IT News

Accessing HelloSign: Important Update

April 28, 2025

Due to recent changes implemented by HelloSign (now part of Dropbox Sign), the service is no longer accessible through the Google App Launcher, often referred to as the “waffle” menu. Users who previously relied on this quick-access feature will need to adjust their workflow to continue using HelloSign. To access HelloSign moving forward, go directly… Read more »

StrongID – “Unlicensed version” message

March 19, 2018

Luis Enrique Corrales posted on Mar 18, 2018 Users may be presented with the message “Unlicensed version – use is illegal.” when attempting to login to their computer using StrongID. This message does not prevent users from accessing their computers, users should proceed as they would normally do to login to their computer. IT is in the… Read more »
Lenovo Recalls ThinkPad X1 Carbon Laptops

February 6, 2018

Lenovo has issued a recall on ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Generation laptops (Machine Types: 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3, 20K4) sold before Nov 1, 2017.Lenovo has determined that a limited number of such laptops may have an unfastened screw that could damage the laptop’s battery causing overheating, potentially posing a fire hazard.Lenovo has provided a support page… Read more »
32-bit Applications Being Phased Out for Next Major Release of macOS

February 5, 2018

Tammera E Campbell posted on Feb 05, 2018 Apple announced last year that they are beginning to phase out support for 32-bit applications for macOS. Beginning in January 2018, the Mac app store will no longer accept any 32-bit apps. Starting with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, Apple will begin warning users about installed applications that are… Read more »
Protect your Lab Identity with Multi Factor Authentication

January 24, 2018

Tammera E Campbell posted on Jan 24, 2018 We’ve all heard the stories about major data breaches at some of the largest online businesses. 3 billion Yahoo customers had their usernames and passwords compromised leaving those users vulnerable to hackers. Target was breached in 2013, exposing the information of 41 million customers. A strong password is… Read more »
Why Use a Password Manager Like LastPass?

January 10, 2018

Generating, remembering and maintaining unique passwords is challenging and nearly impossible today. As the number of mandatory passwords, password length, and password complexity increases, it becomes harder to remember them without relying on risky alternatives such as writing passwords down or reusing passwords for more than one application. Reuse of a password is one of… Read more »
MacKeeper Introduces More Problems Than It Is Worth

December 19, 2017

MacKeeper is a well-known utility suite for macOS, which is typically installed by users looking to improve the performance of their system. MacKeeper is known to use aggressive marketing techniques, and has a very poor track record in terms of security, and in its ability to perform as advertised. Further, MacKeeper has been known to… Read more »
High Sierra – Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

December 19, 2017

IT always cautions users to never upgrade your operating system until you do the following:Ensure you have a full backup of your system just in case you need to roll backEnsure all your current versions of software and peripherals are compatible with the new operating system, see https://roaringapps.com/ for compatibility tablesFor Operations Mac users, IT… Read more »
How Berkeley Lab BigFix Can Help You

December 1, 2017

Tammera E Campbell posted on Dec 01, 2017 Do you want to: Increase your computer security, and reduce the effort needed to keep it that way? Inventory and report potential computer software and hardware issues? Help find and track your computer assets? BigFix can help! In fact, Berkeley Lab IT has BigFix deployed on over 4000… Read more »
Apple MacOS High Sierra Security Bug

November 30, 2017

ProblemAs reported yesterday, there’s a major security flaw in Apple’s newest operating system, High Sierra. The bug allows anyone to gain complete administrative access to the computer when using “root” as the username with a blank password. Berkeley Lab’s Cybersecurity team has released this information, Apple OSX High Sierra 10.13 authentication bug.SolutionApple has released an updated… Read more »
Password Requirements Have Changed

October 19, 2017

Cyber Security recently changed Berkeley Lab Identity password requirements. The changes included:Your passphrase must be at least 14 charactersYour passphrase must pass a strength check that disallows repeated / sequential characters, keyboard patterns, and other trivial passwordsYour passphrase must be changed every 12 months, rather than 6 monthsFor more information see Password Requirements – 2017 Update. Read more »
Windows 10 Patch Causes Computer Boot Failure

October 18, 2017

Microsoft recently announced that Windows devices may fail to boot after installing Windows 10 Updates that were released on October 10 2017. Microsoft has since revoked these updates, and has provided solutions for affected systems. Read more »
Windows CBS Log File Eating Up Disk Space

October 4, 2017

Tammera E Campbell posted on Oct 04, 2017 Problem There is a known Windows 7 log file compression bug. As a result of this bug log files replicate and grow filling up your hard drive effecting system performance and slowdown. Microsoft has known about the bug, but has not provided an official patch. Several users at… Read more »