If working from home over the holiday period there are various methods of accessing the services you need. It is possible to access your work PC and use it from home using Remote Desktop – see our article on this. However you only need Remote Desktop if you need to use applications which you can’t access over the internet or CampusNet.
Here are some pointers as to what can be accessed without the need to use remote desktop to access your work PC:
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Accessing your e-mail can be achieved by using Outlook Web Access http://mail.stir.ac.uk. Log in using your regular network username and password. You only require internet access from home. A VPN (CampusNet) connection or Remote Desktop connection is not required and your office PC can be switched off.
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Retrieving files from network shares is very straight forward using Outlook Web Access and a simple guide is available http://www.stir.ac.uk/is/staff/it/email/outlookwebaccess/#folder. Your office PC can be switched off. It is worth logging into webmail and entering your commonly used network drives then saving them as favourites so that they are there when you need them off campus.
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If you need to save documents to network shares you will need to connect via CampusNet and details are available at http://www.stir.ac.uk/is/staff/it/campusnet/off-campus/. Your office PC can be switched off.
If appropriate please turn off all IT equipment in your office e.g. PC, monitor, printer etc. If accessible, please switch off at the mains outlet on the wall as some IT equipment will still obtain power when switched off at the appliance.
If you do need to use Remote Desktop over the holiday period, you can still turn of peripheral equipment e.g. monitor, printer etc, while leaving the PC switched on.