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Remote work

Student sits on stairs and learns with laptop
image: David Maurer

With the tips and hints on this website, you can also work securely from home. Also, attend our ILIAS training on IT security and learn how to protect yourself against phishing, SPAM mails and social engineering.

Connect to the university network from home

  • It is best to use a LAN connection to the Internet with your work computer at home.
  • Change the default access data for the WLAN (usually these are stuck on the back of the router) to an individual WLAN password with at least 12 digits (for information on strong passwords, please refer to the UMR password policy).
  • Please set at least WPA2 for the encryption of your WLAN on your router. As an example, this article tells you how to change the WLAN password and WPA2 encryption on a Fritz!Box.
  • Use a VPN connection. If you use a machine managed with Opsi, the VPN client AnyConnect is already installed on your device. Here you find a tutorial about VPN with AnyConnect.

Processing data

In the home office, your home is your workplace. Therefore, take special care that:

  • your business data does not leave your home.
  • you store your data on your network drive and not locally.
  • you use the university's services to exchange data (see privacy-compliant alternatives to frequently used programs and tools).
  • you print out as little as possible.
  • you do not dispose confidential documents in the household garbage, but in accordance with data protection in the office.
  • you protect your business data by not letting other people in your household look at your screen, you lock your business device when you are not using it (even for a short time) and you keep your business documents safe and locked away.
  • other persons in your household do not use your business devices.
  • you do not leave your business documents lying around in the open.
  • you do not work with your private devices, not even via VPN.
  • you do not store any official data on private storage media such as USB sticks or SD cards.

Transporting media and data

  • Please transport your written notes and paper documents only in locked bags or backpacks and by the shortest route to your home office.
  • Please take confidential data home only if you need it urgently. If in doubt, ask your supervisor whether you may take the data with you.

Communicating with colleagues (web and telephone conferences)

  • Use telephone conferences as far as possible.
  • For web conferences, use the services provided by Philipps-Universität.
  • Observe the regulations on the use of web conferences (Ger.) as well as the general information on data protection (Ger.).
  • The service BigBlueButton is available to you.
  • If you participate in web conferences provided by external parties, your personal data will reach organizations (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc.) outside Philipps-Universität, especially in the case of commercial providers, and will be further processed there. Philipps-Universität assumes no responsibility for this.
  • Be careful not to disclose personal data of others without explicit permission if you are invited to a web conference by external parties.
  • Make confidential phone calls alone and not on your balcony or in your garden.
  • Please use only your work address for e-mail communications. Don't send business e-mails to your private e-mail address (at Google, GMX, etc.).

If you have technical questions, please contact your responsible IT administration. Please direct any questions regarding data protection to .