Antivirus protocol is changing

Change is afoot in how everyone affiliated with the Davis campus outfits their computers with antivirus software.

For nearly five years, the campus has been providing Sophos software to all students, staff, faculty and emeriti, for their work computers and for privately owned computers (if they are used to log in to the university network).

The campus's contract for this Sophos software is set to expire Nov. 30 — and Information and Educational Technology has announced that everyone with the software must remove it from their computers by that time.

Staff and faculty are advised to consult with their tech teams to ensure that the software is properly removed from their work computers, and that the campus-provided replacement software (Microsoft Forefront for Windows and Sophos for Mac) is in place.

The campus is no longer providing antivirus software for privately owned computers, whether they belong to staff, faculty, emeriti or students.

Robert Ono, security coordinator for information technology, acknowledged the financial savings, while quickly adding that the campus has confidence in high-value, free antivirus solutions for home use — products that have become available since the campus signed on with Sophos in 2006.

“Otherwise, we would not be eliminating the campus-provided software, regardless of the financial savings, as the risks would be unnecessarily high,” he said.

Ono reminded that university policy remains the same: antivirus protection is required on all work computers and all other computers that UC Davis affiliates may use to log in to the UC Davis network. Therefore, before deleting the campus-provided Sophos software, UC Davis computer users should have a plan for antivirus protection. (The campus recommends Microsoft and Mac.)

The change in the antivirus software protocol does not apply to the Sacramento campus, which has its own contract for antivirus protection.

More information, including frequently asked questions and your options for free antivirus software.

Questions or comments should be directed to IET’s Software Licensing Coordination unit, software@ucdavis.edu.

Management switch at Hyatt Place

The developer of the Hyatt Place UC Davis has confirmed a switch in management companies for the hotel.

Colorado-based Richfield Hospitality replaces Crescent Hotels, which had been managing the UC Davis hotel since it opened in March 2010.

The developer and Hyatt Place franchise holder, Fairfield-based Presidio Companies, is already planning for the hotel’s expansion: 52 more rooms to go with the original 75.

Presidio holds a long-term ground lease for the hotel, which sits on university property at the Davis campus’s south entry.

Guneet Bajwa, chief operating officer of the Presidio Companies said Richfield now manages two Presidio hotels, the other being the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa.

In an Aug. 8 news release, Richfield President Greg Mount said the UC Davis hotel “offers the perfect confluence of the right flag (the Hyatt Place brand) at the right location and spearheads our entry into the campus hotel niche.”

“This hotel already is a gathering place for the UC Davis community, so we’ll be working to strengthen that relationship and make it a showcase for the Hyatt Place lifestyle brand,” Mount said.

The Richfield Hospitality website states that the company works with about 500 hotels and resorts.

PG&E helicopters conduct gas leak detection test

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. flew helicopters at low altitudes (200 to 1,000 feet) over UC Davis and elsewhere in Yolo and Solano counties Aug. 9 to 11 in a gas leak detection test.

The study included the controlled release of natural gas at selected locations, with PG&E personnel handling the releases, according to PG&E's notification to UC Davis and other jurisdictions. The release sites included one near the east end of Arboretum Drive, between the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Interstate 80.

“The study has been designed to ensure public safety, but because of the low aircraft altitude, it may generate public inquiries,” a PG&E engineer wrote.

According to media reports, PG&E is studying the reliability and accuracy of new technology that the company hopes will enable it to better detect gas leaks and prevent a repeat of the pipeline explosion disaster in San Bruno last year.

Three helicopters, each carrying laser equipment from different companies, flew the test course.

"We basically few over PG&E easements where we had simulated leaks, false positives and decoys, all to see how the equipment could differentiate between whether something was a leak or something else," PG&E spokesman Brian Swanson told The (Vacaville) Reporter.

He described the preliminary results as "encouraging." PG&E plans to finish its evaluation of the study by mid-September, and, if the technology proves viable, PG&E will start using the leak-detection system by the end of the year, he added.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.