Working Remotely

What's the Best Way to Work Remotely?

The most efficient way of working remotely requires you to have internet access in the first instance.

With internet access you can:

• Access your e-mail from Outlook Web Access or via Outlook itself.
• Access shared network folders via VPN.

• Access programs installed on your office computer via Remote Desktop & VPN.

Do I need Internet Access to Work with E-Mail?

To access new e-mails and send e-mails straight away, yes you do need internet access. But Outlook has a function called Cached Mode which allows you to read and respond to e-mails without having to be connected to the internet.

Cached mode creates a copy of your mailbox onto your computer's hard drive. This means that you can view e-mails downloaded during your last connection with the e-mail server. You can also reply to messages and they will sit in your outbox waiting until you next connect, whereupon the will be sent.

Cached mode is turned on by default when your Outlook profile is created.

My DIDE VPN Connection is not Working.

If you find that your VPN connection is not working, make sure you have been given access to use the facility by a member of DIDE IT.

If you have, you should try deleting and recreating the VPN connection using this guide.

Make sure you are using your correct DIDE username and password. If your account is locked out, the VPN connection will not work.

If all fails try connecting to the College's VPN service. If that fails, and you are using a Wi-Fi hotspot or another organisation's network/internet, you may find that the firewall of the provider of the connection is blocking VPN connections.

I Cannot Access My Office Computer.

Make sure your office computer is switch on.

Make sure you have initiated the VPN connection.

Try using the full computer name. This involves adding .dide.local to the end of it. So if your computer name was 'mycomputer', the full computer name would be mycomputer.dide.local.

Can Someone Log Into My PC If I Am Remotely Using It & Vice Versa?

If you are remotely accessing your computer using Remote Desktop, then no one else will be able to physically log on to it. The screen will show that it is in used and has been locked by you.

Similarly, if you are physically present and logged into your computer, then no one else will be able to Remote Desktop to it.