Urgent Update: Research Computing Outages

SEE HERE for details.

Urgent: macOS Big Sur Announcement
With the recent release of macOS Big Sur, faculty, staff, and students alike have asked us about updating to Big Sur. Big Sur is the first major macOS update in many years, so it may be tempting to update right away. But, the bigger the update, the bigger the initial problems, and right now Big Sur has plenty of them…

As a department, we are strongly recommending not updating to macOS Big Sur at this time. Departmental laptops currently have the update blocked and we highly discourage anyone with a personal laptop from updating until Big Sur is further tested and the initial bugs are worked out. If you choose to do so, know that you do so at your own risk, as we are currently not supporting Big Sur as an IT department.

A few notes on Big Sur compatibility that we’ve seen firsthand:

On some older MacBook Pros, especially 2013/2014 models, the Big Sur update bricks your computer completely, to the point that you only get an unresponsive black screen when you turn it on. See here for details.
Cisco AnyConnect VPN has been causing kernel panics on multiple departmental test Macbook Pros.
If you’re currently on Mojave, you should know that Catalina and Big Sur have both stopped support for any 32bit pieces of software. There is no workaround, short of installing Mojave on a virtual machine and virtualizing the app.
There are many untested pieces of software used at a departmental level in Trinity A&S. Considering that finals are right around the corner, if you update and find yourself unable to run pieces of software essential to your final exams, we will be unable to assist.

Notice: DukeHub 2.0 Rolling Out Soon

https://sissoffice.duke.edu/new-dukehub-20

See above link for information on DukeHub 2.0.
It is recommended that faculty/staff that regularly use DukeHub attend one of the Thursday training sessions. Please email siss-dukehub@duke.edu to get signed up for the next session!

Urgent: Duke OIT Security Notice

Duke Faculty, Staff and Students,

On Oct. 28, 2020, Duke received an alert of an imminent and credible cybercrime threat involving ransomware targeting U.S. healthcare organizations. While there are no indications yet that Duke has been directly impacted, the joint Duke IT Security Offices are enacting timely and reasonable precautions that include heightened monitoring for potential security issues. We are asking everyone in our community to remain vigilant and to take steps to protect Duke and our patients:

• Do not open emails, click on links, or open attachments from unknown or suspicious senders.
• Report all suspicious emails to the IT Security Office by clicking on the “Report Phish to Duke” button or emailing security@duke.edu.
• Do not access non-work email accounts (personal email) while using a Duke-owned computer or connected to the VPN.
• Check with your IT support to ensure that your computers are fully patched, including your web browsers.
• Ensure that you are applying security updates on your home computers.
• Install the Crowdstrike Prevent for Home Use on your personal Windows machines (https://software.duke.edu/node/673).
• Effective immediately, Duke will temporarily reduce the session timeout on VPN to 10 hours to support a typical workday. The 30-minute “idle” timeout will remain unchanged.

Details about the joint cybersecurity advisory are available at https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa20-302a. More information on the already-seen impact across the U.S. can be found in Brian Krebs’ report: https://krebsonsecurity.com.

If you have any questions, please reach out to security@duke.edu

Richard Biever,
Chief Information Security Officer, Duke University

Randy Arvay,
Chief Information Security Officer, Duke Health

Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) with Duke’s Virtual Private Network (VPN)

As of February 6, 2018, Duke has implemented a new security policy that requires all users of Duke’s VPN to use Multi-Factor Authentication when logging in. This easy-to-use reference guide will make your transition easier.

Before you begin to VPN: Setting up MFA

There are several options for Multi-Factor Authentication. You can use a smartphone, a tablet, a basic cellphone, an office phone, or a YubiKey (see Duke OIT link below for more information on the YubiKey).

To enroll in MFA, click the following link: Enroll Here
If you need assistance setting up or enrolling in MFA, click the following link: Biology IT Wiki MFA Setup Assistance

Connecting to the VPN using MFA

Once you’re enrolled in MFA, you can follow these steps to connect to the VPN.

1. Launch your Cisco AnyConnect VPN client or go to https://portal.duke.edu
2. Choose your VPN using the dropdown arrow and click “”
3. Enter your NetID and NetID Password and click OK.

• Enter your NetID and NetID Password and click OK.

• You will then see a screen with an ‘MFA option field. Enter the number that corresponds with your preferred MFA option (using the device that you registered above).
• Type ‘1’ to authenticate using the DUO app on your smart device.
• Type ‘2’ to authenticate via phone call. You will receive a call and be prompted to press a number.
  Once you press this number, you will be connected to the VPN
• Type ‘3’ to receive ten access codes via text message.

Each code can only be used once, and these codes are active for three days.

• If you are using a YubiKey, place your cursor in the ‘MFA Option’ field and touch the gold button on the YubiKey.

The code will automatically be entered and you will be connected to the VPN.

5. You should now be connected to the VPN. Verify by seeing if the Cisco AnyConnect icon in your dock has a small lock icon, as pictured here:

To access a group’s folder on Dropbox, please perform the following steps.

1. Sign in to your Duke Bio_Ea Dropbox account on dropbox.com.

2. At the bottom left of your Dropbox page click on “Duke Bio_Ea”, and then click on “Groups and members”.

This guide discusses a feature that is available to all Dropbox Professional customers.

If you’re a Dropbox Professional customer, the feature is available by default. If you’re a Dropbox Business team admin, you can enable Smart Sync and get started.

Smart Sync is a Dropbox feature that helps you save space on your hard drive. Access every file and folder in your Dropbox account from your computer, using virtually no hard drive space. Smart Sync is available for Dropbox Professional customers, and members of Dropbox Business teams. With Smart Sync, you can:

• Choose if individual files or folders are available online-only or locally on your computer
• Select a default sync setting for new files and folders that are shared with you

With Smart Sync, content on your computer is available as either online-only, local, or in mixed state folders.

Online-only content

Online-only content appears in the Dropbox folder on your computer, but doesn’t use the full amount of space that the file otherwise would. You can see the file, but the content isn’t fully downloaded until you need it. Only information about the file, such as the file name, location, and date the file was updated, is downloaded.

Local content

Local content is downloaded and saved on the hard drive of your computer. You can directly edit these files from applications on your computer. This content is still backed up to Dropbox as well.

 Mixed state folders

Mixed state folders contain both local and online-only content.

Start with Smart Sync

When you start using Smart Sync:

• There’s no change to files already in the Dropbox folder on your computer
• New content is automatically online-only unless you or your team admin chooses otherwise

Note: To use Smart Sync, you need to install the Dropbox desktop application on your computer.

Why Smart Sync?

Smart Sync is a reliable way of using cloud-based storage to maximize efficiency by minimizing the amount of storage used by project data on individual users’ PCs and Laptops. As projects get larger, networks get faster, and hard drive space becomes more of a valuable commodity, Smart Sync allows users to choose which files are stored locally and which files are stored in the cloud.

Mac Instructions:

How do I make content online-only?

1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.
   1. Click the Dropbox icon from the menu bar.
   2. Click the folder icon.
   3. Choose Open folder.
2. Locate the content that you want to make online-only.
3. Control-click or right-click the file or folder.
4. Choose Smart sync.

Choose Online-only

How do I sync online-only content to my computer?

You can open a file as usual through your application or Finder. Dropbox downloads the entire file to your computer.

To sync a file or folder without opening it immediately, you can make it local:

1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.
   1. Click the Dropbox icon from the menu bar.
   2. Click the folder icon.
   3. Choose Open folder.
2. Locate the content that you want to make online-only.
3. Control-click or right-click the file or folder.
4. Choose Smart sync.
5. Choose Local.

How can I choose a default setting for new content?

1. Click the Dropbox icon from the menu bar.
2. Click the gear icon and select .. from the menu.
3. Click Sync.
4. Choose your work Dropbox account.
5. Change the selection for Smart Sync Default:

• Admin default: the default setting chosen by your team admin.
• Local: all new content downloads to your computer.
• Online-only: manually download files to your computer.

Windows Instructions:

How do I make content online-only?

1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.
   1. Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray.
   2. Click the folder icon.
   3. Choose Open folder.
2. Locate the content that you want to make online-only.
3. Right-click the file or folder.
4. Choose Smart sync.

Choose Online-only.

How do I sync online-only content to my computer?

You can open a file as usual through your application or Windows Explorer. Dropbox downloads the entire file to your computer.

To sync a file or folder without opening it immediately, you can make it local:

1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.
   1. Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray.
   2. Click the folder icon.
   3. Choose Open folder.
2. Locate the content that you want to make online-only.
3. Right-click the file or folder.
4. Choose Smart sync.
5. Choose Local.

How can I choose a default setting for new content?

1. Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray.
2. Click the gear icon and select .. from the menu.
3. Click Sync.
4. Choose your work Dropbox account.
5. Change the selection for Smart Sync Default:

• Admin default: the default setting chosen by your team admin.
• Local: all new content downloads to your computer.
• Online–only: Manually download files to your computer when you need them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the system requirements for Smart Sync?

Smart Sync works on Microsoft Windows Vista and above, and on Mac OSX 10.9 and above.

I have folders selectively synced, how do I make my selective sync content online-only?

Follow the steps to change the selective sync settings for your folders. Once your folders are no longer selectively synced, they automatically become online- only folders.

Does changing a file to online-only delete the file from my Dropbox?

No, making a file online-only doesn’t delete it from your Dropbox. When you make a file online-only, the file content will be deleted from your computer, but the full file will still be available in your account online and on your other devices.

Do online-only files use space on my local hard drive?

Online-only files use a small amount of space on your hard drive to store information about the file, such as its name and size. This uses less space than the full file.

Can I access online-only content when I’m not connected to the internet?

No, online-only content isn’t stored locally on your computer. Connect to the internet to access online-only content.

Can I move online-only files within my Dropbox folder?

Yes, you can move online-only content inside the Dropbox folder on your device, and changes sync to your other devices. If you move online-only content outside of the local Dropbox folder, the content downloads to that location.

What happens if I delete an online-only file or move it to my trash?

Any actions taken on an online-only file sync to your Dropbox account and to anyone else who shares that file. Since the file isn’t stored on your computer, the file content will not be available in your trash. You can restore deleted files from your Dropbox account online.

Can I use my desktop search to find online-only files or their contents?

You can use your desktop search to locate online-only files and folders by name. However, online-only files don’t contain the full contents of your file, so your desktop search can’t search file contents.

Can I have different Smart Sync settings on different devices?

Yes, Smart Sync settings are unique to each device you link to your Dropbox account.

Can I have local files in an online-only folder?

Yes, if a folder is online-only, you can download individual files inside the folder.

Can I remove content from my device completely without removing it from my Dropbox?

Yes, if you don’t want files to appear on your device, you can use selective sync. Selective sync helps you choose which files appear in your desktop application, and which are only available online.

Can I use Smart Sync on my personal account?

Smart Sync is available for all Dropbox Professional customers. It’s also available as an early access feature for Dropbox Business users. If you connected a personal account (Basic or Plus) to a Business account, Smart Sync won’t be available for that personal account

Note: All information in this guide from: https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/smart-sync.

Please go here for any additional information.