Remote Working

You have been told to work from home, you don’t have additional resources to remote in with and so you have decided to take your computer from work, home. Now what?

Make sure you have done the following:

1. Gain school/department approval 

2. Give department tracking information of the personnel, location and equipment tags/names to your supervisor

3. Schedule the pick-up with your critical personnel (information about restricted access to campus and contacts for each campus are available here - Chancellor message for Denver; Chancellor message for Anschutz Medical Campus)  

4. BEFORE disconnecting the computer:

a. Download and install the Global Protect VPN app. 

b. You must have the following at home in order to connect:

• Internet Service
• Ethernet cable with adequate length to connect to the modem OR 
• USB wireless network adaptor that can be plugged into the computer tower and will connect with the modem 
• As a reminder, you also will need to install the Duo Security app to use the VPN. This step can be done from home.

5. When disconnecting the computer:

a. Save any opened documents and turn off the machine

b. Disconnect, mouse, keyboard, monitors, ethernet cable, other peripherals/devices

You have been told to work from home, you hear that others remote into their office computer and you want to do that too.

Instructions:

1. Set up the PC you want to connect to so it allows remote connections Start>Settings>System>Remote Desktop and turn on Enable Remote Desktop.

2. Make note of the name of this PC under How to connect to this PC (in some instances, the computer’s IP address is needed).

3. Make note of the IP address of this PC.

a. Click the Start icon and select Settings.

b. Click the Network & Internet icon.

c. To view the IP address of a wired connection, select Ethernet on the left menu pane and select your network connection, your IP address will appear next to "IPv4 Address".

d. To view the IP address of a wireless connection, select WiFi on the left menu pane and click View your network properties, your IP address will appear next to "IPv4 Address".

4. Log into the Remote Desktop Application at remote.ucdenver.edu OR

5. Log into the VPN

6. Connect to the PC you set up to allow connection 

a. On your local Windows 10 PC: In the search box on the taskbar, type Remote Desktop Connection, and select Remote Desktop Connection. 

b. In Remote Desktop Connection, type the name (or IP address) of the PC you want to connect to (from Step 2), and then select Connect.

Visual instructions available here: Remote into Your Office Computer.

OIT and Financial Services have worked together to provide some tips and reminders related to purchasing remote working and computing equipment. 

As these are not normal business operations, we understand that there are several options available to meet the departments’ needs for computers at employees’ personal residence. Below are some options to consider:

1. Employees may take their work desktop and devices to home. More information about what to do, including downloading and installing the VPN service before disconnecting the computer from their workstation, is available above in the section titled Taking Your Work Computer Home.

2. Purchase a computer via a procurement card if you have a university PCard. This will entail the following:  

• School/department approval
• Department creates tracking of the purchases and location

3. Purchase a computer using your personal credit card and then submitting for reimbursement by the department. This will entail the following:

• School/department approval
• Department creates tracking of the purchases and location

4. Purchase a computer via the CU Marketplace. The computer must be delivered to the university work location. CU Marketplace is not configured to deliver to personal residences at this time. This will entail the following:  

• School/department approval
• Department creates tracking of the personnel, location and equipment tags/names
• Schedule the pick-up with your critical personnel (information about returning to campus are available on each safe return to campus websites)

In addition, recommended bundles are available from Dell. An overview of package options is available here. 

If you've purchased a new computer for work, you can open the box at home and get started right away. Once on-campus to work, you can contact your school or department IT resource to have the computer imaged and joined to the university domain. With your new computer, you are able to access Microsoft 365 products, connect with the VPN or connect using a virtual desktop.

Please contact the OIT Service Desk if you have any questions.

Employees should discuss with their supervisor the technology needed to perform their job. Here are some considerations for selecting technology need to work remotely.  

• To ensure compatibility with campus and university systems, OIT highly recommends purchasing approved standard equipment and software through our technology partners on CU Marketplace, accessed through the UCDAccess portal. 
  
• Strategic partner Dell^TM and Apple Computer Inc. are University of Colorado’s preferred computing device vendors. Approved printers can be purchased through these vendors, and strategic partner Staples also sells a recommended home all-in-one printer/scanner/fax machine.   
  
• Desktop workstation or laptop? This decision is based on your needs and the type of work you perform. A full desktop workstation with large, bright monitors (at lease 24”) may offer better processing power and hard-drive storage at a more affordable price. A laptop provides flexibility in work location and is typically smaller, potentially more expensive, with less hard-drive space. A laptop can be supplemented with a docking station that allows for connection of multiple monitors, a mouse and full-sized keyboard, which may add expense to this option. 
  
• One monitor or two? What size? Again, this is a personal decision based on one’s work environment, work style, and type of work. Regardless of the monitor configuration chosen, it is important to ensure the appropriate connections are in place and the appropriate software is installed on the computer to ensure proper operation of the monitors. 
  
• Depending on how one works from home, a printer/scanner may be needed. If one manually signs documents and must return signed documents electronically, then a printer/scanner will likely be necessary. 
• If your work space is located in a busier area of your home, you may need a noise-cancelling computer headset with microphone to more effectively attend virtual meetings.