BLACKBOARD

You may have read about recent concerns regarding potential security weaknesses inherent in Java, a piece of software that facilitates functionality within various web applications. Current recommendations from security organizations such as the SANS Institute are indicating that if you must keep Java active on your computer, you should ensure that you have the latest version/updates from Java, and that you have a solid, reliable, active anti-virus/anti-malware program running on that computer.

Office of Technology staff members are ensuring the safety of UCM-owned computers connected to the campus network, as well as ensuring the correct version of Java is running for Banner interactions. However, you should take steps to maintain the security of your personally-owned devices. For more details regarding this issue and steps you may want to take with your personally-owned computers/devices, read on...

If you have disabled Java in the Java Control Panel, you will need to manually re-enable it after installing this release. You can find the check box in the Security tab of the Java Control Panel. If you have previously disabled Java Plugin in the browser, you will need to manually re-enable it after installing this release. In Firefox, you can do this in the Add Ons -> Plugin screen. In Internet Explorer, this functionality is located in Tools -> Manage Add-ons.

Remember, updates and patches for UCM owned computers are managed by the Office of Technology and all necessary updates will be automatically applied. If your computing device is not owned and managed by UCM please ensure you have installed the latest version and updates for the best protection. It is also important to ensure machines have reliable, up-to-date, anti-virus and anti-malware solutions installed. No cost anti-virus solutions can be downloaded from Avast Software (avast version 7 free), AVG Technologies (AVG AntiVirus Free 2013) and Avira Operations (Avira Free Antivirus 2013).

If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact the Technology Support Center at (660) 543-4357 or tsc@ucmo.edu.