Office Communicator - Secure Instant Messaging for UNF
Information Technology Services is pleased to announce a secure campus instant messaging (IM) service for faculty and staff called Office Communicator. Office Communicator is a unified communications client that helps people communicate easily with others in different locations using instant messaging. For faculty and staff who use another IM service such as Windows Live Messenger , America Online Instant Messenger (AIM), Google Talk or others, Office Communicator is more secure.
IM sessions are typically conducted in plain, unencrypted text. If we IM a UNF co-worker using Aim, Windows Messenger, etc., the message leaves UNF and travels to the hosting server and then travels back again. The message can be "sniffed" anywhere along the way. Additionally, IM establishes an open communications channel to the computer that can be exploited by malicious code such as worms, viruses, and Trojan horses.
By using Office Communicator, our messages do not leave the university and therefore their contents are more secure. In addition to keeping messages within the University, our internal IM solution (Communicator) will be using TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol to authenticate the server it’s connecting to and to encrypt the data between Communicator and the server (Office Communications Server).
IM is an increasingly popular method for communicating over the Internet. IM is a real-time supplement to and, in some regards, a replacement for emailing. Unlike email, instant messaging allows users to see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is available. If you have never used IM, you may find it saves you time, improves workflow, and the quality of the work day. 40% of those who have used IM at work believe it has improved teamwork and 50% believe it helps them save time on tasks.
Two ways to use Office Communicator:
There is a Communicator Client (which installs on your computer) and a Communicator Web Access (which runs within your web browser, nothing to install). The Communicator Web Access can be used when working from home or while traveling.
Getting started:
You can get started immediately using the Web Access version of Office Communicator. To do this, follow these steps:
Open Internet Explorer and go to https://cwa.unf.edu. Select whether you are on a private computer or a public/shared computer. Sign-in using your UNF ID and password. Type "unfcsd\" in front of your UNF ID (example: unfcsd\n00123456).
NOTES on Communicator Web Access:
- Communicator Web Access (CWA) cannot expand distribution lists
- CWA is not capable of saving conversations into conversations history folder.
- Currently, Mac users are not able to change Sound options (the options will be grayed).
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CWA is only for IM/Presence (no audio/video).
To use the Office Communicator Client:
if you want Office Communicator to integrate with Exchange (Outlook), save conversations in a history folder, or add hyperlinks to a message, you may want to consider using the client version of Office Communicator. To have the Office Communicator application installed, please submit an ITS-request.
Learn How to use Office Communicator: