News & Blog

UCF InfoSec, along with UCF Libraries and UCF IT, would like to remind students of the dangers of downloading pirated software, textbooks, or other materials.  Recently, a European research institute lost a week’s worth of COVID-19 research data after a university student inadvertently infected their systems with ransomware while trying to download pirated software. To learn more about the ransomware attack, please see the link below.

Pirated textbooks or software can be appealing to those looking to save money, but it’s important to remember that such resources could be laced with malware.  To help students find affordable alternatives to pirated textbooks and software, we asked UCF Libraries and UCF IT to share resources that are available to UCF students.

1. UCF Libraries resources

UCF Libraries, through their Textbook Affordability program, works with campus partners and faculty to minimize the cost of course materials for students.  Since 2016, UCF faculty have taught over 950 classes using open or library-sourced materials, in turn reaching over 65,000 students and potentially saving them just over $6,761,705.

The UCF Libraries website contains tips for students to save money on textbooks.  For more information, and to see if the library has your course text as a free electronic book, review the Students tab at:  guides.ucf.edu/textbook-affordability/students .

Please note that, due to licensing requirements, only current students, staff, and faculty can access the free electronic books and resources through the UCF Libraries. Do not share the downloaded files; instead, share links to the catalog or databases for individuals to access the materials directly.

Sharing resources licensed by UCF can put the university at risk. Distribution of licensed materials accessed with UCF credentials could provide grounds for a breach of contract claim against UCF, which creates a legal liability for our university and potential loss of access to those resources. Similarly, participation in this type of distribution may result in legal and/or disciplinary consequences to the individual sharing content in this way. For more information, please see UCF Policies 2-103 and 4-002:  policies.ucf.edu.

2. UCF IT Resources

UCF students have access to the Microsoft 365 suite of apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher, through their Knights email.  To learn how to access this free resource, please visit UCF IT Knowledge Base –Installing Office 365 on a Personal PC .

UCF Apps is a software streaming service like a virtual computer lab.  Students can access many software titles they need for their studies including ArcGIS, SPSS, LISREL, NVivo, SAS, and more!  UCF Apps is found here:  apps.ucf.edu/ucf-apps/

UCF Public Computing labs, found in various locations across campus, provide additional software resources like Adobe Creative Cloud for design work and a wide variety of other software titles.  Information about public computer lab locations and availability can be found here:  it.ucf.edu/techcommons/computer-labs/tech-commons-ii-lab/

Remember to only download software and digital textbooks from reputable sources.  Avoid pirated content to reduce the risk of malware infecting your system and make sure your devices are up to date.  Taking these steps to keep your system secure will help protect you, UCF, and your fellow Knights.

Learn more about the ransomware attack:  https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2021/05/06/mtr-in-real-time-pirates-pave-way-for-ryuk-ransomware/

UCF InfoSec wishes all students a safe, secure summer.  We are here to help with any information security concerns you may have.  Forward suspicious emails to the Security Incident Response Team at SIRT@ucf.edu and contact InfoSec at infosec@ucf.edu if you have any questions.

Open to all UCF (all campuses) students, faculty, and staff plus Downtown Valencia students, faculty, and staff.

It’s easy! Record your reading beginning June 1st – see below for a Summer Knights Reading Log you can use.

Once you have read 500 pages just submit this form, letting us know which books you read to reach the goal.

For more information visit guides.ucf.edu/skrc2021

Pride Month has arrived!

While every day is a time to be proud of your identity and orientation, June is that extra special time for boldly celebrating with and for the LGBTQIA+ community (yes, there are more than lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folx in the queer community). June was chosen to honor the Stonewall Riots which happened in 1969. Like other celebratory months, LGBT Pride Month started as a weeklong series of events and expanded into a full month of festivities.

2021 is also the 5^th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando where 49 members of our community were murdered on June 12, 2016. On the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library there will be display cases with items from the University Archives relating to Pulse memorials as well as a display wall honoring the lives lost. Both of these library memorials were created in partnership with UCF LGBTQ Services. UCF will also be hosting several events in June to help the community remember, grieve and grow stronger. Full listing of UCF events is available on the Pulse Remembrance event calendar.

Additional Pulse memorial events will be hosted by the onePULSE Foundation. An memorial archival collection from the first anniversary of the shooting can be found as part of the Resilience: Remembering Pulse in the STARS Citizen Curator collection.

In honor of Pride Month, UCF Library faculty and staff suggested books from the UCF collection that represent a wide array of queer authors and characters. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links. There is also an extensive physical display on the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library near the Research & Information Desk.

Featured Bookshelf: LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

The 15^th Annual Student Book Arts Competition Exhibit is now open. The exhibit features all student entries for this year’s competition. The competition promotes the practice of book arts made by undergraduate and graduate students. The judges were David Benjamin, department head of Special Collections & University Archives, and guest judge Mike Taylor, Florida based book artist.

This year’s winning artist book is “The Bacteria That Kept Coming Back” by Claudia Prado of Rollins College. An honorable mention was awarded to “Transparent Tranquility” by Shannon Ganeshram of UCF. Congratulations to both students! Their artist books will be placed in the permanent Book Arts & Typography Collection at UCF Libraries.

The exhibit is on the 4^th floor gallery of the John C. Hitt Library which runs from May 2021 through July 2021. For more information, email speccoll@ucf.edu.

“What does it mean when an item comes up as being in the Location: UCF ARC MAIN General Collection or UCF ARC MAIN Media?”

The video that was here is out of date and has been archived. Click here to download the video for viewing.

ARC stands for Automated Retrieval Center.  It is the building behind the Circulation desk and has bins three stories high that contains a large number of the library’s print collection and all DVDs.  When a request is placed on an item in the ARC Circulation staff will retrieve items and hold them at the desk for check out. 

In the catalog click under the item information you will see a link:  Place a Hold

Click on the link and log in with your NID and password. Near the bottom of the screen click on the button to Place Request.  You will be emailed by Circulation when your item(s) are ready for check out.

This process usually takes an hour or less.

For more information, take a look at our ARC page: library.ucf.edu/21st/arc/

Or take a look at the ARC in action through the windows on the 3rd floor or in the video below.