Working from Home: Resources & Support for City Employees

As more City staff start to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Technology Solutions has been hard at work preparing employees to work remotely. Read on to find out how.

Have additional questions or need assistance? Contact the TS Service Desk at 919-560-4122, Option 1. TS is now prepared to provide remote tech support.

  1. Virtual collaboration
  2. VPN (Remote Network Access)
  3. Phone & Email Settings

TS has officially announced Microsoft Teams and Zoom as the standards for virtual collaboration for the City of Durham. This means that these are the only two platforms that should be used for virtual collaboration.

Microsoft Teams

Planning a meeting? Try scheduling a Microsoft Teams meeting. Teams makes it easy to meet virtually with your coworkers across the City, whether they’re down the hall or miles away. And, you don’t have to have a Team set up by TS or be a member of a Team to use Microsoft Teams!

Anyone with Office 365 can access Teams through their internet browser.

  • In your internet browser, login to Office 365 with your City computer login (City email and password).
  • Click the Teams button near the top of the page to go to your Teams dashboard.
  • In the lefthand toolbar, you will see options including Chat, Calendar, and Calls.
  • To start a virtual meeting, click the Calendar icon. (In order to use the audio or video functionality, you will need a device with a microphone and camera).
  • You can start a meeting immediately, or you can schedule one for later.

If you prefer, you can download the desktop or mobile app, although you may need TS to do this on City-issued computers.

Want to learn more about Teams meetings? TS has an online training site with short, self-paced videos. 

Zoom

Zoom is another tool that some departments are using for conference calls, but there are some limitations if you use a free account. Please note that if you are sharing and collaborating on documents, the use of Microsoft Teams is strongly advised (over Zoom).

Home office with laptop and books

Malware Recovery Updates

  • Report questions and issues to the TS Service Desk at supportdesk@durhamnc.gov or 919-560-4122 (select Option 1). TS is now prepared to provide remote tech support to City employees.
  • Important information missing from this page? Contact the Office of Public Affairs

Brief Status Update

  • Email: Email has been restored for employees who have re-authorized their City login credentials with TS. Please contact the TS Service Desk if you need assistance accessing your email.
  • K Drive & H Drive: The K Drive and H Drive are both restored and accessible to employees who are working from their City office and plugged into the network, or who are working from home on their cleaned and re-imaged City-issued computers (via VPN). Data has been restored back to Friday, March 5.
  • One Drive: One Drive is back online as of Friday, March 20.
  • SharePoint/CODI: SharePoint files and CODI are now accessible for employees who have access to their re-imaged computers and have been reconnected to the City network or are working from home - no VPN necessary.
  • Printers: Printers are back up in some locations - see details listed below.
  • Phone & Network Access: Most City facilities are back on the network and fully operational. Though some workstations still need to be plugged back into the network, most City-issued computers have now been cleaned and re-imaged by TS.
  • WiFi: As of May 11, wireless access has been restored in all City facilities. Note that the wireless network names are now COD and COD Guest. 
  1. H & K Drives
  2. Printers

Accessing Network Files (H and K Drives)

As of March 16, the H and K drives have been restored for employees who are working from their City office and plugged into the network. If you need to access the H and K Drives from home, please review the VPN instructions at the top of this page under the "VPN (Remote Network Access)" tab.

Once you receive your re-imaged (cleaned) computer from Technology Solutions, follow these steps to access your H and K Drives:

  1. Make sure your device is physically connected to the "wired" network (plug your network cable in)
  2. Restart your device
  3. Sign on to your device with your new login credentials (go to TS to reset your login)
  4. Validate that you have access to your H and K drives

Employees Play an Important Role in Keeping Our Computers Clean

As TS works through the recovery process, it is essential for employees to do everything we can to prevent this from happening again.

  • Keep an eye out for suspicious emails and DO NOT click links or attachments in these emails: Avoid opening emails from senders you don’t recognize, and be wary of emails with subtle spelling and grammar errors. View the FTC’s tips for identifying suspicious emails which often look official.
  • DO NOT use a flash drive (USB) unless approved by TS: Flash drives can carry viruses or malware from one computer to another. If you have essential files on a flash drive, TS can help you recover the files.
  • NEVER plug personal devices into the City’s network: The City cannot be certain of the security of personal devices which could introduce viruses or malware to the City’s network. 
  • If you save files to your desktop, THEY WILL NOT BE BACKED UP: Only the One Drive, K Drive, and H Drive are backed up.
person examines laptop with a magnifying glass