Introduction to BYOD at UCSF

You can use your own smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer to access UCSF systems, but the device needs to comply with UCSF's security policy. This is to ensure that your device, the UCSF network and UCSF sensitive data all remain safe.

Get Technology Help

The UCSF IT Service Desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact us:

• By using online chat (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.): http://help.ucsf.edu
• By phone at 415-514-4100
• By submitting a ticket online at http://help.ucsf.edu

The UCSF Library also has an in-person help desk in the Tech Commons at the Parnassus Library, room CL240.

Recommendations for purchasing a computer

• Standard computer recommendations for staff.
• Technology requirements for learners: Technology Requirements for Learners

Important note on Mac purchases

For Macs intended for UCSF ownership, we require the computer to be enlisted in Apple School Manager for UCSF which helps ensure our enforcement of minimum security standards are sufficiently applied through MDM.  Our authorized vendor, CDW-G, processes this enlistment directly with Apple prior to shipment.  Macs purchased from retail stores, including Apple retail stores, do not offer this service and those computers do not meet this requirement as some Enterprise management features won't be available for IT to enforce even when manually enrolled to an MDM solution.

UCSF IT Security Suite

UCSF provides a suite of security software for free to all faculty, staff, and learners. The suite has everything you need to keep yourself safe, including BigFix for device registration and system management, Symantec Endpoint Protection for anti-virus and anti-malware, Forescout SecureConnector for network access control, device encryption, and endpoint detection and response. All of these tools help you comply with UCSF's minimum security standards, and keep you, your data, and UCSF safe.

All computers used for UCSF work or education must have BigFix software installed and be registered, whether they are personally- or University-owned. BigFix allows UCSF IT to find, fix and secure devices on the UCSF network. BigFix only collects hardware and software information about your computer; it does not record personal information, such as your browsing history or your documents.

Go to https://tiny.ucsf.edu/itss and get started today!

VPN

VPN will let you access UCSF-restricted resources (e.g., file shares, servers, journal articles) while off-campus or not on the UCSF network.

If you access your email from a desktop client (e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail) while off-campus, you will need to sign in to VPN first. This does not apply to UCSF webmail, smartphones or tablets.

UCSF's VPN software (Pulse Secure) can be downloaded at: http://software.ucsf.edu/.

You can learn more about VPN here: https://it.ucsf.edu/services/vpn

Wireless Networking

To access the UCSF network when you are on campus use the UCSFwpa wireless network. For more information about UCSF' wireless network service see the Wireless Service page.

Email

You can set up email on your computer, smartphone or tablet by following the instructions here: https://it.ucsf.edu/services/email. To set up your mobile device to check your UCSF email and access Office 365 applications (e.g., Teams, OneDrive, productivity apps) see Access UCSF Email From Your Mobile Phone.

You can also access UCSF Webmail at: https://email.ucsf.edu

If you access your email from a desktop client (e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail) while off-campus, you will need to sign in to VPN first. This does not apply to UCSF webmail, smartphones or tablets. Learn more at: VPN.

You can set up your password recovery questions at https://password.ucsf.edu. This will let you regain access if you forget your password or your account gets locked.

Encryption

Installing Dell Data Protection Encryption or Dell Encryption Enterprise software will help enforce and validate device encryption on your computer. To determine if your computer is encrypted, see How to Determine Your Computer Encryption Status.

On Macs running macOS Big Sur or newer, enrolling your computer into Jamf Pro at UCSF will help enforce and validate device encryption on your computer.  For more information and instructions, see UCSF Jamf Pro for BYOD Macs.

UCSF has a list of recommended security products, including physical locks and encrypted external drives, at https://it.ucsf.edu/how_do/recommended-security-products.

Backup

UCSF recommends backing up your computer to an encrypted drive.

Software Discounts

UCSF staff and faculty can purchase Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows at a discount, and UCSF learners can purchase a Microsoft Office 365 subscription at a discount from: https://ucsf.onthehub.com/WebStore/Welcome.aspx (MyAccess login required).

UCSF learners, staff and faculty can use VMware software for educational, instructional and noncommercial research purposes: VMware Academic Program (MyAccess login required).

Off-boarding

When you leave UCSF, you will need to remove all UCSF data and software from your computer.

The only way to ensure all UCSF data has been removed is to securely reformat or factory-reset (ERASE) your hard drive and any external drives (e.g., USB thumb drives, external hard drives). Please contact your computer vendor for support.

You can also manually search for and securely remove UCSF data and applications. See this page for more information: Clean Up Your Personal (BYOD) Computer When Leaving UCSF.