News

To receive email updates, follow the DoIT group in myUMBC.

Fake DocuSign Phishing Message

Look out for fake DocuSign Messages

Yesterday morning, between 8:45am and 10:00am, several UMBC users received DocuSign messages offering access to a document called “News Update.pdf” with a button labeled “View Document Now”.  ...

Posted: March 31, 2020, 4:35 PM

Home Network Security

As we all work and study at home, we need to stay secure.

If you are part of the UMBC community and are reading this in the spring of 2020, then you are very likely working and/or teaching and/or learning from home over the Internet.  In most cases, you...

Posted: March 31, 2020, 4:16 PM

Telework Security Resources

Here are some good resources for securing your telework...

More people throughout the United States are teleworking now, including many who have never done so before.  The UMBC community is no exception as many of us work, learn and teach from our...

Posted: March 31, 2020, 3:47 PM

MOST Commons: A Resource to Support Remote Teaching

OER online webinar

Dear Colleague, I thought you might be interested in this webinar sponsored by MarylandOnline which will take place next Tuesday, March 31st. Please see the description and registration...

Posted: March 30, 2020, 3:42 PM

Learn how to use VoiceThread with these free workshops!

Add media-rich, asynchronous engagement in your courses

VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in several ways – text, voice, audio file, or...

Posted: March 30, 2020, 12:47 PM

Effective practices for managing the live virtual classroom

Promoting positive engagement in Collaborate and Webex

Keeping your classroom on topic and safe from trolling shouldn't be something you have to worry about when teaching. Unfortunately, misbehavior can and does happen. These tips should help you keep...

Posted: March 27, 2020, 10:53 AM

Unexpected Calendar Invites and Meeting/Class Messages

Beware of Unexpected Calendar Invites and Meeting Messages

As we have all begun to work and attend classes remotely, we are receiving more and more meeting messages and calendar invites.  Almost all of these messages and calendar entries include links to...

Posted: March 27, 2020, 12:45 AM

COVID-19 Insurance Scams

Beware of Insurance Scams

There are many efforts underway to steal information and money through insurance scams.  Some of the recent scams involve: Fake "corona" insurance, Bogus calls warning that your health...

Posted: March 27, 2020, 12:16 AM

Fraudulent Requests for Medicare Information and $1000 Offer

Don't Give out Information or Fall for Unreal Offers

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports a warning from the Florida Attorney General about recent COVID-19 scams.  In one case, ”a 90-year-old woman was asked for her Medicare number so she could...

Posted: March 26, 2020, 11:57 PM

Fake COVID-19 Giftcards

If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is...

For several days, there have been reports of fake gift cards supposedly distributed by Starbucks, Lowes, and Walmart as an ‘apology’ for closing their stores due to social distancing...

Posted: March 26, 2020, 11:35 PM