After successful User Acceptance Testing for software updates before distribution, we are currently distributing Google Chrome 48.0.2564.116 and Adobe Flash Player 20.0.0.306 to SHU Managed Desktop workstations.
These updates have been released in order to resolve critical flaws with the previous versions. They will only install when the workstation is at the ctrl-alt-del login screen.
Chrome 48 is now being distributed to SHU workstations.
One of the features of Chrome 48 is removal of support for the RC4 cipher over https.
This cipher is consider extremely vulnerable and it was agreed that last year by the major browser producers to drop support for this in 2016.
This does mean that some web sites might not work with Chrome in the Managed Desktop, though hopefully all the sites used with SHU are using a different, more secure. encryption.
Web sites that are not accessible with Chrome will still be available with Internet Explorer for the time being, but Microsoft have agreed to remove support for RC4 from IE and Edge shortly.
After successful User Acceptance Testing for software updates before distribution, we are currently distributing Google Chrome 48.0.2564.82 and Adobe Flash Player 20.0.0.286 to SHU Managed Desktop workstations.
These updates have been released in order to resolve critical flaws with previous versions. They will only install when the workstation is at the ctrl+alt+del login screen.
After successful User Acceptance Testing for software updates before distribution, we are currently distributing Google Chrome 45.0.2454.85, Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.232 and Adobe Shockwave Player 12.2.0.162 to SHU Managed Desktop workstations.
These updates have been released in order to resolve critical flaws with previous versions. They will only install when the workstation is at the ctrl+alt+del login screen.
Sheffield Hallam University has become part of Microsoft’s early adopter’s programme which means we are among the first customers in the world to preview and use the new Surface pro 4 devices.
Please see the IS&T Blog post.
Each time a hotfix is installed, the files updated are saved in the C:\Windows\winsxs folder so that the update can be uninstalled if necessary.
This includes updates have been superseded by other updates so will never be re-installed.
If workstations are short of space there is a process that can be run that free up over 4.7Gb of disk space, which are these superseded updates.
To do this:
This whole process can quite a long time to complete.
Once this has been done it would be worth performing a defrag on the disk as well.
After successful MD UAT Testing we have released Google Chrome 43.0.2357.134 and Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.209 to MD7 workstations. These updates have been released in order to resolve critical flaws with the previous versions. They are being distributed in a phased roll out so it will take a few days to be applied to MD7 Lab and Office workstations and will only install when the workstation is at the ctrl+alt+del screen.
In order to check which version of Google Chrome is installed on your workstation, start Chrome and check the version number.
You can check what version of Adobe Flash Player is installed by opening Internet Explorer and visiting http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about
Whilst using MD2015 workstations users will no longer have additional keyboards and languages available from the language bar on the Taskbar, but instead if users want to add them they should select the relevant language from the ‘Keyboards and Languages’ Start Menu folder.
There are more languages available then previously and we can easily add additional ones as required.
The ‘Keyboards and Languages’ shortcut will allow users to select their own preference if there is not a pre-defined one, whilst the ‘Remove All’ shortcut will remove all additional languages apart from English (UK) that we have previously specified.
This is to allow users who don’t require any foreign language keyboards for their profile to remove them all, which will remove the possibility of them selecting them using the keyboard shortcut keys of ‘Alt + Left Shift’ together.
It will not remove ones that we have not pre-defined, so if a user sets up their own combination this will remain and will need removing manually via the ‘keyboards and languages’ shortcut.
These start menu shortcuts have now been added to the MD2014 menus, so although MD2014 users will still have the additional languages in the Taskbar, they can remove them from their profile using the above method and this can be suggested to users who are having issues with foreign keyboards as it will resolve it.
HSG are producing information about the new setup for staff and students and any queries or suggestions about additional keyboards should directed to them initially.
IS&T have altered MD7 Office Desktops so that new profiles do not use Cached Exchange Mode by default.
This now applies to all MD7 desktop workstations, including MD2014 ones that previously used CEM as default.
This has been done for a number of reasons including to resolve issues seen by users with multiple shared calendars and also for users who are part of ‘New Ways of Working’ as each time they visited a workstation for the first time their email was cached to the local workstation.
This only affects users using an Office workstation for the first time, anyone with an existing Outlook setup will remain using their current configuration, so if people are currently using CEM on their desktop this will remain so.
Enabling CEM
If users want to enable CEM on the workstation for Outlook this can be done by running MD Help from the Start Menu, then selecting the ’Self Service Tasks’ tab and then the ‘Enable Outlook Cache Mode’.
Alternatively, open Outlook, select File tab, Account Settings, Account Settings, double-click on the profile name and select the tick box ‘Use Cached Exchange Mode’.
A lot of users prefer CEM enabled because it has much enhanced searching capabilities due to emails being indexed.
You can tell when using CEM by the Exchange status in the bottom right of the Outlook application, which will state ‘Connected to Microsoft Exchange’.
Disabling CEM for users that are currently using it
If users currently using CEM wish to revert to using ‘Online’ connection, so having a direct connection within the Exchange service then to do this they should open MD Help from the Start Menu, then select the ’Self Service Tasks’ tab and then the ‘Reset Outlook Profile’.
Caution – As it says, this will reset the Outlook profile, effectively setting it up as though a new user so removing additional mailboxes and some user settings. IS&T wouldn’t recommend doing this unless required.
You can tell when NOT using CEM by the Exchange status in the bottom right of the Outlook application, which will state ‘Online with Microsoft Exchange’.
Laptops
MD7 laptops will continue to use CEM and should do so as this allows users to access existing emails and create new ones whilst away from the University and not connected to the Internet or VPN.
New emails will be sync’d when a connection to the Exchange service is next made.
After successful MD UAT Testing we have released Google Chrome 43.0.2357.132 and Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.203 to MD7 workstations. These updates have been released in order to resolve critical flaws with the previous versions. They are being distributed in a phased roll out so it will take a few days to be applied to MD7 Lab and Office workstations and will only install when the workstation is at the ctrl+alt+del screen.
In order to check which version of Google Chrome is installed on your workstation, start Chrome and check the version number.
You can check what version of Adobe Flash Player is installed by opening Internet Explorer and visiting http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about