CFA Helpdesk

Submit a Request to CFA IT Helpdesk

College of Fine Arts Help Desk Instructions

Instructions

To submit a request, use the request form at the top of this page.
Enter your UFID, select the type of request you would like to make and click next.
Fill out the information in the form. Note: Some fields are required!
Your request will be automatically emailed via the web to Pete Haring who will evaluate the nature of the request and place it in the queue.

Disclaimer

Requests will be evaluated for feasibility. If a request is not feasible, you will be notified. All feasible requests will be prioritized and handled in the most efficient and effective way possible. Some requests will be handled immediately, most will be taken care of within 24 hours, and some will take longer. The CFA tech staff makes no guarantees about work performed. Computers are complicated and sensitive pieces of equipment, failures can and do happen. Be sure to back up any local data you have on your computer. If you choose to keep your files on your local hard drive, you should back them up yourself frequently. Our intention is to provide a high quality service in a timely fashion, please remember at this point there are two of us and well over 200 of you. Your cooperation and patience is much appreciated!

College of Fine Arts Technology Policies

Download the IT Policy and Procedure Manual

This document describes the policies and procedures related to information technology in the College of Fine Arts. These include but are not limited to desktop applications, network use, file storage and backup, security, lab use, and more. By using any network, computing, or information technology resource in the College of Fine Arts, users are agreeing to abide by these policies and follow the procedures described (use denotes acceptance). These policies were reviewed, accepted, and approved by the College of Fine Arts Executive Committee on March 4, 2003.

General Policy Statements

Use of any computing, network, or other technological resource owned by the University of Florida or used in a UF facility is subject to the University of Florida Acceptable Use Policy, located at http://www.it.ufl.edu/policies/aupolicy.html. It is the responsibility of each user to read this policy, when you create, modify, or renew your Gatorlink account you click on a button that says you agree so you should read the policy.

This document may change through time, notifications will be sent out when changes are made. Modifications to existing policy as well as creation of new policies are happening constantly, it is important for each user to review these periodically. Most University information technology policies can be found at http://www.it.ufl.edu. CFA policies can be found at the Tech Help Desk Website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Email Questions:

UF and CFA Email Explained
Do I have to use Outlook?
How do I backup my email?
How do I access email when I am away from the office?
Why do I get the message "relaying not allowed"?
What is a virus?
What is the difference between a virus and a worm?

General Computer Questions

What should I do with my computers in the event of an emergency (power outage, storm, etc.)?
How do I get a new staff member or student e-mail and network services?
Why should I NOT let my hard drive get too full?
Can I let someone else use my username and password?
Why can't I install things on my computer at UF?

Frequently Asked Questions (scroll for more)

How do I back up my e-mail?

Regardless of what UF service you use for work related email, the CFA Tech Staff strongly recommends that you backup your email frequently.
Outlook Express for Macintosh
Outlook Express for Windows
Outlook
Eudora for Windows
Eudora for Macintosh
(Follow directions for moving your folder and move it to a zip disk, different hard drive (or partition), or network drive.)

Do I have to use Outlook?

If you use CFA email (arts.ufl.edu addresses) the only supported programs are Outlook (here on campus) and Outlook Web Access using Internet Explorer (when not on campus just point Internet Explorer to http://arts.ufl.edu/exchange). When you are away from campus, you can use whatever program you want, but we will not provide any support.

If you are still using Gatorlink email (ufl.edu addresses) the CFA will only install and support Outlook on campus, but Gatorlink will provide technical support for several programs, see gatorlink.ufl.edu for more information.

What should I do with my computers in the event of an emergency?

This is particularly important for machines that house databases and other critical data!

Power Outage:

The CFA IT Dept. strongly recommends you attach your computer and monitor to an Uninterruptible Power Supply. These devices, depending on type, quality, and condition, will give you from 3 to 30 minutes to act (sometimes less or more). Please remember: the more devices you connect, the less time you will have. I do not recommend connecting a laser printer to the same UPS as your computer (they draw a whole bunch of power).

When a power outage occurs:

1. Your UPS should start beeping at you, SAVE YOUR WORK and shut down your computer properly right away. You should NOT try to continue working.
2. The best thing to do at this point is turn off your UPS (you do not need to unplug the UPS). If the outage is lengthy, the power will drain from the UPS as it beeps at you (it would take a while, but it would happen).
3. Any devices NOT attached to a UPS should be unplugged from the wall, when the power comes back on there might be a large spike or surge which could damage your equipment. UNPLUG ANY MODEM LINES THAT ARE NOT PROTECTED WITH A UPS.

In the event of a threatening storm:

1. DO NOT COVER RUNNING COMPUTERS WITH ANYTHING!!! Shut your computer down properly, then cover it if it is necessary. Consult your immediate supervisor to determine if it is necessary to cover computers in your area.
2. Take a back up of your data to a secure, off-site location (you should do this anyway) just in case.
3. The CFA Tech Staff will shut down all servers in the event of a close storm, so services such as e-mail, web, and FTP may not be available.
Thank You!

How do I get a new staff member or student e-mail and network services?

To get a new staff member or student e-mail and network services, the supervisor or major professor should submit a help desk request here. Include the full name, what computer the person will use, what location the person will be working from, and any other important information.

Why should I NOT let my hard drive get too full?

This applies to the drive that contains your operating system, which is usually the 'C:' drive. All windows operating systems use what is called a 'swap file'. This is also referred to as 'virtual memory'. This swap file is located by default on your hard drive, usually the 'C:' drive. As your disk gets full, it consumes the space your computer expects to have available for the swap file. As a result, it is trying to access sectors on your disk that are already being used. This is a bad situation and can lead to a system crash and data loss. Here are the general guidelines:

Your computer will expect disk space that is at least 12 megabytes larger than the amount of RAM you have. If you have 128 MB RAM, you will need a minimum of 140 MB free space on your hard drive. Anything less than that is extremely dangerous.
You should, if at all possible, install applications and save files on a different drive. Many of our computers have multiple drives, usually 'C:' and D:'. Install applications and save files to the 'D:' drive if you can
Don't forget to BACK UP STUFF! Regardless of the swap file situation, equipment can and does fail. Protect yourself and your data!

UF and CFA Email Explained

Here at UF there are a lot of computing services, and because of this things can get a bit confusing. Here is a brief explaination:

The University has many computing services, controlled by units that answer to the Vice Provost of Information Technology, Dr. Frazier. These services include Gatorlink, NERDC, CIRCA, Academic Technology, and more. Each unit provides and supports their services, all the information can be found at http://www.it.ufl.edu. If you are having a problem with one of these services, we can try to help but you may need to contact the UF Computing Help Desk at 392-HELP. IN GENERAL IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO SUBMIT A HELP DESK REQUEST TO US FIRST, we may be able to tell you if there is a current issue (with the network, etc.) that is causing the problem.

The College of Fine Arts provides a core set of services to its faculty and staff. These include Help Desk desktop computer support, Arts.ufl.edu email, web hosting for CFA units and affiliates, file services (file servers, backup, print management), and consultation. These are supported by the CFA Tech staff, so if you are using one of these services calling the UF Help Desk will not help, so if you have any questions or problems with these services, submit a CFA Help Desk request at http://www.arts.ufl.edu/help.

Can I let someone else use my username and password?

NO! UF and CFA policy is very clear about this, and with good reason. Without going into all of the potential risks, it suffices to say that essentially the issue is AVOIDING risk. If we maintain secure username and password practices, we avoid a long list of problems that can arise, some of which can involve lawyers, and I am sure none of us want to be involved with those issues. The best way to look at usernames and passwords that I have seen is the "passwords are like underwear" phrase - you don't want to share them with other people and you should change them often. There are many ways we can help solve issues related to access, if you have any questions, submit a Help Desk request. For more information this is a great link from Michigan: http://www.umich.edu/~policies/pw-security.html

Why do I get the message "relaying not allowed"?

This is a method used to reduce spam - the best way to explain this is with an example - say you dial up to the Internet using Bellsouth as your Internet Service Provider (ISP). You use the directions at http://www.gatorlink.ufl.edu to configure Outlook Express to check your UF email. When you compose an email and hit send - you get an almost immediate message back with an error essentially saying "relaying not allowed for xxxx.ufl.edu" or some other error message. This is because Bellsouth does not want people from other 'domains' (e.g. ufl.edu) to use their mail server to send mail. This was a common way to send out spam in the past, then you could never really track down exactly where the message came from.

TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM: you will need to configure your mail client to use the SMTP server of your ISP. Using the Bellsouth example, you will need to enter whatever their SMTP server is - something you will need to ask them or look up in their documentation.

What is a virus?

A virus is a program that self-replicates, and they are written by people who want them spread as widely as possible. Some viruses, such as Anna Kournikova or love bug, require user interaction to self-replicate - usually this means clicking on an attachment - while others, such as Code Red, can trawl networks looking for computers with a specific vulnerability to exploit. All viruses clog up networks and slow down the performance of your PC, but many also have payloads, or code that triggers an action on the infected machine. These payloads can be anything from wiping your hard drive to emailing confidential documents to public newsgroups to installing a "Trojan horse" on your computer that allows hackers to access your data.

What is the difference between a virus and a worm?

A virus is parasitic code that attaches to another program, such a visual basic (.vbs files) or an executable (.exe). A worm does not attach itself to other programs and spreads without any user interaction. It is a technical distinction that does not really matter to the average computer user.

Why can't I install things on my computer at UF?

There are 3 main issues regarding software installation on UF owned property in the CFA and based on experience we have found the best way to deal with these issues is to avoid them by restricting permissions:

1. Licensing Issues

2. Management Issues

3. Security Issues

CFA Technology Contacts

CFA Help Desk Line
352-392-6793
For all help desk requests please use the request form on this page.

Peter Haring

View Biography
IT Director
College of Fine Arts
P.O. Box 115800
Gainesville, Fl 32611 Email: haring@ufl.edu Phone: (352) 392-6793

Shane Sheffield

View Biography
IT Specialist
College of Fine Arts
P.O. Box 115800
Gainesville, FL Email: ssheffield@arts.ufl.edu Phone: (352) 392-6793

Tom Reno

View Biography
Director of Web Services, Senior Graphic Designer
College of Fine Arts

Email: treno@arts.ufl.edu Phone: (352) 392-6792

Michael Christopher

View Biography
Teach Lab Specialist
College of Fine Arts
101 FAC P.O. Box 115801
Gainesville, Fl 32611-5801 Email: mchristo@ufl.edu Phone: (352) 273-3077