TSS Frequently Asked Questions

Reset your Exchange email password by logging into Spire and changing your password there.  This will affect your password for email, as well as your computer logon and other services that use your NedtID and password.

If your Exchange account has been locked due to multiple failed log in attempts, you can reset your password in SPIRE and unlock your account:

1. Log in to SPIRE.
2.  In the SPIRE Main Menu, go to IT Accounts > My IT Accounts, then click your NetID.
3. On the Account Detail page, click Change Password. A pop up message will appear confirming your password has changed. This will change your IT Account password and your IT Active Directory/Exchange account password.

If you have forgotten your Spire password: 

1. Go to Spire.umass.edu
2. Under IT Accounts (right side of the page), click Password & NetID Help
3. Follow the directions to reset your password
4. If you are unsuccessful,  you will need to go to the IT Help Center (A109 LGRC Lowrise, M - F, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) or the Learning Commons Technical Support Desk  (Lower level of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library) with a picture ID to reset your password

To connect to your office computer using Remote Desktop software:

You must first be connected to Global Protect VPN, see instructions in TSS Frequently Asked Questions

You will need the name of your managed computer. Email TSS if you don’t know your computer name.

On your home computer, open the Remote Desktop Connection App.

• Computer name uses this format: computer name.campus.ads.umass.edu

For example, if isom-tssxx is the name of your computer the computer name is isom-tssxx.campus.ads.umass.edu

• Username: CAMPUS\NetID

For example: CAMPUS\jsmith

• Password: use your Spire password
• Click on connect and you will be logged into your office computer.

If your home computer is a Mac, you will need to download the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection App, then follow the above directions.

If you are Isenberg faculty/staff or an Isenberg PhD student, you can access our Statistical Workstation to run applications such as SPSS, SAS, Amos, STATA, Matlab, Microsoft Office and NVivo.

To use a Statistical Workstation from a managed computer:

1. Run the program VMware Horizon Client

• Click on the windows icon on your keyboard
• Type VMware Horizon Client
• Click on the VMware Desktop app icon

2. Click on the Statistical Workstations icon

To use a Statistical Workstation from an unmanaged computer:

1. ​Login to the Statistical Workstation: Open a browser (FireFox, Chrome) and go to this URL:

                      https://desktop.isenberg.umass.edu

2. Click on the Statistical Workstations​ icon

To access personal files while using a Statistical Workstation on an unmanaged computer, upload the files to your UMass Box account before logging into the Statistical Workstation.
After you log into the Statistical workstation, access your box account via a browser within the Statistical workstation.

Click here

Qualtrics is survey software used by the Isenberg School.  To get a UMass Isenberg Qualtrics account:

1. If you are an Isenberg faculty/staff/PhD or MBA student, contact TSS and ask for a Qualtrics Access Code.  
   • If you are an undergraduate student, you will receive instructions from your professor.
2. Go to the UMass Qualtrics login page
3. Click “Please click here to create an account”
4. Fill in the requested information. Use the Access Code you received from TSS.
5. You will get an email from Qualtrics asking to verify your account.  

1. Navigate to https://isenberg-vpn.umass.edu/global-protect/login in your web browser.

2.  login using your NETID and Password.

3. Click Download Mac 32/64 bit GlobalProtect Agent.

4. Run the downloaded file. You will need your computer's admin username and password to install.

5. Once the client has been installed, the Global Protect icon (picture of a globe) will appear in the menu bar at the top of your screen. Click the icon to set up the VPN connection.

6. Type isenberg-vpn.umass.edu into the Portal Address field and click Connect. You will be prompted to Sign In with your NetID and password.

7. Once you are connected to the VPN, the Global Protect icon in the menu bar will display a white shield.

8. If Pulse Secure VPN is installed on your computer, uninstall it following these steps: https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/resources/faqs/faq-how-uninstall-pulse-secure-macos

1. Navigate to https://isenberg-vpn.umass.edu/global-protect/login in your web browser.

2.  login using your NETID and Password.

3. Click either 'Windows 32-bit' or 'Windows 64-bit', then download the file by clicking on more options icon, then download. Click RUN as soon as the file is done downloading.

**If you are not sure if you have 32 or 64 bit Windows, you can check by opening the Settings app and navigating to System/About.**

4. When the file has downloaded, the Global Protect installer will run. Follow the prompts from the installer and Click Yes on the User Account Control dialog. You may be prompted for your computer's admin username and password.

5. Once the client has been installed, the Global Protect icon will appear in the notification area in the taskbar at the bottom right of your screen. Click the icon to set up the VPN connection.

6. Type isenberg-vpn.umass.edu into the Portal Address field and click Connect. You will be prompted to sign in with your NetID and password.

7. Once you are connected to the VPN, the global protect icon in the menu bar will show a gray shield.

8.  If Pulse Secure VPN is installed in your computer, uninstall using this guide. https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/resources/faqs/faq-how-uninstall-pulse-secure-windows

For an on-campus or online class:

Fill out the Spire form found in Spire > Faculty Home > Echo360 Request

For a one-time event:

Email TSS at tss@isenberg.umass.edu

You will be notified by email when your Capture has been scheduled. 

Isenberg’s Technology Support and Service group monitors the virtual environment closely to ensure that the service provided is robust and consistent. It is rare to have outages or congestion problems on UMass networks or computers. So issues with slowness, or crashes are most likely caused by the user's internet connection.

Troubleshooting ideas and suggestions to improve your experience

     1.  Run a speed test at speedtest.net to test your internet. A slow internet connection will most likely produce a frustrating experience.

• If the PING result is above 30 ms, you will experience a slow response and/or an intermittent connection while using the virtual computer. The virtual computer may appear to crash, but it is actually a problem with the network connection. 

     2.  Use the free VMWare Horizon Client app to access Isenberg’s virtual desktop. Directions can be found on the TSS FAQs page

• It can be less confusing to use the Horizon client because you aren't working in a browser. You aren’t as likely to accidentally close out of sessions and you only have one task bar.
• The client is not supported by Isenberg so there is no assistance if you have issues installing or using it. There are just too many variables on personal computers that could affect the software to make it viable to support.

3.   Move closer to your router and make sure nothing is near your computer/router that might interfere with the wifi (i.e., microwave oven, refrigerator, dense physical barriers brick walls, concrete).

4.   Connect your computer directly to your router with an ethernet cable. 

5.   Are there any other devices on your network that are using bandwidth? Ask others in your house not doing critical work to stay off the network while you are using the Virtual Lab Computer.

6.   Are there any other memory-intensive programs running on your computer?  Close any programs that you’re not actively using.

7.   Is your computer operating system up to date? Reboot your computer and ensure essential windows updates are not pending.

8.   Are your drivers and firmware up to date?

• Most computer manufacturers have a support site where you can verify that your drivers are up to date or install recent releases.

      9.   Can you work elsewhere with a faster internet connection? A local library, coffee shop, work or a friend’s house are some suggestions.

For Mac users

Consider purchasing Parallels ($80) – a MacOS software that allows you run an instance of Windows on your Mac rather than connecting to a remote virtual desktop.

• Windows 10 (the same operating system as the virtual labs) is free with the purchase of Parallels.
• Microsoft Office 365 is free through the UMass IT website using your UMass netid/credentials.  You may be able to eliminate the need for the Virtual Lab Computer if you only need Excel, for instance, and install Office 365 in your Windows instance.
• If you are running Windows with Parallels, you won’t have access to other licensed software provided on Isenberg’s virtual lab computer, such as SAP, Bloomberg, and STATA.

Legitimate messages are sometimes miscategorized as junk. Isenberg employees are seeing an increase in legitimate emails flagged as junk.

UMass IT has indicated this is due to the large volume of emails being sent. This email behavior is a departure from the amount and types of email tagged as junk that we experienced in the past.

It is important to:

1. Check your Junk Email folder regularly for miscategorized messages. How to use wildcards to find gems in your junk.

2. Mark legitimate items as not junk. This will teach spam filtering to sort legitimate conversations and senders properly in the future. How to

3. Add the Junk Email folder to your Favorites to more easily see when new messages have been categorized as junk. How to

4. Add Email addresses and domain names to your Safe Senders List. How to

Using Wildcard Operators to Quickly Search through Junk Mail:

Use a wildcard to help search for files and emails that match a pattern. For example, if you want to look for umass related emails, use the * wildcard to search:
        *@umass.edu
        *umass

Marking Messages as not Junk:

1. In Outlook, view your Junk Email folder by clicking Junk Email on the left side of the window.

2. Right-click the message, then click Junk Mail

3. Click Mark as Not Junk

Add the Junk Email folder to your Favorites:

1. In Outlook, right-click the Junk Email folder on the left side of the window

2. Click Add to Favorites

Safe Senders List:

Email addresses and domain names in the Safe Senders List are never treated as junk email. You can add email addresses and domains to the Safe Senders list to confirm you'll always receive their messages in your inbox.

1. Add email senders to the Safe Senders List

a. In Outlook, on the Home tab, click the Junk icon in the Delete group

b. Click Junk Email Options

c. Click on the Safe Senders tab

d. Click on the Add button

•  Add specific addresses.   For example: tss@isenberg.umass.edu
•  Add entire domains.        For example: umass.edu | isenberg.umass.edu

For more information about adding email senders to the Blocked or Safe Senders:

umass.edu/it/support/email/filter-junk-email-exchange

How to Access Documents in a OneDrive Account

https://www.umass.edu/it/support/software/howmovedocumentsanewonedriveaccount

Simplest method - Using the OneDrive web interface (Windows, Mac OS, Linux):

1. Navigate to onedrive.live.com [https://onedrive.live.com/] in your web browser and click Sign In in the upper right.

• When prompted, enter your UMass email address. Click Next and enter your UMass password. (the same password you would use for Spire)

2. Upload files using the upload button.