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IT Center Blog

Kategorie: ‘Fun & Facts’

Today is World Smile Day

October 4th, 2024 | by
Smiley mit der Unterschrift "World Smile Day"

Source: Freepik

Smile, please! Today is World Smile Day. We would like to take this day as an opportunity to motivate you to give your fellow human beings or strangers an honest and sincere smile on this day. In this article, you will learn more about the background of World Smile Day and inspiring wisdom about smiling.

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Software Freedom Day and One Web Day 2024

September 23rd, 2024 | by
Small globe and keyboard in the background

Source: Freepik

In our increasingly digital world, there are two important awareness days that underscore the importance of free and accessible digital spaces: Software Freedom Day and One Web Day. This year, the two awareness days took place on the same weekend, which is why we would like to dedicate this blog post to both days.

 

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IT Professionals Day: Invisible Heroes

September 16th, 2024 | by
Two men with laptops in the office

Source: Freepik

On September 17, 2024, we are celebrating IT Professionals Day – a global day of honor that puts the spotlight on all those people who often work behind the scenes but are indispensable to the functioning of our digital world. At the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University, we would like to use this occasion to pay well-deserved tribute to the IT professionals, the invisible heroes, who work behind the scenes every day.

 

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Security in E-mail Traffic 3: LDAP Address Book

September 11th, 2024 | by
Isometric hacking password stealing icon with 3d computer key and warning notification vector illustration

Source: Freepik

The LDAP address book (LDAP = Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a type of database or directory that an email application queries via a predefined path (server name, port, branch/search base) in order to find out the user certificate of an email address, for example. If such an LDAP address book is integrated into your own email application, encrypted emails can be sent directly, for example, provided the recipients have published their user certificate in the LDAP address book. Not every e-mail has to be sent encrypted, but you can select this option if you wish and after successful setup. Read more about the encryption of emails in part 2 of the blog series.

 

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Digital Minimalism: Less is More

September 6th, 2024 | by
Drawing with desk and utensils

Source: Freepik

In today’s increasingly digital world, it’s easy to get lost in the endless flood of information, notifications, and digital distractions. While these technologies offer many benefits, their overuse can also lead to stress, overwhelm, and a lower quality of life. This is where digital minimalism comes into play. But what exactly is digital minimalism, how can it be practised, and what benefits does it offer? In the following blog post, we aim to explain this in more detail.

 

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Security in E-mail Traffic 2: Encryption

September 4th, 2024 | by
Vector graphic with computer and lock and mail icons

Source: Freepik

It regularly happens that personal data or other sensitive information such as temporary passwords, application documents etc. need to be transmitted quickly. The choice often falls on the exchange by e-mail. However, this data must be protected against unauthorized access by third parties. In order to still be able to use e-mail, the e-mails must be encrypted. We will show you how this works in the following blog post, along with other relevant information on the subject. Go back to the first blog post in our series to read more about digital signatures.

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Overleaf at RWTH Aachen University

August 30th, 2024 | by
Logo Overleaf

Source: Overleaf

On 6 February 2024, Overleaf officially went into regular operation at RWTH Aachen University. Thanks to the cooperation with the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), employees with active status at RWTH Aachen now have access to a powerful, web-based LaTeX platform that is revolutionising the creation of scientific documents. This introduction marks a significant step towards more efficient and collaborative research and teaching.

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Security in E-mail Traffic 1: Digital Signing

August 28th, 2024 | by
Vector graphic with user, certificate, and seal symbol

Source: Freepik

Did you know that in June 2024, more than 80% of all incoming emails at RWTH Aachen University were identified as suspicious by the email security defense systems? [1] You may now be thinking of terms such as phishing emails or spam emails.

At some point, every recipient of an email asks themselves the question: How do I know whether the sender address is trustworthy and genuine? On the other hand, every sender asks themselves at some point: How do I know whether my email has demonstrably reached the recipient unchanged? One answer to this is: Always sign emails digitally! We would like to take a closer look at this process with you in the following blog post.

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IT-Bites: Quick Fixes

August 19th, 2024 | by
A man sitting in front of his laptop and looking at the screen.

Source: Freepik

In the age of digitalisation, IT problems are an everyday nuisance that can cause significant disruption at home. However, the good news is that many of these problems can be solved quickly and easily. In this blog post, we take a look at some of the most common IT problems at home and offer practical tips for quickly solving them. Please note that these solutions are intended for private use at home only.

 

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Women in IT: Success Stories

August 14th, 2024 | by
Three Business Women

Source: Freepik

Welcome to the second instalment of our Women in IT blog series!

In our first blog post, we looked at the obstacles and challenges faced by women in the industry. Now we turn our attention to the inspiring success stories and lasting contributions that women have already made. These pioneering women have revolutionised the world of information technology and serve as role models for future generations.

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