School ICT News Bulletin No. 328 - 13/12/2024

Published by ICT Solutions

eBulletin Items

1. A reminder to stay alert for phishing emails
2. Service Desk opening hours over the Christmas period
3. Powering off core network equipment over the Christmas holiday period
4. Windows 10 support ends in October 2025 - Plan your upgrade to Windows 11 today!

1. A reminder to stay alert for phishing emails

With Christmas coming, life gets busy. Not just with socialising and shopping for gifts, but at work too.

Last minute requests for work before the break will be popping into your inbox demanding your attention. That makes it a perfect time for scammers who know how to target phishing emails at people when they're busy or distracted, hoping people make a mistake. It's vital to be alert and ready to spot a fake email whenever one lands.

If anything seems out of the ordinary or suspicious and just doesn't look right, it probably isn't. Don't click on anything in a suspicious email or provide any information.

The following link - How can I identify a phishing website or email - will assist you.

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

2. Service Desk opening hours over the Christmas period

To reflect the reduced demand on the Service Desk over the Christmas holiday period, we will be changing the opening hours to reflect this.

Our opening hours will be as follows:

December 24^th - 08:00 to 12:00

December 25^th to January 1^st 2025 - Closed

Normal opening hours of 08:00 to 16:30 will resume on Thursday, January 2^nd 2025.

We would like to wish all our customers a Merry Christmas and a healthy/prosperous New Year!

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

3. Powering off core network equipment over the Christmas holiday period

We would like to ask schools to refrain from turning off the power to the core networking equipment over the forthcoming Christmas holiday period. Core networking equipment includes routers, switches and servers, often in a wall or floor cabinet. These devices are monitored by ourselves, Rydal and Schools Broadband and turning off the power results in false alarms. This could potentially result in you incurring a charge for an engineer visit.

If there is no alternative to powering off the communications cabinet and core equipment, because of planned work, for example, please advise us in advance.

For more information, please contact the Service Desk on 01603 475603 or ict@norfolk.gov.uk

4. Windows 10 support ends in October 2025 - Plan your upgrade to Windows 11 today!

After October 14th, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows 10.  Without regular updates, your device will be more susceptible to malware, viruses, and other cyber threats.

Staying on an unsupported OS (Operating System) may lead to compliance issues with industry standards and regulations. Some applications may also no longer work due to the increased security risk.

Plan your upgrade to Windows 11 today! More details can be found at the following link - Windows 11 upgrade information