Hundreds of information technology professionals work every day to support Orange students, faculty and staff. The University tech community includes the campus-wide reach of Information Technology Services as well as dedicated staff for each school, college and administrative unit.

With a new school year set to begin, we collected some “pro tips” to enhance your technology experience on campus.

Campus Connections

  • Rather than using your personal hotspot on campus, connect to the AirOrangeX WiFi network. — Christopher Fox, College of Visual and Performing Arts
  • Remember that emails from @syr.edu addresses are the only official communications on campus. — Jeff Pitt, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Use your @syr.edu account for email instead of your @g.syr.edu account. — Andrew Molloy, School of Architecture

Keeping Your Information Secure

  • Do not provide an MFA code to someone texting or calling you. — Dan Jeski, Information Technology Services
  • Passwords need to be reset via netid.syr.edu (not the “Forgot my password” link in the Microsoft login prompt). — Joel Whitney, College of Law
  • Check out the ITS Phish Bowl to learn about recent phishing scams. — Josh Keating, Whitman School of Management
  • Only respond to an MFA prompt when you have just logged in to something. — Jeff Pitt, College of Arts and Sciences

Cool Apps and Websites

  • Office.syr.edu shows recently shared files (whether in Teams, email, etc.) all in one place. Microsoft Office Lens also is a great way to take a picture and create a PDF. Then you can either email it or save it to One Drive. — Renee King, Information Technology Services
  • The Microsoft Authenticator app provides the best multi-factor authentication (MFA) experience. — Stuart Rotblat, Information Technology Services
  • Maps.syracuse.edu is a great resource for getting around campus. — Jeff Pitt, College of Arts and Sciences

Getting Help (or Helping Yourself)

  • When devices have a problem, restarting is the first troubleshooting step. Phones, tablets, computers, etc. Restarting the device fixes an amazing amount of problems. — Paula Maxwell, School of Education
  • Visit answers.syr.edu for self-service information about campus technology. — Gabriel Garza, Whitman School of Management
  • When you need to report an issue to the ITS Service Center or your local IT support staff, it helps to include critical basics like what device, what time and place, who you are, and a little more detail than “please come look at it.” — Lee Badman, Information Technology Services
  • If you need a short-term loaner laptop while yours is getting fixed, two-week checkouts are available from Bird Library’s technology desk. Although access to install software isn’t provided, you can remote into rds.syr.edu to access additional software. — Andrew Molloy, School of Architecture