Multi-factor authentication for Office applications from 10 December
Friday, 08 November 2019
Microsoft Office logo
Colleagues are advised that from 10 December, the University is changing how you access Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel etc.) remotely.
If you log on to the University network from your home or a location outside our campuses, you will be asked to complete a Multi-Factor Authentication before you can use these applications. This would generally involve either saying ‘Approve’ to a login notification on your smartphone or entering a unique code available on your phone.
We recommend that you download the Microsoft Authenticator App on your smartphone to help you do this. This app is available for Android, iOS and Windows smartphones.
Instructions on how to set up the app are available on the Remote Services Access Guide.
If you do not have a smartphone, the authentication works through an SMS sent to your mobile phone or through a call on a landline.
These changes are part of our work to make the University and its IT systems secure. Every week, around 40 University accounts are hacked – requiring urgent work to secure those accounts. We need your support to facilitate a secure infrastructure that colleagues can use to work flexibly.
If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please email IT Service Desk (it@reading.ac.uk).