Issue 13, April 27, 2021

What Does the [Ext] Before a Subject Line in Outlook Email Really Mean?

A while back, our Cybersecurity team instituted a policy that would put [Ext] before the subject line of external email messages. This was more of a cautionary thing just to let you know that the email was not sent from someone within the UT system.

That does not mean you cannot or should not open it! Especially if you communicate often with partners at other institutions (St. Jude, ROH, Le Bonheur), professional associations (AMA, ADA), higher ed associations (EDUCAUSE, ACGME), or vendors (Roche, Fisher Scientific). Even our ITS newsletter has the [Ext] prefix in the subject line because it is sent through MailChimp.

All the [Ext] means is a simple, “Hey, this email didn’t come from an internal UT source, so use caution when opening it.”

Have a question about a suspicious email? Either forward it to abuse@uthsc.edu or contact our Cybersecurity Office at itsecurity@uthsc.edu.

Stata by StataCorp

Stata is a general-purpose package for statistics, data management, and graphics. You can control it using its programming language or its graphical user interface. Stata is designed to be easily extendable, and there are many hundreds of free add-ons available for it in Internet repositories. Stata is particularly strong in time series, panel data, and the analysis of complex, non-random samples. Its data must fit into your computer's main memory, limiting the amount of data it can handle.

Learn more about Stata on OIT's Research Software website. Learn when to use it, where to run it, how to learn, and where to get help.

Microsoft has some excellent online training courses we recommend:

1. Microsoft Teams Level 200 (April 28 - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CST)
2. Microsoft OneNote for Business (May 06 - 9:00 am - 10:00 am CST)
3. Microsoft Teams for Marketing Professionals (May 11 - 9:00 am - 10:00 am CST)
4. Leverage pro tips and tricks for Microsoft Teams (May 11 - 9:00 am - 10:00 am CST)
5. Microsoft Teams Meetings (May 17 - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CST)

7 Microsoft Outlook Tips Every User Should Know! 

Ever want to share your calendar availability with someone outside the university? Wish you could schedule that email you wrote at 11:30 pm to be sent at 8:00 am? Check out this 16-minute Simpletivity video where Scott Friesen shares super helpful Outlook tips to make your life easier! (Sorry, some of these tips may work for Windows users only)

Email

Outlook's Delayed Delivery Option

Does remote work have you working non-traditional hours? Avoid the “that was so yesterday!” feeling by using the Delayed Delivery feature in Outlook to schedule a delivery time for first thing in the morning!  Co-workers will thank you and be able to respond much more quickly! 

Windows Users:

1. Draft an email as you normally would.
2. Click the Options menu.
3. Click Delay Delivery on the Outlook Ribbon.
4. Under Delivery Options, choose your desired date and time.
5. Click Close.
6. Click Send.

The email is now in your Outbox folder. You can edit the Send options by double clicking the email in your Outbox folder, clicking Options, clicking Delay Delivery, and changing the date/time if you do it before the time you specified the email be sent.

Mac Users:

1. Draft an email as you normally would.
2. Click the down arrow on the Send icon.
3. Choose Send Later. 
4. Choose your desired date and time. 
5. Click Send.

The email is now in your Drafts folder. You can edit the Send options by selecting the email in your Draft folder, clicking Cancel Send, then Yes if you do it before the time you specified the email to be sent. This opens the email so you can send it immediately or choose a new date/time.

Lean 6 Sigma

Microsoft's MyAnalytics

Ever wish you could have more insight into your work routine? Like how much time you had to really focus on tasks and how much time was spent collaborating with others? Could information like this help you be more productive?

MyAnalytics, a part of Microsoft 365, is an app that can track your daily work routine by looking at things such as time spent in meetings, reading Outlook emails, productivity, and time spent working late.

Knowing your work productivity can help you work smarter instead of harder.

To get to MyAnalytics, open your favorite browser, go to http://o365uthsc.edu/, and click the grid icon in the upper left corner. If you don’t see MyAnalytics listed, click All apps on the left and search for it.

MyAnalytics shows your work patterns from the last four weeks (at least mine does). You can change configurations by clicking on Config Settings on the bottom left. 

While MyAnalytics is AI-driven and not 100% accurate, much like an Apple Watch, it can give you a good understanding of your daily routine, tell you who you have collaborated with and how much time was spent collaborating, and how all this can affect your daily wellbeing.

Learn more about MyAnalytics by clicking through this Microsoft Sway presentation.

Credit Card Safety Tips: Online and Around Town

There are some safety tips to help you guard against a fraudulent activity with your credit cards. When using a card online, think of the following:

• Don’t enter your credit card number into an unsecured website. Before entering the card number online, make sure the address uses “https” rather than “http”. Also, make sure that your browser displays the secure lock, usually in the bottom right corner, or towards the top in some browsers. 
• Don’t make online purchases from public places. Public computers and networks are less secure so there is a greater chance that your credit card information can be stolen. 
• Use a credit card online instead of a debit card. Credit cards offer more protection against fraudulent charges than debit cards. Debit cards are direct access to your banking account. If it is compromised, you could lose access to all the money in that account until the bank sorts out the fraud. 

Here are some more safety tips to keep in mind regarding the management of your credit cards:

• If you receive an email asking for your credit card details, delete it. Never respond to such emails, even if they seem to be from your bank.
• If someone calls and claims to be from your bank, never give the credit card number to them over the phone. Call your bank back (using a published number, not what they give you during the phone call).
• If possible, keep your credit card away from your wallet or purse.  
• Store your credit card statements safely, either in paper or electronic form. If in paper form, shred them when they are no longer needed.
• Check your credit card statement every time you receive it, making sure there are no unauthorized charges. 

Keeping credit card information secure is just one more step in keeping all of your personally identifiable information (PII) secure. For more information, contact the Office of Cybersecurity at 901-448-1880 or itsecurity@uthsc.edu. 

Chris Stachowski

In each issue, we feature one of our amazing ITS team members. In this segment, we learn more about Chris Stachowski in our Computing Systems division.

What is your role and how long have you been in ITS at UTHSC? I work in the ITS Computing Systems and newly formed Architecture groups as a Systems Architect. I've been with the Health Science Center for going on 19 years. I started in the helpdesk and have progressed through several different roles on the way to where I am today.

What is a day in the life of Chris like? I primarily work behind the scenes to help build and manage the infrastructure at the core of many computing experiences that we use every day, such as Microsoft 365 and Identity and Access Management services

What is your favorite thing about working at UTHSC? There's always a new challenge. It keeps the work interesting.

What’s something most people don’t know about you? I have a private pilot's license. Though I haven't been able to fly much in recent years, I'm hoping to get back to it eventually... maybe a retirement hobby!