As you may be aware, there are central email distribution lists, such as All Research Staff, All Support Staff, All Teaching Staff etc. We are proposing amending some of these lists by:

- Replacing 'All Support Staff' and 'All Academic-Related Staff' lists with a new 'All Non-Academic Staff' list. The current lists no longer make sense given the single pay spine and have caused confusion.

- Replacing 'All Teaching Staff' and 'All Research Staff' lists with a new 'All Academic Staff' list. The current lists contain many duplicate entries, for staff who both teach and research.

We'd value your feedback on these proposals. 'All WBS Staff' and group distribution lists won't be affected.

Security Services upgraded the WBS door system in March. They also greatly reduced our level of access such that we are longer able to manage the door system. We can still create PIN numbers for people who have forgotten their cards or visitors who have no other access needs. All other changes need to be made by Security Services for the foreseeable future. If you require special access for an event, you will be contacted as part of the room booking process to let you know how to proceed. Should you have any problems or see any reduction in service please let us know.

It is always recommended to avoid special characters when naming your computer files. These include . , ? / ! ( ) % $ # etc. Given the multitude of systems within WBS, and beyond, the use of non-alphanumeric characters always has the potential to cause problems. my.wbs now automatically replaces any such characters with underscores to prevent problems.

Criminals are increasingly using fake security software (Scareware) to try to steal your money. Typically these products cause a message to appear warning of a non-existent security problem. You are offered a fix for the 'problem' provided you buy their 'security software'. Although these applications look very professional they are usually either useless or actively damaging, causing actual problems, with the aim of selling you more 'solutions'. Do not trust or act on the advice on any such warnings. Only trust warnings from your installed anti-virus program (at WBS this will typically be Kaspersky).

Find more information, including screenshots from actual WBS computers, at http://help.wbs.ac.uk/kb/internet/security/scareware/  

From today Google Labs has been enabled for mail.wbs. Google Labs allows you to try out some experimental new features in Google mail. You can access labs by clicking on the green icon towards the top right corner of your email screen or by clicking Settings > Labs. It might take a few days for the icon to appear.

If you're going to brave the Labs world, it's important to keep in mind that these features may disappear or break at any time. Labs features that work well will graduate and become regular features. If (when) you have a problem with a Google labs feature log in using http://mail.google.com/a/mail.wbs.ac.uk?labs=0 to disable labs temporarily. Disable any Labs features that you have added until the problem is resolved. It is valuable to Google if you provide feedback by visiting the Labs Feedback Group.