IT provision at Cambridge
University Information Services (UIS) provides many of the university-wide IT services that support teaching, research and administration.
Local IT services
Your department, college or institution may provide you with additional IT services. Your local IT support staff are normally your first recourse for all IT issues, but UIS also operates several help desks for general and service-specific issues.
Your University identity
When you join, you are given a unique University identifier ('CRSid') that most online services and systems use to recognise you.
Your CRSid (username)
Our IT systems use a unique identifier for you, known as a 'CRSid'. It's a combination of your initials and some random numbers, e.g. abc123.
You'll use your CRSid as your username when you log in to many online services.
Your @cam email address
Everyone's primary University email address takes the form of their CRSid at the Cambridge domain, for example, abc123@cam.ac.uk.
You can choose to forward your @cam email to another account if you wish (see Lookup).
You may also be given an email account by your department or institution, e.g. name@department.cam.ac.uk.
If you work for the Unified Administrative Service (UAS), your email address will be in this format: firstname.lastname@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Lookup – the University's directory
You can search for University members’ contact info in Lookup: www.lookup.cam.ac.uk.
You can view and edit your own listing (and set up email forwarding for your @cam email address, if you want) here: www.lookup.cam.ac.uk/self.
Your University Card
This is your University of Cambridge identity card. If you lose it, or have any problems with it, talk to your institutional Card Rep to get a replacement.
Collect your Raven login
On your first day you will be given a registration code to use to find out your CRSid and create your Raven password.
Complete the New User Sign Up process
Using a device connected to the University’s computer network, log into Jackdaw with your registration code and collect your CRSid and initial password: https://jackdaw.cam.ac.uk/signup
Go to the Raven Password Management page
Log in to the Raven Password Management system using your CRSid and initial password from Step 1: https://password.raven.cam.ac.uk
...and set up your own Raven password
Click the 'Change password' button to create your own Raven password – please make sure it’s a strong one! The current best practice advice is to pick four random words, separated by special characters.
It may take up to 3 hours for your new Raven password to update before you can use your University of Cambridge Microsoft account to log in to Office 365, OneDrive and/or Exchange Online email.
Logging in
Your University passwords protect your own personal data and the University's systems – you must never reveal them to anyone.
Your Raven password
You will create your own Raven password as part of the account collection process. Together with your CRSid (username), your Raven password lets you log in to many online services, including:
- your Cambridge email
- resources protected by Raven authentication
- your University of Cambridge Microsoft account
- your Desktop Services account
- Moodle – virtual learning.
Raven authentication
The University's online authentication system is called 'Raven'. You'll quickly become familiar with the login screen!
Access to your free Microsoft Office 365 and OneDrive for Business services will be via the University of Cambridge Microsoft portal.
Watch out for fake login pages! Genuine University login pages should display the University of Cambridge (GB) security certificate:
Raven password management
The Raven Password Management web page is your friend when it comes to compromised or forgotten Raven passwords.
If your Raven password is compromised
If you think someone else may have got hold of your Raven password, change it immediately.
Log in to the Raven Password Management web page and click the 'Change password' button.
If you think you have been the victim of an online scam, consult your local IT staff for advice, and report it to the UIS Service Desk so they can investigate and take action to block malicious activity.
Forgotten passwords and self-service recovery
Set up your self-service password recovery now – it makes it easy to reset your Raven password if you forget it. Log in to the Raven Password Management web page and follow the instructions.
If you don't, you'll have to physically bring some photo ID to your local IT staff or the UIS Service Desk and ask for a Password Reset Token (it's impossible to do when you're away from Cambridge!).
Stay safe online
University staff can expect to be targeted with bogus invoices and job applications/offers, as well as very convincing speaker invitations, collaboration requests or charitable causes.
Top tips for University staff
DON'T open attachments in unsolicited messages
DO call the sender if you receive a message that invites you to 'validate your password' or 'reactivate your account'. We (and financial institutions) will never ask you to do this via email.
DO be particularly vigilant if you're asked to change a payee's bank details for money transfers.
DO ask your local Computer Officer or the UIS Service Desk if you're suspicious about the contents of a message.
Watch our short security videos
Our quick videos offer practical advice about protecting your online identity and valuable personal data.
Your Cambridge email account
You will be given a Microsoft Exchange Online University email account.
Exchange Online
Your Exchange Online email account is part of your University of Cambridge Microsoft account.
Features include:
- 50GB inbox
- 100MB message size
- Outlook mobile app for all major mobile devices
Username = CRSid@cam.ac.uk
Password = UIS Password
There are two ways to get your @cam email:
- Webmail: Use the Outlook Web App (OWA) webmail interface in your web browser: https://outlook. office365.com
- Set up your email app(s): Follow the instructions to set up various email apps such as Android Mail, Apple Mail, Outlook and Windows Mail.
When you sign in to your Exchange Online account for the first time, you will need to set up your second factor for authentication - find out more at https://help.uis.cam.ac.uk/mfa
Wifi and eduroam
Set up your devices to use the 'eduroam' network around Cambridge, and they'll connect automatically wherever they find it – it saves you having to log in every time.
eduroam is an international initiative. You can also connect at other participating universities around the world, using your Cambridge credentials.
Make sure you're online – for example, via UniOfCam or a wired connection.
Collect your network access token from the UIS Tokens page.
Follow the instructions for your device (see below).
Desktops and laptops
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| Linux | macOS | Windows |
Phones and tablets
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| Android | Chrome OS | iOS | Windows Phone |
Other devices
A set of generic instructions is available that could help you to configure other devices.
Software for your personal devices
Install free software to protect your devices and to help you work and collaborate.
Free anti-virus software
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McAfee anti-virus software – Keeping your devices up-to-date with anti-virus software is a requirement for use of the University's data network. |
Free office and collaboration software
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Office 365 ProPlus – Microsoft's cloud-based Office apps. Log in with your CRSid@cam.ac.uk email address and Raven password. |
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G Suite@Cambridge – Google's suite of office apps, including Google Calendars and Hangouts. Log in with your CRSid@cam.ac.uk email address and Raven password. |
Your University of Cambridge Microsoft account
Your University of Cambridge Microsoft account allows you to install Office 365 ProPlus software on your personal devices and gives you access to a 5TB OneDrive personal filestore.
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| Excel | OneDrive | OneNote | Outlook | Powerpoint | Word |
Log in with your CRSid@cam.ac.uk email address and Raven password:
When you sign in to your Microsoft Exchange Online account for the first time, you will need to set up your second factor for authentication - find out more at https://help.uis.cam.ac.uk/mfa
Leaving Cambridge
You will lose access to this account when you leave Cambridge, and will need to transfer all your data to another storage solution or buy a personal Microsoft subscription.
Access to site-licensed software
Popular software is available on the Managed Cluster Service (MCS) shared workstations around the University, which run Windows, macOS and Linux platforms.
MCS software titles include:
- ArcGIS
- AutoCad
- EndNote
- Mathematica
- MatLab
- Photoshop
- R
- SPSS
- Zotero
See the full list of MCS software titles for each platform.
Buying software
You will qualify for an educational discount on software purchases when you buy through our authorised resellers.
For more information, see software sales.
Personal file storage
You have four cloud-based file storage options:
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3GB personal file store, integrated with your University Desktop Services account. |
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A free 5TB cloud-based file store, integrated with the Microsoft Office 365 apps. |
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A free unlimited file store that is part of the Google G Suite@Cambridge apps. |
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Dropbox Business (subscription required) Unlimited storage at a preferential rate (a rebate is available if you already have a personal subscription). |
Desktop Services (DS)
Your DS account gives you access to several computing services:
- Computer rooms – The Managed Cluster Service (MCS) provides shared Windows, Mac and Linux computers in various locations around the University.
- Virtual desktop – Log in to your personal desktop environment on any MCS workstation with your CRSid and Raven password.
- Site-licensed software – Many popular software titles are available on the MCS for Windows, Mac and Linux.
- DS-Filestore – Your personal 3GB file store.
- DS-Print – Access networked printers from your own machine when connected to the University network in participating institutions.
Telecoms
We provide a variety of telecoms devices and software, including:
- desk phones
- mobile phones and pagers
- video calling
- audio/video conferencing
- intelligent call handling.
Contact your local Telephone Liaison Officer to order services.
Access your voicemails
You can track your calls and access your voicemails at my.phone.cam.ac.uk/myphone.
Getting help
You can find out more at www.phone.cam.ac.uk/your-phone or contact helpdesk@phone.cam.ac.uk.
Training
There's a lot of (mostly) free training available to help your skills while you're at the University.
Every term, both the University's Personal and Professional Development (PPD) and UIS training teams publish new training calendars. You can use the University Training Booking System (UTBS) to browse for courses and events by theme or date, and to book places (you'll need to log in with your Raven password). You can also view a record of your training history.
For those that teach courses, the UTBS allows you to send reminders to your course attendees, keep track of bookings and gather feedback afterwards.
IT training
We offer online, self-taught and instructor-led IT courses on a variety of themes, including:
- data analysis and management
- design and digital media
- document referencing
- programming
- web publishing.
Visit our IT training pages to find out more.
01223 332999