
we get asking us if we need
sexual enhancement, want to
invest in a stock that no one
has ever heard of, or any other
form of bulk advertising. Spam
is the equivalent of paper sales
circulars in your mailbox.
Phishing is a new scam that
is used to get people to turn
over their personal information,
such as bank account and credit
card numbers. Phishing is one
of many forms of identity theft.
The phishers send an authentic
looking e-mail, mimicking a bank
or online site, to you asking for
your personal information. They
use tactics to scare you into
thinking your personal information
has been compromised or tell
you if you do not respond your
account will be suspended. The
message is aimed to cause some
panic and trigger an immediate
response.
International News
The creators of the messages
are often extremely careful to
make the message appear to
be from an authentic source.
They will even direct you not to
send personal information via
e-mail because it is not secure,
but instead to use the link they
provided. The link is spoofed to
appear valid and will take you to
a page that also appears to be
valid.
There is currently no fool proof
technology available for catching
phishing messages. Unlike spam,
phishers address their messages
to just one person a time. Some
phishers take extra time to
personalize each message. This
allows each message to pass
through spam filters.
It is important for every computer
user to protect themselves from
this scam. Young adults age 18
to 29 are now the largest group
of individuals with identity theft
cases. The following tips are
provided by the Federal Trade
Commission to protect you from
phishers.
Never reply to e-mail
messages asking for
personal or financial
information. Reputable
companies will never
request information
from you via e-mail.
Also, never respond
to pop-up messages
that ask for personal
information.
Never e-mail personal
information. E-mail is
not a secure method
of transmission,
encryption is not
used and it is easy
for hackers to access
the content of your
message.
Use caution when
opening attachments
or downloading
information. This is
especially true if you
don't know the source.
Using a firewall and
anti-virus software
offers protection
from either spyware
or viruses being
downloaded to your
computer.
Forward any suspect
phishing messages to
spam@uce.gov.
Contact the business
directly using a known
good phone number to
verify the message or
to report the fraud.
Review bank and
credit card statements
as soon as you receive
them. Keep track of
your spending. Doing
so will make it easier
to notice unauthorized
withdraws or charges
to you account.
Request a copy of your
credit report annually.
There are three
major credit reporting
agencies in the U.S.,
Equifax, Trans Union
and Experian. New
federal laws mandate
that you be able to
obtain one free copy of
your report annually.
This is important to do
even if you don't have
credit. It is possible
that someone else has
used your information
to obtain credit lines.
Phishing websites which
often appear almost identical
to legitimate sites can be very
deceiving. With college students
and young adults being the most
targeted victims it is important that
you pay attention while online.
Pay attention to the emails you
receive and never give out your
personal information over e
mail. It is important to educate
yourself, your parents, your
grandparents, your professors
and anyone on this issue. The
clone of these major websites
which is used appears identical
in most instances. It is important
that you read the website address
to be sure of its origin. If you are
ever curious or suspicious about
a certain website you should
contact the company. Don't 1.)9
the next person to fall victim to a
phishing scam.
If you would like to learn more
about phishing check out www.
antiphishing.org. They have
recent examples of websites
which have been used by phishers
as well as more information about
this type of crime.
18 to 29-year-
olds are the larg-
est targeted group.
According to the
FTC, one in ever 23
Americans is a vic-
tim of identity theft.