Managed Workstation Services News
July 16, 2021
PrintNightmare Update
Summary: The print spooler remains disabled on Managed Workstation computers due to a serious vulnerability discovered at the end of June. Yesterday, Microsoft identified an additional vulnerability in the print spooler. While Microsoft has released a patch, that patch is only a fix for the original vulnerability, and additional patches and mitigations are required. We are continuing to identify those mitigations and are awaiting an update from Microsoft on when a new patch will be available. Additional details are below and we will provide further updates as available. As mentioned in the CISO’s most recent update, it was believed that...
June 30, 2021
Print Spooler Disabled Due to PrintNightmare
As a protection against critical, remotely exploitable vulnerabilities within the Windows Print Spooler, Managed Workstation has disabled the Print Spooler on all Managed Workstations. This will affect your ability to print, including using “print to PDF” functionality, and may prevent some applications from working as well. This was not a decision taken lightly -- we are aware that it may have a wide range of impacts to our customers. However, the risks this vulnerability poses to the University as a whole gave us no choice but to act. Please contact us via help@uw.edu if this severely impacts your business continuity...
August 19, 2020
UW Autopilot: New computer configuration now available for MWS customers
A new computer configuration option for new MWS computers — UW Autopilot — is now available. This process automates the setup and preconfiguration of Windows 10 computers, without the need to manually configure the computer on campus. Because the entire solution is cloud-based, the device does not require an on-campus presence to complete. UW staff working remotely can more easily set up their computers, including domain-join, security settings, Microsoft 365 Apps, MWS virtual private network (VPN), and more. This new option is being offered by the Managed Workstation Service as part of our efforts to support remote work. New computers...
Read UW Autopilot: New computer configuration now available for MWS customers
March 24, 2020
Managed Workstation COVID-19 updates
UW-IT will be working from home until June. This includes all of the Managed Workstation team. In these uncertain times we're doing our best to balance our customer needs with being cautious with our own staff. Computer Imaging The OSD image installation process is highly dependent on UW network resources, and doesn’t work from a remote location. We offer instructions on the self-service process to image the machine and the steps to have it joined to the domain under the Managed Workstation Service here: https://it.uw.edu/wares/mws/mgmt/setup-computer/osd/ Our usual high-touch approach has a number of problems during this crisis, including lack of...
February 4, 2020
2020 MWS Customer Meetings
We’ve scheduled the quarterly Managed Workstation Service customer meetings for 2020. The dates and locations are as follows: Thursday, February 13, 2020 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – UW Tower, Board Room Thursday, April 23, 2020 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – UW Tower, Fremont Conference Room Thursday, July 23, 2020 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – UW Tower, Visitors’ Dining Room Thursday, October 22, 2020 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM – UW Tower, Visitors’ Dining Room We look forward to seeing you! Kim Frye Managed Workstation Service Manager UW Information Technology University of Washington
January 8, 2020
Connecting Remotely in Inclement Weather
As the promise of snow flutters into the local forecast, we wanted to take a brief moment to remind our users how to remotely connect to their machines. In order to successfully connect remotely, the following requirements are necessary: Have administrator privileges on your computer Adjust power settings to ensure the computer is on and not asleep when you try to connect to it Have the name of the computer that you wish to connect to Use a VPN connection Use Microsoft Remote Desktop Connect There is a step-by-step guide for users available here: https://it.uw.edu/wares/mws/my-workstation/remote/ If you have any issues...
July 29, 2019
New imaging process available
Managed Workstation has a new process available for imaging a workstation called Operation System Deployment (OSD). The old process, called Litetouch or MDT, will remain available until October 31, 2019. Why should I use this new process? There are a number of enhancements immediately available via OSD including: Computer is automatically joined to the domain as part of the process You can choose to enable Bitlocker1 as part of the process The computer name by default is the serial number (you can override) You can choose a custom image, if you've previously requested creation of a custom image that meets your...
January 11, 2019
MWS file service maintenance
On January 14th, 2019 starting at 7pm, maintenance will be performed on the MWS file service. This maintenance period will end on January 15th at 5am. During this period, users may not be able to access their files. After this period, if you experience problems accessing your files, please logout and log back in--this should clear the issue.
September 27, 2018
New desktop icon
What changed Yesterday, we prematurely delivered a new desktop icon as a planned enhancement–please accept our apologies for any surprises this caused. This new desktop icon is named 'Upgrade Windows to current version'. Depending on screen resolution and font choices on your computer, this name may be shortened. If you don't see this icon, you likely will in the near future. New feature This icon allows any managed workstation which is not running the latest Windows 10 release, to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 release. It is very similar to the icon we delivered in January 2017, for upgrade...
September 4, 2018
Antivirus update within Managed Workstation
The antivirus solution and process within Managed Workstation has changed. What and When During the month of August, we slowly replaced the prior Sophos product with an entirely new Sophos product with two components. The new product is called Sophos Intercept X. This change was initially made to all Windows 7 computers to help support our efforts to upgrade them to Windows 10, because the older Sophos product was identified as blocking upgrades in some cases. As we gained trust that it demonstrated no problems with larger numbers of computers, we deployed it across all of the Managed Workstation service....