Enterprise Information Technology Services Press Release
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

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WRITER: Bert DeSimone, 706/338-9849, bert@uga.edu
CONTACT: EITS Help Desk,706-542-3106, helpdesk@uga.edu

UGA Web gateway site gets hardware, security upgrade

ATHENS, Ga.— The UGA Web gateway, accessed via the University of Georgia's main Web address—www.uga.edu—will be moving to a faster, more secure environment on August 5, 2009.

Brian Whigham (front) and Charles Leggett prepare for the August 5 switchover of UGA's main Web sites to new hardware

IT professionals from the EITS Systems Provisioning and Maintenance department and the Office of Information Security have been working closely with Web designers from the UGA Public Affairs Office to ensure that the new environment will serve the university's needs now and for several years to come.

"As quickly as we learn one technology, another one gains popularity," said Jan Beckley, UGA Webmaster and Web developer principal with the UGA Office of Public Affairs. "One thing that doesn't change is the need to handle the thousands of daily interactions between our audiences and the information they need. The challenge has always been to design an information system that anticipates each individual's needs while taking advantage of the Web technologies those individuals are using. The new server environment developed by EITS will allow us to meet that challenge and do it in a safe and secure environment."

Initially, about 12 sites will move to the new server, including the UGA gateway site, the News Service site, Georgia Magazine, and Columns. The other nearly 900 Web sites hosted on 'www.uga.edu' will be moved at a later date. "In addition to serving up Web content faster, the new server environment will provide greater redundancy to minimize downtime," said Brian Whigham, a systems administrator specialist in the EITS Systems Provisioning and Maintenance department.

Whigham went on to say that as part of this move EITS staff have been deleting dormant accounts hosted on 'www.uga.edu'. These dormant accounts typically serve up outdated information and can provide a venue for Web page hijackers.

"Web page hijackers use a Web page to redirect visitors to unrelated or malicious Web sites," said Charles Leggett, an IT security analyst specialist with the UGA Office of Information Security. "The security enhancements will help to prevent such hijackings, among other potential exploits."

Every effort has been made to ensure that visitors to UGA Web sites will not be affected by this change. If you visit a site and see errors or experience problems, please contact the department, organization, or unit Webmaster if listed. If there is no listed Webmaster, contact the EITS Help Desk: 706-542-3106 / heldesk@uga.edu.

About the Office of the CIO and EITS
The Office of the Chief Information Officer and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) are committed to the mission of UGA as a land-and-sea-grant institution where academics come first and the research extensive university community encourages research efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To that end, under the direction of the University´s Chief Information Officer, EITS endeavors to provide a robust, reliable, and secure information technology infrastructure, maintain essential production services, and offer world-class support.