824

Weekly Bulletin No. 824

Tuesday11th August 

• Year End - tasks to be completed this week
• Office Supplies
• University email accounts receiving high volumes of phishing/malware emails
• Spam Telecoms emails
• Quick Tip : Joining text in Excel

Year End

Year end tasks to be completed this week

For detailed guidance please refer to the Year End Instructions pages on the Finance Division website. The link to the Year end video presentation is also available on these pages, as well as the FAQs arising from the Q&A sessions.

Issued by Christine Rogerson - Finance Training

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Office Supplies

It has recently been announced Spicer’s the office supplies wholesaler has gone into administration. We don’t purchase directly from Spicer’s but their administration will affect the 5 star brand of products as they will no longer be manufactured.

Alternative products to five star will be made available to purchase through marketplace. Anyone with outstanding orders for five star products will be contacted directly and offered replacements.

Issued by Anita Wilson - Category Manager

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University email accounts receiving high volumes of phishing/malware emails

University email accounts are currently receiving a high number of convincing phishing emails that contain attached files – typically Word documents– or a link to a website prompting the viewer to download a file. If opened, these files cam lead to a malware infection. 

Once it has infected a machine, this malware spreads by sending out fictitious replies to genuine emails it finds on that machine. Users need to be aware that if they receive an unexpected reply to an old email conversation from a colleague or friend containing a suspicious attachment or link, it may not be genuine. 

Recommended advice for users 

•   Be wary of suspicious emails from external sources and even those that appear to come from a University colleague. Check the sender’s email address is correct (press ‘Reply’ and check in the ‘To’ field). UIS provides advice on how to spot phishing emails. If in doubt, delete the email and do not open attachments or download files from website links.  
•   Don’t run macros when opening a Word document sent to you as an email attachment or downloaded from a website. Malware requires macros to infect your computer. 
•   Please ensure that all anti-virus software is patched and up to date on all your machines. McAfee anti-virus software is available free of charge to all University staff and students, and you can use it on work and home computers. 
•   If you have downloaded and opened a file that you believe may have caused a malware infection, contact the UIS Service Desk ( www.uis.cam.ac.uk/self-service) for advice.  If you require urgent advice you may call the service desk on 01223 332999.

Issued by Richard Kruller  - UIS Customer Service Manager

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Spam Telecoms emails

As an example of the above, the University has received a number of emails from Rosaline.santos@mobiletellecom.com.br advising urgent information and/or data is attached, or advising a customer statement can be downloaded. CSIRT confirm these are malicious and the link contained within downloads a word document which contains a ‘nasty payload’.

Anyone receiving such emails should delete them without opening.

Issued by Tony Fish - Senior Category Manager

Quick Tip : Joining text in Excel

Combining text from multiple cells can be useful for creating summary tables. In this video we look at ways we can join data into lists using Excel’s TEXTJOIN formula.

Click the link to watch a demo Excel – Joining text in Excel

Issued by Max Smith - Finance Training

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Monthly Accounting Timetable

To view the status of the monthly process including the month end close dates please use the following link: Accounting Timetable

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