Alumni Helpdesk – Wesleyan University

Starting today you can log in to Wesconnect using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, Yahoo and OpenID:

To use one of these networks, click the icon (e.g. Twitter), login at the social site, then log in at Wesconnect. You’ll be prompted at each step. The Wesconnect login happens only once. After you’ve connected your social network account with Wesconnect, the next time you return simply click on that icon and you’ll be logged in.

This page will be updated with additional screenshots in the coming days. Meanwhile, please let us know if you have any questions.

Update (April 11, 2013): Here’s more information on how to log in using a social site.

Tags: authentication, changes, facebook, google, linkedin, login, networks, openid, social, ssl, twitter, wesconnect, yahoo

While most of the questions we receive at the Alumni Helpdesk are about WesIDs and passwords, we get quite a lot of inquiries about email. The following help pages have been updated with the latest information about email account configuration as well as tips on transferring mail.

1. General account configuration guidelines
2. An example IMAP account setup with screenshots
3. How to import mail into a Gmail account
4. How to transfer mail between accounts using IMAP

Please send us feedback if you have questions that are not answered here.

Tags: accounts, alumni, configuration, email, gapps, gmail, help, howto, imap, transfer

A new page for Wesleyan Alumni Admission Volunteers (WAAV) explains how to post an interview, and how to update your contact information. You can also find this page by navigating to the Wesleyan homepage, clicking Alumni, and scrolling to the WAAV button in the right sidebar.

Tags: admission, howto, portfolio, volunteers, waav, wesconnect

Messages like the one below have been circulating to Wesleyan email addresses. This message is a phishing email, calculated to prompt you into divulging your personal information. Please do not respond to such messages or click any links contained within. If you have replied or clicked any links, we encourage you to change your email password as soon as possible. To change your Wesleyan email password see the password reset page. To change a non-Wesleyan email password please contact your email service provider (there is usually an online form for this). If you have any questions, please contact us at the Alumni Helpdesk.

From: Johnson, Eugene (sender names may vary)
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2012 4:37 PM (sent dates may vary)
Subject: IT Services Important Message (subject lines may vary)

TO ALL EMAIL USERS.

Wesleyan Helpdesk is an information and assistance resource that troubleshoots problems with your account. You have exceeded the limit of your mailbox set by our IT Service, and from now you cannot be receiving all incoming emails. The program runs to ensure your inbox does not grow too large, thus preventing you from receiving or sending new e-mail. To prevent this, you are advised to click on the link below to reset your account. Your account is experiencing an unexpectedly termination. You are advised to click on the questionnaire below for activation, fill and submit the information below while our Message Center Immediately authenticate your account. Follow the link: CLICK HERE

Inability to complete the questionnaire on the link will render your account inactive within the next 24 hours. Please do find this message important.

Error ID: 0x800CCC0F
Protocol: POP3
Port: 110
Secure(SSL): No

Wesleyan University Programs

To reiterate: this is not a legitimate Wesleyan email message. Please delete it and do not respond in any way.

Tags: email, phishing, warning

How to resolve the “Bad Request/Error 400” problem on Wesconnect.

Update, Dec. 12

This problem occurs because of links containing special characters. It appears to affect Mozilla Browsers (e.g. Firefox). To resolve the problem you need to delete the __utmz cookie that is set for the wesconnect.wesleyan.edu domain.

Instructions

To delete the cookie that is causing the problem, navigate to the following setting:

• On a Mac: Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Show Cookies
• Windows PC: Firefox > Options > Privacy > Show Cookies

These screenshots show how to filter for “wesconnect” cookies in Firefox on Mac and PC (click for larger version).

Details

The special character that caused the problem was an “en” dash in the e-mail subject line for a recent NOW on Wesconnect email. Unfortunately, the problem persists (i.e. you cannot view any Wesconnect pages) until the cookie is deleted. We apologize for the inconvenience and are taking steps to prevent this from reoccurring.

Our thanks to all who reported the issue and helped us to diagnose the problem.

Need help?

Please get in touch if you would like help to resolve this problem, or if you have any questions.

Update, Dec. 3

This problem appears to be related to cookies in Mozilla Browsers (e.g. Firefox). See below for a workaround, and please get in touch with your findings as it will help us to locate the exact cause.

Some readers of Wesconnect and the NOW on Wesconnect email newsletter are reporting Bad Request/Error 400 messages when clicking on links. If you are experiencing this problem please let us know by answering these questions. It will help us to track down the source of the problem.

• What browser (including version) are you using? (how to get browser version)
• What operating system (OS) are you using? (how to get Mac or Windows version)
• Does it happen in other browsers when you visit the same link? (can you try another browser?)
• Does clearing cookies make the problem go away? (how to clear cookies)
• Does it happen when you click on the “View it in your browser” or “Forward to a Friend” links at the top of the message?
• Does it happen when you bypass the email and visit Wesconnect directly?
• Does it happen on any other website?

Please submit a support request with your answers. Thanks for your help, and thanks for reading!

Feedback

Workaround

It seems that clearing cookies will fix this problem for most users (how to clear cookies). If you would like to clear only the cookies related to Wesconnect (instead of removing all of your browser’s cookies) then filter cookies for “wesleyan” and “imodules” and delete only those. We are still trying to determine exactly which cookies are causing the problem, but we currently suspect Google Analytics cookies __utmb, __utmz and __utma.

Any information you can share will be extremely helpful, so please let us know if this works for you.

Tags: email, error, http, newsletter, wesconnect

11:22 a.m.: Wesleyan’s online giving form is currently experiencing an outage. University Relations staff are aware of the problem and are working to fix it. We expect to have the issue resolved today, and will post an update shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you attempted to use the giving form and experienced a failure, it is likely that we have a record of your attempt. We will be in touch once the form is operational again. If you have any questions, please submit a support request.

Updates

Update 1 (12:48 p.m.): This issue is resolved and the online giving form is working again. If you experience any problems, please let us know by submitting a support request. Once again, apologies for the inconvenience.

Tags: downtime, form, giving, issue, online, outage

As of today SSL login is now required for all Cyrus e-mail accounts (i.e. Wesleyan alumni from the Class of 2008 and earlier). This change protects your password when you log in via an external e-mail client such as Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, on your phone, etc. If you have not enabled SSL for incoming and outgoing mail, then you may receive an error message, or your mail program may not respond. For more information please see the September 5 announcement. To begin using SSL immediately see the E-mail Client Configuration page.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Tags: alumni, changes, client, configuration, cyrus, email, security, ssl

Recently the Wesconnect alumni directory was misused by some members for commercial and political purposes.

Consequently, University Relations is taking this opportunity to remind all users of Wesconnect of the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy to which members agree when signing up. Any kind of mass mailing of alumni, or use of the directory for non-Wesleyan purposes such as solicitations, for commercial enterprises, or for political campaigns is strictly prohibited.

We strive to make Wesconnect a great way to get in touch with individual alumni as well as to reach out to the whole community. If you’d like to share a message with the wider community, please see our How To page on getting the word out.

As always, we welcome your feedback; please contact us if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, need help, or to report suspected misuse.

As of September 18, 2012, all alumni through the Class of 2008 who connect to Wesleyan’s mailserver via POP or IMAP from their own e-mail client will be required to use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). After this change, non-SSL connections will not work.

Whether you use Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, a mobile device, etc., you can make the change to SSL now to avoid any interruption of service. The method for changing your settings will depend on your e-mail application, but all e-mail clients provide you with the ability to configure these details.

Who is affected? This change applies to alumni through the Class of 2008 who use their Wesleyan e-mail from Outlook, Apple’s Mail.app, Thunderbird, on a mobile device, etc. You can make the change to SSL now to avoid any interruption to your e-mail service.

Who is not affected? If your e-mail client settings are currently configured to use SSL then no action is needed on your part. Also, if you only use webmail.wesleyan.edu to read your Wesleyan e-mail, then this change will not affect you. Alumni on GApps (Class of 2009 onwards), students, and staff are not affected by this change.

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Tags: alumni, changes, cyrus, email, security, server, ssl, Updates

The following applies only to conventional alumni e-mail accounts (as opposed to GApps accounts).

Scheduled outage Tuesday (tomorrow)

REMINDER: the Cyrus e-mail server (webmail.wesleyan.edu) will be unavailable tomorrow, August 21, from 5:30-6:30 a.m. EST. This scheduled downtime is to allow for necessary system maintenance. E-mail will be unavailable during this time for alumni with Cyrus accounts (most alumni through Class of 2008).

Upcoming changes to Advanced Settings

As of September 15 September 18, 2012, your e-mail client will be required to use SSL when connecting to your Wesleyan e-mail account via POP or IMAP. After this change, non-SSL connections will no longer work.

Who is affected? This applies to alumni through the Class of 2008 who use their Wesleyan e-mail from Outlook, Apple’s Mail.app, Thunderbird, on a mobile device, etc. You can make the change to SSL now to avoid any interruption to your e-mail service.

Who is not affected? If your e-mail client settings are currently configured to use SSL then no action is needed on your part. Also, if you only use webmail.wesleyan.edu to read your Wesleyan e-mail, then this change will not affect you. Alumni on GApps (Class of 2009 onwards) are not affected by this change.

More information will be posted soon.

Questions or problems?

See the Alumni Helpdesk for updates, and let us know if you have any questions.

Tags: alumni, announcements, changes, email, imap, maintenance, outage, pop, scheduled, ssl, system