Tech Support

• Visit the Admissions & Aid Page
• Contact A&R directly (phone, fax, address, office hours, etc..)
• Visit A&R offices on the first floor of the Student Services Building, Room STS-107 (View Campus Map)
• Email your question/issue to admissions@mpc.edu

All MPC students have a Lobo Account. This account provides you with MPC network permissions, an MPC email address, access to MPC's Google Apps and your Student Portal (mympc) and will be available for use the day after you register for a class for the first time.

• Click here to learn how to access and activate your Lobo Account
• Click here to locate computer labs and get help

Your Lobo Account will give you access to the resources you need including:

• Your MPC Google Email (sign in through Lobo Apps)
• Additional Apps from Google (Drive, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Hangouts, Sites, etc..) which are protected within the MPC domain.

Trouble-Shooting Tips

• Ask a Computer Lab Tech for assistance or email websitesupport@mpc.edu. (Please include your Student ID number in any requests for assistance.)

• Submit a Canvas Support Request

• Find a Student Computer Lab
• Check out a chromebook from the Library. 

Chromebook Agreement Form

Contact the MPC Library for more information

• Ask a support technician that is near or in each Student Computer Lab
• Ask for help at the reference desk on the main level of the MPC library

The practice of trying to trick or manipulate people into breaking normal security procedures is called “Social Engineering”. The principle behind social engineering and scams in general is that people are the weak link in security – that it can be easier to trick people than to hack into computing systems by force.

Social engineers exploit people’s natural tendency to want to trust and be helpful. They also take advantage of our tendency to act quickly when faced with a crisis. The scams described on this page are all classic examples of social engineering.

• Phishing is a scam designed to steal information or passwords, compromise computers or trick you out of money - typically via deceptive emails, texts, posts on social networking sites, pop-ups or phone calls.
• Hover over any links to see specifically where you are being directed.  If it's not legit, don't click.
• Some examples include:
  • “There’s a problem with your account” – trying to trick you into sending your password or clicking on a link in order to fix a problem.
  • Phony security alerts – email, pop-ups or Facebook notices warning that your computer is at risk of being infected, typically with a link to click.
  • Phony computer support
  • Money Phishing – trying to trick you out of money or bank/credit card account info. Often by pretending to be someone from another country who needs assistance accessing a large sum of money. Or a friend stuck in another country without any money. Or an IRS agent claiming that you owe taxes and must pay immediately over the phone.

If you think you have discovered a Phishing scam, report it to Google. Train your spam filter:

•     Open the message in Gmail (in your web browser)
•     Click the three vertical dots ' ⋮ ' next to reply
•     Choose 'Report phishing'

If you receive a threatening phishing email report it to the Police Department.

Delete spam and suspicious emails; don't open, forward, or reply to them. They are in your spam folder for a reason.

Attackers pose as someone in authority, or an IT representative, in order to obtain information or direct access to systems. Attackers may research the target so they know enough to convince you to trust them or they will bet on your want to please someone like your boss to complete their task. Check the email address that the message came from. Often the signature will match the display name, but the email address will not match that of the supposed senders.

Survey Scams: Be cautious about the legitimacy of the form. Were you expecting a survey? Do you know the company or topic it is asking about? Is it asking for personal information?

Ransomware: Scams that lock your computer and you have to pay money to get it unlocked. This is also a double-whammy because you also give the attacker your credit card information.

Fake Invoices: Attachments that look like invoices but are really scams.

Make sure your computer is protected with anti-virus and all necessary security "patches" and updates, and that you know what you need to do, if anything, to keep them current.

• Don't open files, click links, or call numbers in unsolicited emails, text messages, IMs, Facebook postings, tweets, etc.
  • Instead of clicking on a link, look up the website yourself by a method you know to be legitimate.
  • If you can't verify something is legitimate, ignore or delete it.
• Don’t click on links in pop-up ads/windows; Trust your web browser’s pop-up blocker, if it has one.

Key indicators:

• You are being asked for personal or private information, your password, financial account information, address, date of birth, Social Security Number, address or money, even in the form of gift-cards or blank checks.

• Scare tactics or threats, stressing that if you don't act quickly something bad will happen
• Promises of something too good to be true. This includes bargains and “great offers,” or links to claim an award/reward.
• Other indicators that an email isn’t legitimate:
  • It’s not addressed to you, specifically, by name.
  • The sender isn’t specified, isn’t someone you know, or doesn’t match the “from” address. 
  • It has spelling or grammatical errors.
  • It includes links to pictures or videos from people you don’t personally know

If you find yourself among the millions of people who have responded to phishing and have exposed their personal information, you should perform the following:

• Reset any passwords that you may have exposed. If you use the same password across multiple sites, you need to reset them all. Remember to use a different password for each site into which you enter private, sensitive data so a compromise of one system does not turn into a compromise of many.
• If the information you provided can be used to access any other institution, contact the customer service center of each affected institution.
• If you exposed any financial account information, such as your credit card or bank account number, report the incident to the financial institutions involved.
• If any piece of information was exposed that could be used to open financial accounts (e.g., your Social Security Number, date of birth, place of birth, mother's maiden name, bank account numbers, credit card numbers), contact any of the three major credit bureaus and ask them to lock your credit record and sign up for their credit monitoring service, a fee-based service that will automatically notify you whenever your credit record is accessed. When you lock your credit record, no other organization can check your credit without your permission. Here are the websites for the three major credit bureaus:
  • Equifax
  • Experian
  • TransUnion
• The web sites of national agencies that deal with Internet fraud provide helpful information about dealing with identity theft issues:
  • The Identity Theft Resource Center
  • The Internet Crime Complaint Center
  • Federal Trade Commission

1.    Introduction

To comply with federal and state regulations, laws, and harassment mitigation policies, educational organizations are compelled to establish Internet safety guidelines otherwise known as Acceptable Use Agreements (AUAs) for the appropriate use of computer systems.

2.    Rights and Responsibilities

Use of computers, services, and networks owned by Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) is a privilege governed by certain regulations and restrictions as defined by the College as well as by all applicable federal, state and local laws.

The user agrees to abide by the regulations set forth in this AUA. This means that the user agrees to behave responsibly in accordance with the standards established by MPC and this document while using college systems and network resources.

3.    Right to Privacy

MPC supports each individual’s right for personal communication; however, messages on computing resources are accessible to others through normal system administration activities and to the public through public records laws. Therefore MPC cannot guarantee privacy of electronic communication.

The system administrator reserves the right to monitor the usage of all network resources to ensure compliance with this policy, College policy, and federal, state and local laws. User files may be subject to search by law enforcement agencies under court order if such files contain information which may be used as evidence in a court of law.

MPC users are expected to comply with copyright and intellectual property laws.

Users who become aware of any violation of this policy should notify the proper authorities.

4.    Email

Email correspondence between employees of MPC to students or the community directly related to performing the duties and business of the College must take place using the official MPC.edu email address. Any official correspondence to a preferred or provided email address that is not a MPC domain email address will be considered a violation of this policy. MPC students should be directed to check MPC.edu email often for communication from the college and its employees.

The MPC administration acknowledges there are exceptions to this policy such as when contacted by past students who no longer use college email or prospective students who have not yet received their student email address.

Student E-mail

An MPC e-mail address (username@mpc.edu) is provided to all students as an official means of communication. Students are responsible for all MPC communication sent to their MPC e-mail address.

It is expected that students check their e-mail account on a frequent and consistent basis. To ensure that students remain current with MPC-related communications, students are strongly encouraged:

To check their e-mail at least two times a week.

To respond to all official MPC communications as directed in each communication (e.g., responding in person, by surface mail, or by e-mail).

Do not assume an e-mail response is a satisfactory substitution when directed otherwise.

Students are subject to this policy during academic terms for which they are enrolled, during breaks between terms, and during MPC holidays and vacations.

Faculty members determine how they will use e-mail in their classes. Faculty may wish to include their e-mail expectations in the course syllabus. The distribution of mass communications is restricted to MPC departments and offices for MPC business. External requests for mass communications will not be honored.

MPC employs various measures to protect the security of its computing resources and users’ accounts. However, users should be aware that MPC does not and cannot guarantee such security. Furthermore, individuals are advised to exercise caution when sending sensitive or FERPA-protected student information via e-mail. In addition, individuals are reminded that some MPC information is not appropriate for e-mail communication.

5.    Enforcement

Violations of this policy will be reported to the appropriate administrator and, if warranted, the appropriate civil authorities. Non-compliance with this policy may also result in the loss of access to computer resources.

Students will be subject to the student discipline process as outlined in the college catalog.

Employees: Enforcement and discipline of this policy will be decided upon by HR and/or applicable union contract agreements.

6.    Acceptable Use Agreement

Conduct which is deemed non-acceptable use of MPC technology resources includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:

• • • Using a computer account without authorization.
    • Sharing an account with other users is not authorized.
    • Using the campus network to gain unauthorized access to any computer systems.
    • Connecting unauthorized equipment to the campus network.
    • Using a personally-owned wireless access point or wireless device acting as an access point on campus.
    • Attempting to circumvent data protection schemes or uncover security loopholes. This includes creating and/or running programs that are designed to identify security loopholes and/or decrypt intentionally secure data.
    • Knowingly or carelessly performing an act that will interfere with the normal operation of computers, terminals, peripherals, or networks, e.g., deleting programs or changing icon names.
    • Knowingly or carelessly running or installing on any computer system or network, or giving to another user a program intended to damage or to place excessive load on a computer system or network. This includes, but is not limited to, programs known as computer viruses, Trojan Horses, and worms.
    • Deliberately wasting/overloading computing resources
    • Violating terms of applicable software licensing agreements or copyright laws.
    • Violating copyright laws and their fair use provisions through inappropriate reproduction or dissemination of copyrighted text, images, movies, etc.
    • Using College resources for commercial activity, such as creating products or services for sale.
    • Using electronic mail to harass or threaten others. This includes sending repeated, unwanted e-mail to another user.
    • Initiating or propagating electronic chain letters.
    • Inappropriate mass mailing. This includes multiple mailings to newsgroups, mailing lists, or individuals, e.g. "spamming," "flooding," or "bombing."
    • Forging the identity of a user or machine in an electronic communication.
    • Transmitting, reproducing, or publicly displaying materials that are slanderous or defamatory in nature or that otherwise violate existing laws or MPC regulations.
    • Attempting to monitor or tamper with another user's electronic communications.
    • Reading, copying, changing, or deleting another user's files or software without the explicit agreement of the owner.
    • Transmitting pornographic material.
    • Software theft (pirating). Users will not install unapproved software on computers owned by MPC, including software that does not include a site license agreement via MPC Tech Services.
    • Accessing MPC Ethernet (wired) network without written permission from MPC IT is strictly prohibited. Violations of this include:
      • Moving computers, printers or other devices from one data port to another.
      • Plugging any personal device into a data port.
    • Network shared storage is for work related purposes only. Storing non-work related personal items, including photos, video clips and music is prohibited.

See Board Policy 3720