Welcome to our off-campus computing page. Below, you will find everything you need to work online from anywhere.
IMPORTANT: before you leave your work computer behind, you need to record its name! Each computer has a unique name, and you won't be able to remotely access yours without knowing it. See the following document to find your work computer's name (PDF).
To learn how you can keep everything you're doing at home cyber-secure, visit Cybersecurity Best Practices for Working Remotely
Did you know you can access your work computer from anywhere? With Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), you use your home computer to access your work computer. It's like virtually logging in to your work PC from the comfort of your home.
Before you begin:
- You will need to restart your work computer
- Log in to your work computer, and record your work computer's name (PDF)
- Log out of your work computer but leave it powered on
- Make sure you connect your home computer to York's VPN service
Choose one of the options below to get started:
Need to use external audio devices when connecting remotely? See the following instructions (PDF)
Did you know that you can access the files on your York share drives from anywhere? There are a few simple ways you can access your work share drives from home.
Before leaving your work computer behind, we recommend copying all your personal folders and files into OneDrive. OneDrive is the easiest way to access and update your documents remotely. To get started visit the OneDrive site.
There are two other easy ways to access our shared drives remotely:
Did you know you can still use all of the Microsoft Office suite, including Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint and more from home? One of the best parts of O365 is that you can access the suite from anywhere.
Check out some of the Office 365 tools that can help you work remotely:
| I want to | Try |
| Store, share and collaborate on documents | OneDrive and Teams |
| Send instant messages, and host online meetings and video calls | Teams |
| Plan projects and track tasks | Planner |
| Host and share videos | Stream |
| Take, organize and share notes and minutes | OneNote |
| Create simple and effective communications | Sway |
| Create forms, surveys, quizzes and polls | Forms |
| Organize manage and prioritize my tasks | To Do |
Visit the yuoffice website for more info!
Did you know that York has an amazing online tool called MyApps that lets you access all the apps you need to keep working from anywhere? All you'll need is a browser and a working internet connection and you're good to go!
To access MyApps:
- Go to the MyApps portal
- Authenticate using your Passport York username and password
- When a popup asks you if you want to open the MyApps (AppsAnywhere) launcher, select Open AppsAnywhere Launcher. If the MyApps launcher is not already installed on your computer, you will be prompted to download it
- You can now access all the remote apps
While you might not be able to meet face-to-face you can still join all of your meetings over video chat. With Zoom you can communicate in real-time and from anywhere with using video or voice calls.
- To access Zoom, check out our quick start guide (PDF)
- To start booking meetings, see instructions at the Zoom Help Centre site
- If you need a little extra info, check out our user guide (PDF)
Heads up: To avoid uninvited members, we recommend that you set a password for your zoom meetings as per instructions at the Zoom meeting and webinar passcodes site.
Did you know that you can answer your desk phone from your laptop or PC? With our remote phone option for Windows PC you will be able to send and receive all the calls that you would normally make or take on your desk phone from anywhere!
Before you begin
- You will need to submit a remote desk phone activation request. Once you've submitted your request, our Telecom team will send you your username and password which you can use to set up remote access to your desk phone.
- These instructions are for York Faculty and Staff to use their personal desk phones remotely. If you are part of a call centre, please contact telecomm@yorku.ca.
- Installation of York VPN is required on your PC to use the remote desk phone client. For instructions to install VPN (Pulse Secure), visit Secure Remote Access site.
Desktop Application
- Windows
Sometimes websites and applications won't load when you try to connect to them from outside the University. That's because they're protected from being accessed by the public. The good news is that we have something called a virtual private network that will let you connect to everything even when you're off campus. All you need to do is connect to our VPN, Pulse Secure, and our security will be able to tell you are one of us and safe to access what you need.
For the best experience, make sure you only connect to VPN when necessary, and disconnect as soon as you are done your session. VPN will be required for you to access the following:
- File shares like your H: drive (note: access to OneDrive does not require VPN)
- PeopleSoft HR (admin users)
- PeopleSoft Finance
- Ellucian AWA
- IBM Maximo
- Insight
- Security & facilities
- Remote Desktop Protocol
- All business systems with ancillaries
If you can't access the sites or apps you are used to accessing from your work computer, make sure you connect to Pulse Secure.
Please note: some groups will need to install Micro Trend virus protection and run a scan before connecting to Pulse Secure (VPN). While this is only required for those connecting to the vpnfw1 gateway, this is a step we recommend anyone working from a home PC completes.
https://www.yorku.ca/uit/faculty-staff-services/your-york-computer/protecting-your-computing-devices/antivirus-software Install Micro Trend
How to connect to Pulse Secure:
| Operating System | Where to Get the Pulse Client |
| Windows 10 | Connect to Pulse Secure on Windows |
| Mac OS 10.8x and higher | Connect to Pulse Secure on Mac |
| Linux | Connect to Pulse Secure on Linux Download the appropriate client: CentOS/RHEL 32-bit, CentOS/RHEL 64-bit, Ubuntu/Debian 32-bit, Ubuntu/Debian 64-bit |
| iOS (iPad / iPhone) 8.1 and higher | Connect to Pulse Secure on iOS |
| Android Phone / Tablet 4.4.x and higher | Connect to Pulse Secure on Android Devices |
Please visit the following site for our contact information and hours of support:
https://www.yorku.ca/uit/contact
Note that our offices are not open on the specified Statutory Holiday Dates at https://registrar.yorku.ca/enrol/dates