07-Mar-2022

Microsoft Office 2021 Upgrade: Tuesday, 05-Apr-2022

On Tuesday, 05-Apr-2022, we are planning to upgrade Microsoft Office on CLASSE-managed Windows computers to Office 2021. This version of Office is backwards compatible with older versions. Please submit a ServiceRequest with any questions or concerns. If you need training on Office 2021, please see Cornell's "Linked In Learning" courses on the various programs of Office 2021: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/search?keywords=microsoft%20office%202021

CLASSE Duo for Remote Logins

As announced in a lab-wide notice last Thursday 03-Mar-2022, CLASSE Duo has been enabled for remote access to CLASSE computers via NoMachine, SSH, X2Go, and Globus. If you have not done so already, please enroll in CLASSE Duo using our web-based management portal. CLASSE Duo operates very similarly to Cornell's Duo service, although a separate CLASSE registration is required. If you have any questions or concerns about CLASSE Duo, please submit a ServiceRequest.

ScreenConnect: Opt-In to Duo 2FA

For now, we have not globally enabled CLASSE Duo for ScreenConnect because ScreenConnect does not support phone calls, only Duo Push via the mobile app. However, if your primary CLASSE Duo device is a phone or tablet running the Duo app, we strongly encourage you to opt-in to receiving Duo prompts with ScreenConnect. To request this additional layer of account security when logging into CLASSE computers, please submit a ServiceRequest.

OpenVPN Retired!

As previously announced, the legacy CLASSE VPN service, OpenVPN has been shut down. CLASSE personnel should use the new VPN, known as Pritunl. If you are experiencing network connectivity issues with Pritunl, please let us know by submitting a ServiceRequest.

Pritunl Client Configuration

In the Pritunl software, we recommend that you leave the "Autostart Off" setting untouched, in order to avoid spurious Duo prompts (e.g. in the middle of the night when your computer wakes up for updates). This setting can be found below the "Connect" button for your VPN connection. If your setting says "Autostart On", you can change it by clicking on that button and selecting "Off".

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General network and server maintenance will occur every Tuesday from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM. The CLASSE-IT group will always announce any expected disruptions in our NewsLetter and via CLASSE-IT-NEWS-L, but with the size and complexity of our network there is always the potential for something to go wrong. We will do our best to contain all network maintenance and planned outages to Tuesdays from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM.

Unless other arrangements have been made, CLASSE-managed Windows systems may be updated and rebooted on Tuesday morning at 2:00 AM, so please avoid critical or lengthy operations at that time. For more details, please see SystemExpectations.

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Questions or problems? Submit a service request.

Other resources:

• CLASSE-IT Home Page
• Previous newsletters

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