Archives: Bulletins

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is now available to Mason employees (faculty and staff) for Office 365 accounts. Protect your email, calendar, and other Office 365-related applications from phishing and other threats by opting-in today.

For information on how to protect your Office 365 account with Mason’s Duo 2FA, see Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for Office 365.

Employees who choose to protect their Office 365 account with 2FA will use it when accessing Office 365 related applications on all devices. However, you will not have to log in more often than you already do.

Office 365 Applications supported by ITS include:

• Email
• Calendar
• OneDrive for Business
• Office 365 Pro Plus (for Home Use)
• Skype for Business
• More to come…

2FA is not available for generic accounts at this time.

On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for desktop and laptop computers running Windows 7.

This change affects all faculty and staff with Mason-owned computers running Windows 7. All systems must be updated by the January 2020 deadline.

Without the appropriate security updates, outdated systems pose a significant security threat to your information and the university. Information Technology Services is available to assist with updating Windows 7 systems to Windows 10.

For additional information, visit the Microsoft website.

If you have a desktop or laptop that needs to be updated, contact the ITS Support Center to schedule an appointment.

Welcome to the new ITS website! As a result of this site launching, several ITS websites will be redirected in April for a better, more streamlined user experience. On Wednesday, April 10, users will notice changes to the online logins for the following services: Employee email (office365.gmu.edu), Student email (masonlive.gmu.edu), and Two-Factor Authentication (2fa.gmu.edu).

How to Prepare:

• Employee & Student Email: On April 10, users who access their email online via office365.gmu.edu or masonlive.gmu.edu will be redirected to mail.gmu.edu. Users will notice a new look; however, nothing is changing to Office365/MasonLive account credentials. From mail.gmu.edu, users will select employee or student email to go to the standard login screens.
• Two-Factor Authentication: On April 10, 2fa.gmu.edu will be redirected to the new 2FA service page where users can easily access the 2FA Management site to enroll or manage their 2FA account.
• IT Services: In addition to these changes, a new service catalog via its.gmu.edu/services is available. All information about ITS resources has moved to the new site, therefore, itservices.gmu.edu will be redirected to its.gmu.edu on Wednesday, April 3.

Website Highlights:

• Introduction of an ITS Knowledge Base: More than 600 how-tos, getting started guides, and frequently asked questions in a centrally located, organized index
• Improved Search: Improved search features to help users self-serve and easily find the information of most interest
• Increased Transparency: IT outages, upcoming maintenance, and bulletins easily located on the homepage
• One-stop Shop: Learn about services, get help, and access the most critical info that affects your ability to work and learn in one place

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact the ITS Support Center.

The MicroStrategy software production upgrade was completed on Thursday, November 8.  We are now operating on version 10.11 of MicroStrategy.  The maintenance in the production and UAT environments on Friday, November 9 is also complete.

Both the BI Group and a select group of users have already tested the new version, which contains only minor changes, for example, icons changing, colors changing. Most users will not notice any difference.  Details are available in the following document: What’s New in MicroStrategy Version 10.11.

The MicroStrategy login page was updated to add branding and detailed instructions.