Enterprise Services

Tips and Tricks: Outlook Web Access

December 14, 2016 by Michael Caban

Most UCI Exchange email and calendar users now have their accounts in Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud service. You can always use the full-featured Outlook application (part of Microsoft Office), but you can also use the Web interface, Outlook Web Access (OWA) if Outlook isn’t available on your computer, or doesn’t meet your needs.

There are many methods for sorting and filing from your inbox. You can delete a single message by simply clicking on the trash can icon that appears when you hover over or select the message. You can use the check-boxes that appear on the left when mousing over a message to create a group for refiling or deletion. You can also drag-and-drop messages one at a time or (by shift-clicking or control-clicking) in groups.

Because OWA is part of an online suite of Microsoft tools, you can quickly jump to another (such as your calendar) using the grid in the upper left of the window. There is also a flexible search box in that corner.

The Filter drop-down menu above your message list offers a number of features, including the ability to choose how the message list is sorted (say, by date or sender.)

From the black-and-white gear at the upper right, you can configure your out-of-office message, as well as make some layout choices (Display Settings).

The Reading Pane is where you see the contents of a message. You can choose where in your browser window you want it to appear, or suppress it and use all the screen space for your folder and message list. From the Conversations tab you can display related messages with the newest message first or last.

This is only a sample of the features in OWA. The OIT Help Desk is ready to assist you with any other needs in managing your Exchange email or calendar.

In Brief August 2016

August 16, 2016 by Lyle Wiedeman

OIT has completed its transition away from centrally printed and distributed reports. Users can access past and current reports using the Electronic Document Library (EDL), and if necessary download and print reports in PDF format.
Results from OIT’s Customer Satisfaction Survey are now available for review. OIT will be using this this information to adjust and enhance our services.
There is now an easier way to request resetting a forgotten voicemail security code.
As part of an overall strategy to recruit top IT talent to UCI, OIT has produced a recruitment video.

Tips and Tricks: Managing Spam

August 16, 2016 by Lyle Wiedeman

Your email account is set up to help you perform your job. But there are thousands of individuals who want to use your account to sell you something, or steal something from you. Unsolicited commercial email – or spam – wastes your time and other University resources and exposes you to malicious software.

What does OIT do to protect me?

OIT blocks known spammers from sending email to UCI. If someone has been improperly listed, the message our spam blocker sends will alert the sender to the problem and give an opportunity to fix it.

What can I do to limit spam?

OIT examines incoming email and tags it if it looks like spam. To take advantage of these tags, you must set up spam filters (see “What can I do about spam?” on OIT’s spam web page) to move messages marked as spam from your Inbox to a spam folder. No automated technique can determine with 100% accuracy if a message is spam. Check your spam folder periodically for legitimate messages that were incorrectly marked as spam, as well as to delete the actual spam.

If you use Office365 as your mail service, the Exchange server analyzes incoming mail, directing messages that are very likely spam to your Junk Mail folder. A secondary feature which you can activate is “clutter.” Exchange tries to learn the messages that are not important to you and directs them to your Clutter folder. By moving messages to the Clutter folder, or rescuing messages from the Clutter folder, you can train Exchange how to perform this gentler, second-level filtering. For more on Clutter, read this Office Online article from Microsoft.

How can I help?

You can help us identify new sources and styles of spam. We have a special email address for reporting such behavior, and detailed instructions can be found in the OIT Knowledge Base.

OIT Does That? Unix Support

August 16, 2016 by Kyle Kurr

In a world rife with laptops and smart phones, one seldom stops to think about the infrastructure delivering all the web sites, databases, and other services which make up the Internet. Such servers are also a key part of UCI’s technology foundation.

OIT’s Enterprise Unix Support team, lead by Kyle Kurr, provides a range of services including system administration (configuring, running, and protecting Unix servers), data backups, Web hosting, co-location (housing your server in a climate-controlled and secure facility) and consulting. High-performance servers are also assets key to faculty research in many disciplines, and OIT can step in to manage the hardware so faculty can focus on the research.

Most EUS services are available on a recharge basis, but allow system owners to leverage existing university investments in the OIT Data Center as well as expertise in servers, operating systems, and IT security. If you have or expect to need a Unix server, Kyle (kkurr@uci.edu) and his team would be happy to talk to you.

In Brief March 2016

March 30, 2016 by Lyle Wiedeman

Webmail users should try out the new Webmail interface. It has useful new features, and OIT wants to know of any features from the legacy Webmail which would make the new Webmail more useful.
UCInetID passwords must be changed at least once a year. A UCInetID with an old password will be disabled. You will need to reactivate a disabled UCInetID to continue to use it.
Faculty, Staff, and graduate students who use Webfiles (UCI’s on-campus file storage and sharing service) are invited to test the new Webfiles software, which is more secure and offers an updated and easier user interface.