New printing adds security

With new printing upgrades students and staff will now only see their own print jobs at campus printing stations.

New security features will require University students and staff to sign in using their Onyens and passwords at Information Technology Services printing stations. Unlike before this will allow users to see only their own print jobs at the ITS stations while keeping other print jobs private.

On Monday Campus Services Information Technology will install the Pharos version 8.0 upgrade. All campus printing stations will be closed from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. while the upgrades are installed.

In addition to updating the print system Campus Services IT will also add a security feature to the ITS print labs that requires login with an Onyen.

The LDAP connector will also protect students from others using their accounts to pay for print jobs. For instance if a student forgets to log out of a release station no one else will be able to use their account to pay for documents" since only their own print jobs are viewable.

""On a laptop or lab machine" enter an Onyen and a job title in the Pharos popup client. No password is required at this point" said Cristóbal Palmer, a graduate student in the School of Information and Library Science, explaining the features of the new system.

This allows me to send a print job to my hallmate who is in an ITS lab for him to print"" for example.""

The upgrade will also allow students using 64-bit versions of Windows to take advantage of the printing service by installing a new pop-up client.

Students who have the Carolina Computing Initiative printing system installed on their laptops will not need to make any changes as the Pharos pop-up client will be internally updated. Unix users will still be able to print to ITS labs" as well" by simply substituting their Onyens for their usernames when printing.

""One main concern students seem to have had is about Macintosh users losing the ability to print with the new system" but the upgrades will be compatible" Classroom Management Director Jason Li said. There are no issues at this point. Everyone seems to be on board and pleased with the upgrades.""

Because the updated system will require an Onyen and password login at printing stations"" only students and University affiliates will be able to access printing services. Local residents using public computers at the Davis Library and Undergraduate Library will no longer be able to print to the ITS lab printers through the purchase of a guest print card.

Backgrounds on all ITS lab computers have been changed to a message detailing the upgrades and new lab policies. Students will also receive an e-mail explaining the changes.

""I think this change is a great step in the right direction" but I can picture more improvements in the future Palmer said. For example I think swiping your One Card should automatically fill in your Onyen when you walk up to a station" but that's not something this upgrade will be able to do.""


Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.