Active Directory
Q:
What is Active Directory?
A:
Though this is over simplified, AD is simply a centralized database for all of our accounts that allows us to login in one place for email, Internet filter pass through, network access, and whatever other network resources are added and that talk to AD.
Q:
Why did we switch from Novell?
A:
We have been using the same version of Novell since the late 90s/early 00s when we went from version 4.11 to 6.22 (or something like that). The Network operating system is no longer developed as it has moved to a Linux based NOS that we were not equipped to move to. Besides that, 85% of the education market uses Windows for their network operating system, and all of the software being written for education runs on Active Directory-based systems, while almost nothing runs on Novell anymore. It is the right thing to do, and the tasty way to do it. K
Q:
How do I change my password?
A:
This one sort of threw me for a loop. Many of you have the same password that you were given back in ’99 when you came to work here. The fact that several of you wanted to change your passwords brought a little tear of hope to my eye. Thanks for that. There are other methods, but the easiest way is to login to your web-based email (http://alpha.watertown.k12.wi.us/exchange), go into the options (left hand side), and select the button labeled…you guessed it…”Change Password”. I strongly suggest that you do this. I also strongly suggest that your password is not the name of your dog/cat/kids/favorite football team. Strong passwords are a combination of numbers, symbols, and letters of different capitalization. It should also be something you can pronounce or easily remember so that you DO NOT NEED TO WRITE IT DOWN. I have found many of your passwords written down on a sticky note either on your desk or on your computer. Believe it or not, if I were able to figure that out, so can the kids. J
Examples of good passwords:
“Fr@nk75” or “R1ch32”– Here I just thought of the name of someone I liked and combined it with the jersey number of one of my favorite football players. The names didn’t have to be our friendly neighborhood techs. They could have been friends, family members, or the like, but since I changed the spelling by using symbols or numbers to replace some of the letters, they won’t be guessed. “a” becomes “@”, “i” becomes “1” or “l” (lowercased letter ‘l’), “e” becomes “3”, etc. Anything that makes sense to you will work. The numbers could have been the last 4 digits of a phone number of a friend, or your childhood street number, or something else that is not obvious, but is easy for you to remember without writing it down.
“Peeanowman” – Though there are no numbers in this one, it is a strong password because it is easy for me to remember (one of my favorite Billy Joel Songs), but it is not a dictionary word. You can also just choose to misspell the word (e.g. Nocturne becomes Noctourne).
“Ecclesiastes10:2” or “AnotherBrick03”– Using your favorite Bible verse or Song Titles/artists/albums and track numbers or Act and Scene or whatever makes it memorable, provides an unlikely combination of words, symbols, and numbers that make it easy for you to recall, but hard for anyone else to guess.
“ttwwadib4” or “gr8dane” – taking a common saying (That’s the way we’ve always done it before) and making it into an acronym or using numbers to replace word parts that sound like them are another gr8 way to come up with passwords that are easy to remember, but hard to guess.
Dogskipaint – combining words that mean something important to you separately, but are nonsense when shoved together can create passwords that are not guessable, but are easy for you to remember.
Q:
How do I find my network files?
A:
Because of the tight integration with our Windows operating systems, Active Directory can easily map your network folders to “My Documents” (on XP). When you save to that folder, it will save to your local hard drive (in case you take your laptop home and need to use the files), but it also synchronizes those files to the network automatically upon logout or shutdown.
Q:
Why does it take so long to shutdown? It says it is synchronizing my files.
A:
See the previous answer. This does also allow you to access your network files from other computers in the building that are setup to use the AD as your profile can now “follow you” around, but only those with your login and password can get online. This makes it especially important that you take care to set a secure password, while keeping it private.
Q:
How important is it that I keep my password secure? After all, we aren’t exactly the Pentagon here.
A:
As mentioned, I know some of you have not changed your passwords since coming here and your name and the year you came here are still part of your password. When I come around to help some of you, I still recognize several of the passwords that I setup on the BBS in 1995. That's older than 4 of my kids. Some of them are good passwords that are not likely to be guessed, but some of them are literally your last name and the year your account was setup.
We have had kids guess these in the past. I even had one teacher at the high school tell me his password from across the room when his entire class was sitting there. Keep in mind that if they get your password, they are able to change their grades, read your email, and steal all of the money from your bank accounts (I lied about the last one, but thought it might get some of you to change your passwords because I know some of you actually use the same passwords at home that you use here at work).
Q:
How important is it that I keep my password secure? After all, we aren’t exactly the Pentagon here.
A:
As mentioned, I know some of you have not changed your passwords since coming here and your name and the year you came here are still part of your password. When I come around to help some of you, I still recognize several of the passwords that I setup on the BBS in 1995. That's older than 4 of my kids. Some of them are good passwords that are not likely to be guessed, but some of them are literally your last name and the year your account was setup.
We have had kids guess these in the past. I even had one teacher at the high school tell me his password from across the room when his entire class was sitting there. Keep in mind that if they get your password, they are able to change their grades, read your email, and steal all of the money from your bank accounts (I lied about the last one, but thought it might get some of you to change your passwords because I know some of you actually use the same passwords at home that you use here at work).
Q:
I notice a difference between how teachers use them. Some leave them on all day since they will use it periodically throughout the day. Others turn them off when they are done for that class, but may turn it on again for the next class. Is one system better for the life of the bulb/projector?
A:
I’ll give you more information than you probably want, so if you don’t care “why?”, but just want to know “how long?”, the answer is “turn it off if you won’t need it for 15-30 minutes”.
Projectors are designed to send an initial “ramp up” voltage to the bulb to excite the filament when first turned on and then cycle down quickly to the normal operating voltage. This voltage is calculated based on the assumption that the projector is at room temperature. If the bulb is already hot, the default voltage is much higher than needed and thus the bulb life will be dramatically decreased over time due to stress on the filament (99% of the reason a bulb will fail). Most manufacturers try to cool their bulbs down within 15 minutes. That is the reason for the fans. A non-fanned projector will take about 30 minutes to cool down to room temperature (68? F). Non-fannedstationary projectors statistically last longer than fanned projectors because the “rapid” cooling from the fan during cool down will put a greater stress on the filament and result in a faster burnout. However, this stress is much less than the stress of moving the projector when hot, or starting it back up when hot.
So, if you are using it every class, for the majority of the class period, leave it on all day. If you use it for 10-30 minutes at the beginning of each class, then it would be beneficial to shut it down after presenting and restarting when needed again. If you frequently use the projector to put up information in an impromptu manner and cannot anticipate when it will be needed, I would say use common sense based on how often this happens, but err toward leaving it on during the day, but make sure to shut it down as soon as you are done using it for the day.
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