Welcome to A&F Administrative Systems. Our goal is to provide A&F staff with the systems, software, and training that's needed to do your jobs with excellence. Please use the menu above to navigate our application and desktop support areas. Should you need further assistance, please refer to the contact information to the right. Our office will be happy to assist you.
Welcome
Alerts & Notices
General Wireless Connection Issues - Early April 2017 Notice
Updated: Monday, April 10, 2017 - 10:54
During regular testing and system review, UMass Amherst IT discovered a required security update that needs to be made this weekend. As a result of this update, the eduroam wireless connection on Mac OS and iOS devices (laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets) and some Windows devices may stop working.
Mobile Devices:
If your device(s) do not connect to eduroam at any point this, first navigate to your wifi connection and have your device forget the eduroam network. Next, connect to the UMASS wireless network, and then click the yellow button to connect to eduroam and run the XpressConnect wizard to reconfigure your device for eduroam. To show the yellow button you may need to manually launch a web browser. If the page does not automatically load please go to http://www.umass.edu/it/xpressconnect.
Note: You must be connected to the UMASS network while running the XpressConnect wizard to successfully connect to eduroam. If you are using an Apple device you MUST delete your previous eduroam profile. To do this, on your iOS device, go to Settings > General > Profiles, then select the eduroam Secure Wireless Network profile or on your Mac OS device, go to System Preferences > Profiles.
Windows Devices:
Some Windows devices (mostly Windows 7) laptops may also experience issues with the wireless connection. Unfortunately for university managed devices this will likely require assistance from your IT staff. Please bring you laptop to 115 Whitmore (just down the hall from 126 Whitmore), and a staff member should be able to assist you. If you are able to connect the laptop to a wired connection, or authenticate first on the UMASS wireless network, we may be able to assist remotely. Please call 5-1956 when your laptop is connected and able to connect to the public internet.
What our staff will do: We will reconfigure the eduroam profile using the XpressConnect wizard. Some Windows devices also require the network profile to be reset/forgotten by the device. The following article shows how to access this for Windows 7: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg252588.aspx.
For more information on eduroam configuration settings, please see the following support articles:
- Basic configuration settings
- Connect to eduroam with Mac OS
- Connect to eduroam with iOS
- Connect to eduroam with Windows (will require support from A&F IT staff).
- Connect to eduroam with Android Devices
For any questions/concerns please contact 5-1956 (413-545-1956) or email afit@umass.edu.
General ISSUES LOGGING INTO HR DIRECT
Updated: Friday, March 24, 2017 - 15:51
or the other applications as noted in the alert below. If you time out or get the old "secure access login" page, you should close all browser windows, open one window, clear the browser cache, and then try logging in again. Chrome seems to be having less issues but still happens.
We are actively working with the President's Office IT to find a solution
Applications UITS Application Single Sign On changes
Updated: Thursday, March 16, 2017 - 09:44
Beginning today, March 16th, the login page for HR Direct, Finance, Summit, BuyWays and eCert will change from the President’s Office “Secure Access Page” to an Amherst Federation login page. The login will now look like many other campus application login pages and will require only your NetID and password. Because this is now single sign on with the campus, you may not need to enter your credentials if you are already logged into a campus application. However, you must make sure to LOGOUT and CLOSE YOUR BROWSER when you are finished with any application to prevent accidental access of your HR information.
If you have bookmarked any of the applications, these bookmarks will no longer bring you to the correct login page. Various A&F web pages are updated to reflect the new login links, including all links to the right on this page.
Please review the more detailed information in the document below which includes information on bookmarks/favorites.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 UITS application signon changes_March 2017.pdf | 94.63 KB |
| Creating Bookmarks/Favorites for the new urls | 150.51 KB |
General Email Phishing Scams
Updated: Thursday, March 9, 2017 - 10:41
The campus is being targeting for phishing scams and many A&F employees are reporting the increase in received attacks. Please be cautious of any received email, and consult your IT support team with any questions or concerns. You may also report any fraud/harmful email messagings using the instructions listed in another alert on this page. Always be cautious of emails you were not expected, and especially when they ask you to do something you are not familiar with.
Desktop ALERT: How to report fraud emails
Updated: Thursday, March 9, 2017 - 10:36
Please be cautious of scams and possible phishing attempts. If you are unsure about an email, it's best not to click any links or open any attachments. Feel free to call or email us with questions. We will be able to help determine if it's a threat or not. If you are going to send an email to us about a specific email in question, please "Forward as an Attachment" (done by going using the "More" button next to the normal reply/forward section of outlook). This allows us to trace where the email came from and determine what systems are compromised.
Desktop File Server Interruption
Updated: Thursday, March 9, 2017 - 10:35
At 1:10PM on 2/27/17 AF IT was aware of an issue with our File Server and attempted to correct the service. At roughly 1:20PM the issue was resolved.
At 9:20AM on 2/27/17 AF IT was aware of an issue with our File Server and attempted to correct the service. At roughly 9:31AM the issue was resolved.
If you are still missing desktop icons, right click the space and press "Refresh". They should reappear.
If you are missing network drive you will need to log off and log back in.
If you have any other issues please contact the AF IT at 5-1956.
Applications PeopleSoft Reporting has been decommissioned. Use Production.
Updated: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 09:56
The PeopleSoft Finance Reporting environment has been decommissioned. All users should now use PeopleSoft Finance Production for all their PeopleSoft Finance activity solely. Users have had all security access and any private queries they may have had copy over into Production.
General Phishing Scam Posing as University President Meehan - Security Alert
Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 - 13:17
On January 18, 2017, a new fraudulent phishing message with the subject "Essential document from president Marty Meehan" began targeting the UMass Amherst community. The email appears to have been sent by "Marty Meehan, (President@umass.edu)" and asks recipients to “read attached for an important announcement.” The email contains a PDF attachment. If recipients open and click the PDF, then click Download File, they are redirected to a web form which asks for an Email ID and password.
Note: UMass Amherst Information Technology has identified several similar fraudulent messages. The message title and the name of the attachment may vary.
Caution: This email did not come from the University of Massachusetts. It is a phishing scam designed to trick you into providing your NetID password to get access to your personal information for fraudulent purposes.
Do not respond to the fraudulent message, open the PDF or fill out the web form! Responding to this message may put your information and the university's information and systems at risk.
If you have already responded to the message, change your UMass Amherst IT Account password in SPIRE immediately.
Please contact A&F Technology Assistance Center (A&F User Support Services) at 5-1956 for an questions/concerns or if you or anyone you know may be at risk.
Desktop Printer Changes
Updated: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 - 10:21
We are migrating to a new print server AF-Print1. During the migration you may see that you have each printer twice, one on AF-Print1 and one on UMAAFFP-Print. The UMAAFFP-Print printers will be cleaned up automatically.
You may find as your printers change that you need to reselect your default printer.
- Go to Control Panel>Devices and Printers
- Right Click on the printer you would like
- Choose set as default printer
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 ScreenShot of default printer. | 34.54 KB |
General Acrobat DC Product Tutorials
Updated: Friday, December 9, 2016 - 17:13
For groups that have been recently upgraded to the new Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (Acrobat DC) and would like some tutorials on the new product, please look at the following resources:
UMass has access to Atomic Learning which provides video tutorials on many applications. Atomic Learning is available at: https://www.umass.edu/it/support/workshops-training/atomic-learning-umas...
Adobe also has a tutorial set available at: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/tutorials.html
Applications MyMicros - Java Fix
Updated: Friday, November 18, 2016 - 13:32
The new method of getting into My Micros with calendars working:
After you sign into the VPN portal, WSAM should automatically launch.
From there, go to http://af-mymicros.knox.umass.edu directly.
Do not click on the My Micros link in the portal -- it will not take you to the correct site.
General Subsidiary Account Password Expiration Notices
Updated: Monday, September 26, 2016 - 17:26
UMass Amherst Information Technology User Services is sending out emails to people who own subsidiary accounts. This is due to a policy change where these accounts will now have passwords expire after their set time frame similar to normal accounts.
What you should do:
Log in to SPIRE, go to Main Menu > IT Accounts > My IT Accounts. Look at the attached accounts that you "own". These are controlled by you and you can change the passwords by selecting the account from the list. However, depending on the use of the account, they may have different password rules. If an account is used as a service account that runs a process and can not go through the automated password expiration, please email afit@umass.edu with the accounts, the use of the accounts, and any special notes or people in AFIT that may know the details of the account/process.
Accounts that log in to workstations may be subject to this change regardless of their use as a service. It is still recommended you contact us regarding those accounts as well.
Student work accounts (often ending in af or -af), will need to have their passwords changed. If you own the account, you can change the password for the student, or you can do the "Assign Official User" part and assign it to the student who uses it. This gives them access to change the password, while keeping you as the owner of the account. They will be able to changet he password through SPIRE.
Please contact afit@umass.edu or 5-1956 with any questions or concerns regarding this change.
Details of their messages:
Beginning September 19th 2016, subsidiary accounts (except Resource and System accounts) will go through a process to change the password. The process is the similar to the one used for primary NetID password changes, and consists of three automated email reminders, over a two week period, sent to the account owner as well as the subsidiary account.
During the two week notification period, password changes on subsidiary accounts can be done in SPIRE by the account owner or the official user.
If the password is not changed within the two week notification period, the password will be expired. Once the password has been expired the account will not be usable until the password is changed in Spire.
Example of a reminder:
This is an automated reminder.
The password for subsidiary account - {ACCOUNT} (owned by {OWNER}) - is set to expire in ** 2 weeks **. Note: This is not your primary/NetID account. UMass Amherst IT enforces periodic password changes to enhance security.
If this password expires, you will not be able to use this account until the password is changed. If the password is not changed within 6 months after expiration, this account will be deleted.
To change this Subsidiary Account password, the Account Owner or Official Account User should:
1) Log in to SPIRE with your NetID and password.
2) Navigate to IT Accounts > My IT Accounts and select account {ACCOUNT}.
3) After clicking on the Change Password button, follow the instructions to change the password. Be sure to click Change IT Password at the bottom of the page.
If you no longer want this account, the Account Owner may delete it using the My IT Accounts page in SPIRE.
Thank you!
Desktop Login Screen Changes
Updated: Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - 10:25
To further help keep our inventory clear we have made changes to the log in screen of A&F desktops and laptops. The log in screen is now custom to your department.
If your log in screen says the wrong department or displays a message about needing to be moved please contact the helpdesk at 413-545-1956.
Desktop Filtering Junk Emails
Updated: Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 17:32
UMass has recently been targeted for large amounts of phishing and spam emails. The following links should help provide some information on how to protect against the number of emails. Sophisticated phishing attempts sometimes will make it through, and always requires the receiver to make judgments and be skeptical whenever they discuss service changes, account management changes, and other attempts to gain account information. If you ever have a concern about an email please give us a call or forward the email as an attachment to our support address: afit@umass.edu
UMail:
http://www.it.umass.edu/support/email/umail/spam-filtering-faq
Exchange/Outlook:
http://www.it.umass.edu/support/email/filter-junk-email-exchange
If you get an error saying you are working online and need to switch to cached exchange mode follow this guide:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Turn-on-Cached-Exchange-Mode-78...
Applications Logging into HR Direct
Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2015 - 16:04
If you attempt to login to HR Direct for your paycheck and receive the error message "Invalid Credentials", your password might be expired. If this happens, please contact UMass Amherst Information Technology at 5-9400 or email it@umass.edu. If you had set an alternative email, you can also use the "Forgot Your Password" link on the SPIRE login page.
Desktop Ad Blocking in Chrome and Internet Explorer with Adblock Plus
Updated: Monday, October 26, 2015 - 09:49
Adblock Plus is being utlilized to reduce network traffic and exposure to compromising ads. It is currently being pushed out to Chrome and Internet Explorer.
A new icon will show in the upper right of the Chrome window, or the lower right area of the Internet Explorer window. It will apear as:
If you encounter problems on a website and belive it to be the Adblock Plus (ABP), you can disable ad blocking for websites with the following instructions:
Disabling ABP in Chrome:
- Click the ABP Icon in the toolbar area.
- Click on the line where it says "Enabled on this site". It should now change to "Disabled on this site".
Disabling ABP in Internet Explorer:
- Click the ABP Icon in the lower toolbar area.
- Click on the line where it says "Disable on {current site}". It should now change to be disabled for the current site.
Desktop Java no longer supported in Chrome
Updated: Thursday, September 10, 2015 - 09:44
Please note Java is no longer supported in the Google Chrome web browser.
If you are having a problem with Java please make sure you are working in Internet Explorer (IE). Some examples of web based applications that use Java are: Summit, Tririga, MyMicros, ImageNow, SQBX.
For more information see the link below.
https://java.com/en/download/faq/chrome.xml
If you have any questions please call AFIT at 413-545-1956