How to prepare your technology to work remotely

Follow these steps to prepare your technology to work remotely.

ACU devices and systems

Understand when to use the VPN

The VPN is a handy tool to help you access your ACU files on the network shares and SharePoint (if your faculty/department has not yet been migrated to ACU SharePoint Online) while off-campus. It also lets you receive important updates to your ACU computer.

But that’s about all it does, so if you’re not using it to do those things, then you don’t need to be connected to the VPN.

VPN is therefore not required for:
• using Microsoft Teams or any Office 365 application
• teaching classes using any of the online tools including Zoom, Echo360, LEO, Turnitin etc.

IT will soon be copying your Home drive files into Microsoft OneDrive so you can also access your personal files there instead of connecting to VPN for H:\ access.

Make sure your computer can connect to the Internet

Taking an ACU desktop home may seem like a great idea but ACU desktops do not include a wireless network card so you will not be able to connect to the Internet without a wireless dongle or a network cable. If you purchase a wireless dongle (and stocks are already running low), you will need to bring it to IT to install on your machine before you take it home.

IT cannot provide support to configure your dongle if you are off-campus since you won’t be able to access the Internet and IT will be unable to remotely connect to your computer.

If you are connecting via a network cable, make sure it is long enough to stretch between your modem and your workspace.

Update your Office 365 and Workplace photos

Help your co-workers recognise you by updating your Office 365 and Workplace photos.

Follow the right channels

There’s a lot of information out there right now. Share in the knowledge by following these key Workplace groups:
• IT Updates
• Staff News
• Office of the Vice-Chancellor and President

Review the Work From Home guide

IT has collated the key information on setting up your technology to work remotely in this handy Work From Home guide on Service Central.

Personal devices and systems

Download Skype and Teams on your phone

If you download Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams applications on your phone or tablet (Android or Apple), you will be able to receive calls on your mobile whenever you are called through the app.

Currently, staff with voicemail can also receive their desk phone calls through their Skype application as well, without needing to forward their calls. This feature will soon transfer to Microsoft Teams and you will be able to make and receive calls from landline phones, mobiles, and ACU extensions from your Microsoft Teams application.

If you would like to add voicemail to your account, you can raise a ticket with Service Central.

Download free anti-virus software from ACU

Whether you’re using your home computer for work purposes or just spending more time online, take advantage of ACU’s offer of free commercial-grade anti-virus with Sophos Home Commercial Use. You can install Sophos onto ten of your personal devices.

Update your software and operating system

Most applications and software work best on up-to-date systems so make sure to update your applications to the latest version. This also protects you from known cyber-threats as these updates include important security patches.

ACU offers staff discounted Windows 10, which is the minimum operating system recommended by ACU.

Protect your wifi with a password

Leaving your home wifi without a password is like not installing locks on your front door. Cyber-criminals can take advantage of your unlocked wifi to install malicious software on your devices and spy on your Internet activities.

Lock them out by installing a password on your wifi using WPA-2 authentication. Here are some basic instructions on adding a password to your wifi.