Greetings, and welcome to the second DOM IT Services newsletter.

It's autumn, a time of change (and not just in politics!) and consolidation. We've put together several articles that deal with changes to policy and technologies, and more related to improving your productivity so you can do more with less. We also have profiles of a customer, a staff member, and DOM web site, and several project updates. Read on!

Microsoft recently reported a critial software vulnerability which affects all versions of Windows from version 2000 and later, including Windows XP and Vista. We sent information about this vulnerability to all of our supported users , and included instructions on how to secure your system. The simplest way to make sure your system is secure is to run Windows Update, or talk to your IT service professional. This security flaw does not affect Mac OS.

The results of our Fall Survey are in! We heard from hundreds of you on a wide range of topics, and we're seeing some interesting trends in the data compared to where we were in the Spring. Some results of interest:

• 8% of you only come to work every day to have access to the DOM Helpdesk. Our worst fears have been confirmed.
• Nearly 30% of respondents use smartphones, up from 17% in the Spring. Thank you, Mr. Jobs!
• 58% of you use laptops. We have been seeing this trend increase for the last couple of years, as more people work from multiple locations. Just make sure that you use a security cable (we sell them at cost), and that any sensitive information is encrypted.
• Of the people who have called the DOM Helpdesk, 41.5% usually reach a person when they call, and 77% hear from someone within an hour. We're answering the phone more quickly, but we're taking a little longer to return voicemails since the Spring. We'll keep working on that second part.
• We are able to resolve problems on the first call an astonishing 77.5% of the time. This is an improvement of 8.5% over our already high Spring numbers. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that you're giving us softball questions. Bring the heat!
• About half of you now know who I am. My goal is to meet every single one of you before I retire. Good thing I have about 25 years to go!
• 19% of you think Kenton is brilliant. You're absolutely right, of course (or so Kenton assures me).

136 people entered the drawing for fabulous prizes (gift cards from Campus Vendors, Pasta Pomodoro, and Best Buy), and we randomly selected the following 8 winners:

• Vanessa Dancer, DOM Chair's Office
• Christina Delgado, DOM Finance and Research Administration
• Angela Friday, DOM HR
• Donglei Hu, General Internal Medicine
• Lisa Leiva, Geriatrics
• Marienna Murch, Nephrology
• Jordan Rinker, Occupational & Environmental Medicine at SFGH
• Elizabeth Sharp, Experimental Medicine

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who responded!

Did you know that, in some instances, you can use federal funds to pay for IT services? Suzanne Sutton and Karen Lauritzen have been kind enough to help me think through this complicated subject. Read more....

OAAIS announced on August 4 that ActiveSync Phase II security standards will be implemented on November 4, 2008. On that date all ActiveSync devices connecting to a UCSF Exchange account will be subject to the following new security measures:

• Device reset (erase) after 7 failed password attempts, and
• Prohibit sync of devices that do not support ActiveSync security policies.

Full details of the ActiveSync security measures can be found on the OAAIS website. Please contact the DOM Helpdesk if you have any questions.