Category: Information Technology

Windows 11-Should I upgrade?

October 5, 2021 was the release date for the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows 11. When Windows 10 was first released, anyone running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 got a free upgrade. Windows 11 has the same option for Windows 10 computers as long as the computer meets certain requirements.

Windows 10 is supported until October 14, 2025, so by the time you need to switch to Windows 11, it will very likely be time to replace your existing computer.

Please welcome John Woodraska to the IT team!

John Woodraska and his family are members of St. George Parish in Hartford, and John has joined the diocesan IT staff as of Monday 10/25.  John has extensive experience working with data, databases, querying, and extracting data and reports.  His email is jwoodraska@sfcatholic.org and his direct phone number is 605-988-3751. For now, you can continue to contact Dawn Wolf for any ParishSOFT Family Directory questions until we get John fully acclimated to our systems.

Great Article-The Ultimate List of Free Stock Photo Sites for Churches

Use this link to read the article and see all of the sites where you can get free stock photos for your design needs.

The Ultimate List of Free Stock Photo Sites for Churches

ParishSOFT FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Question: Since switching to the new PS Offering Module, why aren’t the donations I am entering in batch showing on the donor’s giving history?

Answer: The old offering module didn’t require you to close your batches, but with the newly redesigned offering module, you must close your batches in order for the donations to appear on the family’s giving history.

Question: Will you be sending us step-by-step instructions on how to run end-of-year statements in the newly redesigned offering module?

Answer: Yes! Not only are we planning to send you instructions, but we are planning to send you a video detailing the steps. We also hope to offer some Zoom meetings where you can attend to see a demonstration of the process and ask questions.

Question: How do I make a correction batch entry in a batch that I closed in the new offering module?

Answer: Here is a great link with step-by-step instructions from ParishSOFT on how to make a correction on a CLOSED batch.

https://support.parishsoft.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054884291-IO-Batches-Correction-How-to-correct-or-remove-a-closed-batch-posting-amount-due-to-the-entry-being-an-NSF-wrong-amount-or-entered-in-error

ParishSOFT Celebrant Cleanup Project

Many of you may remember during our Parish Admin day workshops this year in June that I spoke about the need to cleanup the celebrant listing in ParishSOFT. We decided to tackle that project on behalf of all the parishes because you all have plenty to do! Darla has been busy merging all of the duplicate celebrant records into a single record.

The naming standard when adding a new celebrant is:

Deacons

Deacon Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Pastors/Priests

Rev Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Monsignors

Msgr Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Bishops

Most Rev Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

God Bless you in all you do for your parish/parishes!

Dawn Wolf, director, dwolf@sfcatholic.org

John Woodraska, data administrator and analyst, jwoodraska@sfcatholic.org

Adam Staebell, Helpdesk specialist, helpdesk@sfcatholic.org

Register for Introduction to NEW ParishSOFT Offering LIVE Webinar

OR

View Introduction to NEW ParishSOFT Offering Webinar On-Demand

Bad Microsoft Windows Update

Many of you may have experienced or perhaps still are experiencing the effects of a “buggy” Microsoft Windows update that caused some pc’s to “blue screen” (affectionately known as BSOD or blue screen of death) and shut down repeatedly.  Feel free to call our office at 605-988-3783 if this is happening to you and we can assist with a fix.

Attached is a “how to” fix document for you DIY’ers.

Uninstall kb5000802 or kb5000808 update (1)

Save the Dates!

Administration and Finance workshop days are coming back this summer! We’ve missed you and can’t wait to see you all again!

June 15 – Sacred Heart, Aberdeen

June 16 – Holy Spirit, Mitchell

June 17 – Cathedral of Saint Joseph (Parish Hall)

Click Here to Register

*More information such as times and topics are coming soon via email.

Password Manager Changes

Over the years, I have often recommended a password manager called Last Pass.  Unfortunately, Last Pass is making some changes to their free password manager.  IF you use Last Pass, here are the changes you need to be aware of:

If you choose computer as your device type, LastPass Free will work on all computers in your life: ALL desktop computers ALL laptop computers If you choose mobile as your device type, LastPass Free will work on all mobile devices in your life: ALL mobile phones ALL tablets ALL smartwatches

The Great Suspender

This is an internet browser extension that I have recommended in the past. Unfortunately, this software was sold to another organization about a year ago and Google determined that it recently started to see malware within this extension, and therefore it is being automatically disabled from the Google Chrome browser (only if you had it installed). You may have seen an alert when you opened Google Chrome that referenced the disabling of this extension. Feel free to call 988-3783 or email helpdesk@sfcatholic.org if you have any concerns and would like help to remove this disabled extension.

BEWARE OF FAKE CENTURYLINK CALLS

We are hearing multiple reports of scammers calling parishes and telling them that they are calling from Centurylink about your internet. They may say something like “the wires coming into your location were through Centurylink and they need to update your router to 5G. They will ask to log into your computer and give them access. They will tell you it won’t cost a thing and they just need to re-boot your router. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO CONNECT TO YOUR COMPUTER. This is a scam. They will likely install software on your computer that allows them remote access and will track all activity.

Parish Bulletin Suggestion:

We continue to get reports of parishioners receiving email and text messages that appear to be from the pastor asking for Gift Cards. This is a scam that has been happening for a number of years. Please periodically remind your parishioners either in the bulletin or during announcements that the parish and the pastor will never solicit their members in this way.

Adobe Flash Player is gone

After a number of decades and countless websites have come and gone, so has Adobe Flash, finally dead at the hands of its creator. The End has been a long time coming, with support dropping off steadily over the years, especially with the recent surge in mobile web content consumption.

According to ZDNet:

“Adobe has started blocking Flash content for computer users across the world, now displaying a warning instead that advises them to uninstall Flash Player.

Adobe says on its end-of-life page for Flash Player that: “Adobe will block Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021. Adobe strongly recommends all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems.”

The reason for urging people to uninstall Flash is that Adobe will not issue Flash Player updates or security patches: “Therefore, Adobe will continue to prompt users to uninstall Flash Player and strongly recommends that all users immediately uninstall Flash Player.

We have gotten multiple reports from pastors and parish staff about emails and texts being sent to parishioners and staff claiming to be from the parish priest and asking for the recipient to purchase gift cards. This is a scam that has been going on for multiple years now, and unfortunately there isn’t much we or the South Dakota Attorney General or the South Dakota Department of Consumer Protection can do about it, other than warn and educate people.

We would highly recommend putting a warning about this scam in your parish bulletins periodically and letting your parishioners and staff know you will never solicit them for gift cards via email or text and to always check by calling the parish office or contacting Father.

Digital security awareness education and training is encouraged and available for pastors and your parish staff! 

Please contact Dawn Wolf for more details regarding this security education opportunity at dwolf@sfcatholic.org or by calling 605-988-3707.

Give away items!
Contact Adam Staebell astaebell@sfcatholic.org OR Dawn Wolf dwolf@sfcatholic.org to request any of these free items.

Giveaway Catalog updated

YOU’VE GOT MAIL…but it’s not from us.

Recently many priests and deacons received an email that appeared to be from Bishop DeGrood, UNTIL you looked closer at the email address. It was an email address that tried to impersonate Bishop DeGrood but was actually an @gmail.com account. All diocesan email has an @sfcatholic.org domain. In the past few years there have been many such attempts to use various email and text accounts to convince the people of our diocese to send money in the form of gift cards or to click on a link within the message. Many other dioceses across the world have also seen these types of scams. Sadly, this is a common tactic that modern-day thieves use to steal. It’s difficult to stop because it is so easy for scammers to establish different iterations of free emails accounts. So you can block one email address but the next day there is a slightly different one that is being used.

If you or your staff would like to learn more about the latest scams and tactics and how to stay safe while using technology, contact Dawn Wolf (dwolf@sfcatholic.org or 605-988-3707) about an excellent security awareness training program that you and your staff can participate in for the nominal cost of $10-$12 annually per person. These informative security awareness videos can be viewed from anywhere and on any device and cover all kinds of security topics.