Category Archives: Tech

Weekly Training Tip: Dealing with Ransomware

Ransomware-picYou have probably heard stories about ransomware already, but may not be sure about it, or may think your little library does not have anything worth stealing. But criminals know your data is important to you, no matter what it may be.

Most of our members are part of larger organizations: schools, colleges, and other parent groups. If they have an IT department, it would be worth your time to ask what they are doing to protect your website. And if possible, it may be worth backing up your site and your data yourself – just in case!

What is ransomware? It is software that blocks access to your files; or threatens to publish your files. Picture a criminal holding your patron registration hostage, threatening to release names, addresses and circulation data. Or pulling up your website, only to see a skull and crossbones – and a demand for bitcoin.

Short version: it’s bad.

But the good news is that you can take some steps to avoid this problem. And be sure you are backing up your site, so if you are hit by ransomware, you can just move on! (Well, it’s still going to be a hassle and problems for your library – but everything is not destroyed, and you do not have to pay money to anonymous criminals. So it is pretty much a win!)

We have a few resources here for you to browse, as you work to put together your own disaster plan for a ransomware attack.

General ransomware articles:

Sources for data backup

Spotlight Library News Story: Ransomware in Spartanburg!

Ransomware-pic

We have talked about the dangers of ransomware in prior articles. (See: Ransomware hits St. Louis Public Library and The Best Ransomware Protection of 2017) And here we are again, with another library being hit by a ransomware demand.

Check out the excerpt of this story below, read the entire thing, and then look around your library to see what you can do to help protect your library from ransomware attacks!! Don’t gamble on losing all your online information to thieves; take a few steps now to protect your library.

Spartanburg public library computer system hit by ransomware

“Users of Spartanburg County Public Libraries were unable to check out or return books for a second day Tuesday after a ransomware attack sent out by cybercriminals shut down the library system’s computer network and website.

County Librarian Todd Stephens said technicians were working on the problem and had no idea when services and access to the online catalog will be restored, although the main library and all 10 branches remain open.

“Somebody has taken hostage the public’s library data,” he said. “We just don’t know the extent of the damage at this point. We are going to be down for an uncertain amount of time until our guys slowly bring everything up.”

Stephens said he immediately notified the library board of trustees and Spartanburg County administration. He said he hasn’t yet contacted law enforcement.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, a library Internet technician noticed suspicious activity, Stephens said.

“When he engaged, he received notification that our system was hit with a ransomware attack,” Stephens said. “We immediately shut down all computer-related services, including computer use, wireless, checking out and checking in (library materials).”

The attacker demanded payment of 3.6 to 3.8 bitcoins, which Stephens said was estimated to be $36,000 or more.

Stephens said he has no intention of meeting the attacker’s demands.

“We don’t believe it is a data breach, we believe it’s a hostage situation” in exchange for releasing all the library’s computer data — which totals about 740,000 physical and online digital items, he said.

Stephens said the library does not keep on file users’ sensitive information such as Social Security, credit card or driver’s license numbers.

Those who use credit cards to pay library fines have no need to worry because a third party vendor is used, he said.

“We just don’t know the extent of the damage at this point,” Stephens said.

He said the attack is similar to one in December in Mecklenburg County, N.C. An employee opened a malicious “phishing” email and accessed an attached file that triggered the attack. Mecklenburg County officials rejected the demand for 2 bitcoins for the release of the locked data, and eventually restored the data.

Apparently, the Spartanburg library system attacker sent out the virus by email as far back as September, but just recently someone from the public or an employee opened it and triggered the attack, Stephens said.”

(read the rest of this article here!)

Skype in the Classroom: Connect with Authors & Storytellers

Skype-for-BusinessYou may already be using Skype in the Classroom – and if not, please try it!! I’ve seen such fun programs using this tool, you will find some very cool things to try for your school.

You may not yet be using the tool allowing you to connect with authors!

“Invite an author in your classroom via Skype!

Literacy is the backbone of success and one of the most important educational initiatives. Every year, Skype in the Classroom celebrates literacy globally in honor of World Read Aloud Day (February 1st this year) and World Book Day (March 1st this year), working with hundreds of guest speakers, including authors, illustrators, and literacy partners. The goal is to inspire students to grow up as readers and become engaged citizens of the global world.

Watch how connecting your classroom with authors via Skype can help broaden students’ minds and imaginations and then browse the hundreds of authors available below.

 

If you want to give this a try, CMLE can give you a mini-grant up to $300 to try out exciting new projects like this one!

ELM & Ebooks Minnesota Winter / Spring 2018 Webinars

New from Minitex – a whole bunch of training programs just for you!!

The Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction unit is offering the following webinars on ELM, ELM resources, and Ebooks Minnesota.  Is there something specific in ELM you were hoping to learn about?  If so, please let us know as we begin planning for future training.  You can email us at mtxref@umn.edu.

 

Ebooks MN for Schools

Session Details: Ebooks MN for Schools
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, February 13, 2018

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
16
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Electronic Library for Minnesota: An Overview and Refresher

Session Details: Electronic Library for Minnesota: An Overview and Refresher
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, February 15, 2018

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
13
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Helping Students Read Informational Texts

Session Details: Helping Students Read Informational Texts
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, February 20, 2018

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
16
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Developing Inclusive Library Services to Adults with Disabilities

Session Details: Developing Inclusive Library Services to Adults with Disabilities
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Wednesday, February 21, 2018

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
64
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Job & Career Accelerator

Session Details: Job & Career Accelerator
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, February 22, 2018

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
18
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Electronic Library for Minnesota: An Overview and Refresher

Session Details: Electronic Library for Minnesota: An Overview and Refresher
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, February 27, 2018

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
20
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

LearningExpress Library

Session Details: LearningExpress Library
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Wednesday, February 28, 2018

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
15
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Helping Students Read Informational Texts

Session Details: Helping Students Read Informational Texts
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, March 01, 2018

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
19
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Ebooks MN for Schools

Session Details: Ebooks MN for Schools
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, March 08, 2018

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
19
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Test Prep for the MCAs, AP exams, ACT/SAT, and more with Learning Express

Session Details: Test Prep for the MCAs, AP exams, ACT/SAT, and more with Learning Express
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, March 08, 2018

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
20
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

LearningExpress Library

Session Details: LearningExpress Library
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, March 13, 2018

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
16
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Test Prep for the MCAs, AP exams, ACT/SAT, and more with Learning Express

Session Details: Test Prep for the MCAs, AP exams, ACT/SAT, and more with Learning Express
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, March 20, 2018

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
19
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

Job & Career Accelerator

Session Details: Job & Career Accelerator
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Thursday, March 22, 2018

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
20
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

ELM Usage Statistics

Session Details: ELM Usage Statistics
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Tuesday, April 17, 2018

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Central Time)
Open Seats:
13
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

CatExpress: Copy Cataloging with CatExpress

Session Details: CatExpress: Copy Cataloging with CatExpress
Session Type: Webinar
Date(s) & Time(s): Wednesday, May 09, 2018

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Central Time)
Location: OCLC / DIME Online Training Session
Open Seats:
50
Fee: No charge (All)
Register:

AASL Recommended Apps: Content Creation: Toontastic 3D

Last summer, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2017. The apps encourage qualities such as creativity and collaboration, and encourage discovery and curiosity.

The app Toontastic 3D lets your students create cartoons that are animated and narrated. Pick from their existing characters and settings or draw your own. Add some background music to your story, then export your creation as a video to a mobile device. For answers to common questions about the app, check out their Tips page.

Level: Elementary +
Platform: iOS | Android
Cost: FREE

This review of the app from Common Sense Education gives the app four out of five stars and includes some lesson and activity ideas. Tech Crunch has this article about the app which includes an interview with one of Toontastic 3D’s product managers.

Watch this quick video demo to see all the fun you can have with this app: