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Reddit’s r_k12sysadmin Credits: @r_channels @reddit2telegram
Basic Phishing Simulation and Training Platform
We’re looking to do some Phishing campaigns this year and conduct some trainings and we’re trying to narrow down the most affordable platform.
We were initially going to go with Knowbe4 but looks like they’re changing their tier model to a one level membership making it a lot more expensive. I am also hearing that their platform and content are pretty dated.
So far I found Huntress to be promising, but if there anything out there that has some basic features with phishing sim and training it would be much appreciated. We’re trying to start slow so don’t need all that glitter and glam.
Thanks!
https://redd.it/1rfufrr
@r_k12sysadmin
Synology and Google Backup: Space Reclaimation
So for a couple years now we've been backing up our domain to a Synology appliance. We have five jobs divided up by shared drives, key staff groups like Central Office, etc. and then two generic jobs to catch the regular users. We've started to get low on space and realized when we remove a user from the system, it's not deleting the files behind the scenes on the drive. I'm currently in File Station and seeing a ton of old users that got backed up but didn't fully get removed from the system. Is there a trick to this or is it just that goofy? We have around 12TB of data, for scale.
https://redd.it/1rggktq
@r_k12sysadmin
ManagedMethods vs Google Education Plus
We are getting hit almost daily with phishing scams and our Managed Methods helps to remediate but not stop the initial emails.
Does anyone have experience with the Google Education Plus and how well it works to protect against phishing campaigns?
https://redd.it/1rgcene
@r_k12sysadmin
Students and chat
Is it possible to set up in the Google Admin Console a way for students to be able to message staff only? No one on one with students and no creating of spaces. Just message teachers. Thanks in advance
https://redd.it/1rglvjl
@r_k12sysadmin
Projector Suggestions
My school primarily uses IFP in our classrooms and therefore don't have any projectors but we're having a school trip encompassing a weekend and we need a projector to show some videos/activities.
I am looking for recommendations in the $300-500 range. Any reason not to consider the small form factor ones like the Anker Nebula?
https://redd.it/1rh3a5j
@r_k12sysadmin
Communication regarding the possible NYC blizzard?
Anyone in nyc had any communication regarding the potential blizzard this weekend? I'm just a lowly sysadmin at an independent school and don't get any communication.
https://redd.it/1raslkw
@r_k12sysadmin
Veracross for Development Office
Does anyone use Veracross for your development office and can you share your experience with it?
https://redd.it/1r95pv2
@r_k12sysadmin
Google Workspace
We have been getting hit hard with phishing/scam emails. I saw somewhere to run us through the Google MX toolbox and we had a lot of errors. All but one of this has been resolved now.
But I was going thru the Security Health area and saw Approved Senders without authentication is enabled for our Admin group which included all of our main office staff, technology, transportation; basically anyone that is not at a school site. We get a lot of them claiming to be our superintendent.
Would disabling this be a wise decision? The admin that enabled it no longer works for us so we can’t ask him why it was enabled for only that 1 OU.
https://redd.it/1r92q3g
@r_k12sysadmin
K12 IP Surveillance: Genetec vs Milestone XProtect?
Does anyone have any experience with both Genetec and Milestone XProtect? We currently use the locally hosted version of Milestone XProtect but we have some folks that are very interested in Genetec and I'm wondering if there are any real benefits or caveats on the technical end since it's going to mean gutting the current camera system.
https://redd.it/1r9vh7o
@r_k12sysadmin
Moving to 10Gig between IDF and MDF
Excited to upgrade the link between our IDF closets and our Core. Wonder if I’ll even notice if the link is never 100% utilized. I’m doing this mainly for our voip traffic.
https://redd.it/1r9ydjo
@r_k12sysadmin
Fusion Autodesk Student
Question for the group: Is there a way to have Autodesk Fusion (Student version) update automatically? I have a teacher for whom I have to reinstall Fusion on his computers at least three times a year. Thank you for your help!
https://redd.it/1r6a707
@r_k12sysadmin
ExamView
Has anyone found a math department approved replacement for ExamView? I think the main feature my teachers use is the item bank and maybe the test creator. I've read the new software by the new owner isn't a direct replacement. Thanks in advance.
https://redd.it/1r37v56
@r_k12sysadmin
"Docusign" phishing solution (for Google domains)
Lately our area has been getting a lot of phishing attempts/successes from compromised senders firing off an email to all their contacts claiming they need to sign something or other via a Docusign link.
And since these emails are originating from known senders/contacts, Gmail isn't throwing any flags up. But I found a solution worth sharing.
In GAC: Apps->Google Workspace->Gmail->Compliance->Objectionable content: Plenty of customizable options in there, but I just created a rule for inbound & receiving messages containing "docusign" to prepend "THIS MAY BE A SCAM::BEWARE::" to the subject line.
Hope this is helpful to some of ya ;)
https://redd.it/1r330vp
@r_k12sysadmin
Dell Tech Direct vs. Lexicon?
Hey everyone. We're a K-12 district that's been a Dell Chromebook shop for years. About half our fleet has warranty coverage through Dell Tech Direct which has worked well for us. Due to rising costs, we're considering pivoting to Lenovo Chromebooks through CDW with 3-year ADP coverage through Lexicon Tech Solutions.
The Lexicon coverage looks great on paper: unlimited non-eroding ADP, battery replacement, Incident IQ integration, and CDW-managed shipping. But I'd love to hear from anyone who's actually used it in real life.
How are the turnaround times, repair quality, and communication?
How does it compare to a manufacturer warranty like Dell Tech Direct?
https://redd.it/1r3fc7x
@r_k12sysadmin
Which do you choose for endpoint protection?
We are getting ready to choose an endpoint protection provider. We have sophos right now but the bids are back and all very close? I would like to see which you would pick and if you could elaborate that would be great.
Thanks in advance
View Poll
https://redd.it/1r40yn0
@r_k12sysadmin
Consultation offerings
Was reached out to by a company called Dialect Incanet saying they would pay me to talk to a client about what I know about a specific subject. Has anyone done one of these?
https://redd.it/1rgbwes
@r_k12sysadmin
SSO on Chromebooks?
How do you all differentiate your chromebook wireless networks? Right now, all of my staff and students are on one network and overall getting student filtering. Our goal is to have our staff on our staff network and students on our student networks but without verifying the user before signing in, I don't see how that would happen.
Is there a way to use SSO on them? We are a Fortinet district but I don't see any options for Chromebooks/Google sso yet. Any suggestions?
https://redd.it/1rg8qdo
@r_k12sysadmin
Chromebook USB-C repair
For the Acer 871s we have were finding the USB-C connectors degrading to the point of failure. We are finding sources for the daughter motherboard for a replacement of the lighted side, but replacing the motherboard side is more expensive and involved. Does anyone have any experience with only replacing one side and hoping the repair lasts? Any downsides?
https://redd.it/1rgcgni
@r_k12sysadmin
Google Admin Issues
Managed bookmarks disappeared for everyone this morning. Sleep/lock settings not applying properly for students on chromebooks. Settings changes to specific OUs a couple days ago that show up in the admin log have reverted.
Anyone else having issues or are we just lucky?
https://redd.it/1rgds9p
@r_k12sysadmin
Tennessee proposals that would severely restrict or ban classroom devices?
https://k12techtalkpodcast.com/e/tennessee-may-ban-k%e2%80%935-classroom-tech-%e2%80%94-is-this-going-too-far/ and all major podcast platforms
We discuss Tennessee proposals that would severely restrict or ban classroom devices and online assessments for younger grades, and debate whether this is an overreaction or a needed reset on screen time.
We discuss a widespread, sophisticated phishing campaign that hit many Midwest school districts, including guidance on immediate steps to secure compromised accounts for Google and Microsoft.
Google: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/support/troubleshooting/identify-and-secure-compromised-accounts
Microsoft: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-office-365/responding-to-a-compromised-email-account
K12 SIX: https://k12six.org/compromise
https://redd.it/1rgjjp8
@r_k12sysadmin
Student playing Fortnite on the Microsoft login screen
Observed several students running Fortnite on the Microsoft login on their school-issued Chromebooks using external controllers. Any idea how this was done?
Update:
image: https://imgur.com/a/GlPsjqi
https://redd.it/1r8g4db
@r_k12sysadmin
Feedback on Grandstream UCM6308 + 6 Remote Sites via RemoteConnect & Telnyx?
I'm planning a new PBX rollout and wanted to get some "sanity check" feedback from the community.
The Setup:
Main Hub: Grandstream UCM6308 IP PBX.
Remote Sites: 6 locations, each with \~25 extensions (approx. 150 total).
Hardware: All new Grandstream IP phones.
SIP Trunk: Telnyx (metered).
Connectivity: Planning to use Grandstream RemoteConnect for the 6 remote sites to handle NAT traversal without site-to-site VPNs.
My Questions:
Has anyone used RemoteConnect at this scale (150+ extensions across multiple sites)?
Any latency or stability issues compared to a traditional VPN?
Is the UCM6308 overkill, or just right for future-proofing this many sites?
Any specific "gotchas" with Telnyx and the UCM6300 series regarding E911 for multiple physical locations?
Would you recommend High Availability (HA) for the hub, or is the 6300 series reliable enough on its own?
Thanks in advance for any insights!
https://redd.it/1r96ylx
@r_k12sysadmin
Managing Workspace Marketplace
Question for other districts: How do you manage the Google Marketplace apps? Do you have staff & students on an allow only list? How do you determine what apps should be allowed? Many of the applications, particularly form and mail merge ones, request access to several drive permissions similar to below.
https://preview.redd.it/ki2k2sv0cpkg1.png?width=520&format=png&auto=webp&s=f254aa5e4e673fb9dfe9aace1c31a67220210385
https://redd.it/1ra54eu
@r_k12sysadmin
Prevent customizing fonts in Chrome
Had a student playing with ‘Appearance -> Customize fonts’ in Chrome which made some webpages unreadable since the font was set to Wingdings. 🙄 Is there a way to lock this setting down to prevent future tampering? I couldn’t find anything in my searches and I didn’t see anything helpful under user & browser settings in the admin console.
https://redd.it/1raa3ti
@r_k12sysadmin
Cameras with Audio Enabled
I messed up and told a school admin our cameras can record audio if we enabled it. Well, it became a topic of conversation. Now we have a few school officials who are demanding it gets enabled. I was told to turn the audio on. I reached out to our super intendant and said I’m not enabling this until we get confirmation from the school board and lawyers. I know there are laws around recording audio with our security cameras. I am not too familiar with all the steps we have to take to be compliant. I don’t want the punishment to fall on me hence I said we need to reach out and get others to sign off.
My biggest gripe is we have 3 people who always have the cameras pulled up. I don’t think they should even have camera access unless we need to review footage but that’s not a me decision. Now they’ll be able to listen to regular conversations in the hallways.
I’m just curious if anybody else has ever implemented this and how common it is. As far as I know, we will be the only public school in a fairly large area that is actively recording audio if this goes through.
Yes, teachers and I are actively against this.
Kind of a rant but kind of looking to hear from others who are more well versed in this area.
https://redd.it/1r9yah0
@r_k12sysadmin
Any opinions on Avigilon vs Verkada vs Coram for a K12?
Hey everyone, K12 IT here at a school district. I usually handle tech stuff but now I got asked to “figure out cameras + door access + alerts” (so yeah now I’m kinda security too. Sadly😅).
We’ve got multiple schools, front offices, gyms, buses, after school programs, and lots of staff + subs coming and going all the time. Right now it’s a mix of older cameras and a badge system and honestly its kind of a mess.
Superintendent keeps hearing about Avigilon, Verkada, and now Coram from vendors and wants “a recommendation”. I have heard good things about avi and coram but hatred for verkada.
My main concerns:
being able to see things remotely (I’m not at every campus everyday)
stuff still working if the internet goes down
not getting flooded with alerts / false alarms
being able to scale later if we open another building or add portable classrooms.
Anyone running any of these in K12 schools? (If you are using any of these option please suggest your experience for any). I am interested in your experience.
https://redd.it/1r65yia
@r_k12sysadmin
How do you all let people know, that you have more going on then their problem, without sounding or being rude?
Seriouse question. I can't be the only one who has staff that thinks that their IT guy waits around in their office waiting just for them. That is a common feeling amoung tech, definitly those of us who are solo techs?
I have teachers enter my office and ask that I watch their class for a couple minutes, while I am in the middle of something. Aren't we always in the middle of something?
I have some staff who are impatinet with me. I had a staff member send me an email yesterday, actually several emails about a non-urgent issue and I was busy that day. This morning I get an email following up like they are poking me. I have tickets, you don't jump first in line. This one staff member gets on random things and wants to pull me in, as if whatever they are on that day is more important then anything I have on my plate.
And I've been here for a while and I am still working with staff to use the ticketing system.
There was a culture of no boundaries with techs before me and I've tried hard to fix that, but sometimes I think I won't win that battle.
I really want to start telling people straight to their face that I have a lot more things going on beyond their issue which is not urgent and is not preventing anyone from doing their job. It can wait.
Yesterday I had someone direct G chat me about an issue and I was working on an important email. A student came to ask a question that stalled that email and when I finished the email I found that that staff member had gone to the main staff chat asking if anyone had seen the IT guy. I'm in my office busy with something, is that so hard to consider?
I'm probably sounding really whiny right now so I'll take that criticism, but I've never had this experience in IT before. I've never had people be so inconsiderate to me.
I want to start getting more aggressive, but my job is to provide a service and let my staff feel supported. I can't just start demanding things outright or it could face backlash.
I sometimes want to just tell people that if they message me with a problem instead of submitted a ticket that they should plan on my response taking longer as it is not a proper channel. But to them it is a proper channel and I am the bad guy that came in and setting new rules that don't make sense, even though I've tried to explain to them how I need to prioritize requests.
What kind of communication can I put out to set stronger boundaries without coming across as angry at the staff. Many of them are good people that I do care about supporting, but I am losing my patience today in particular and that is why I listed this as a rant.
https://redd.it/1r2ulyh
@r_k12sysadmin
Goguardian
Did you know GG will not flag inappropriate 18+ video content as explicit? If it’s not on YT, they have no way to filter it. It also will not flag explicit 18+ text on websites with approved categories (such as travel).
What filter do you use? And does it filter things like this?
https://redd.it/1r431je
@r_k12sysadmin
Writing testing apps
We participate in a standardized test called the WrAP every year. The company responsible for the test used to maintain an app that could be downloaded to Chromebooks. The app was a barebones word processor and you could submit the test through the app. We would just force our Chromebooks into kiosk mode during testing to prevent cheating, and all was well. They then deprecated the app, offered no alternative, and now we have to come up with our own solution.
We are looking for a word processor with next to no features (no spelling or grammar check, no dictionary, no aid of any kind) that we can download for Chromebooks. The ability to submit or send finished writing to a teacher or admin would be ideal. Ive been using an app called “Shiny! Shiny!” for the past couple years, and it’s passable but confuses teachers and administrators greatly, and has weird hidden key combos and hidden menus that mess with testing. We also have to manually collect the files via physical USB drives which takes forever.
Thank you in advance for any advice!
https://redd.it/1r3wy20
@r_k12sysadmin
Does Anyone Here Use Apple TV (Device) with IFPs?
I am curious if anyone here has been deploying Apple TVs with their IFPs for any reason. Are there any practical and useful applications for them in schools? Especially when attached to interactive flat panels?
https://redd.it/1r3unee
@r_k12sysadmin
