Coronavirus Student Update: Cyber Crime & Software : Saturday 28 March 2020

Please be aware that this information was shared with students by email and correct at the time of sending. For the latest Covid-19 guidance, please visit our coronavirus webpages: www.wlv.ac.uk/coronavirus. If you are a student who has a query or needs support, please log a helpcall with ASK@WLV in e:Vision (www.wlv.ac.uk/evision).

Studying at home & being aware of online scams and fraud

Whilst we are all in the position of having to work and study at home to keep ourselves and our families safe, we will be making more and more use of online facilities and we wanted to ensure that you stay safe in the virtual world as well as the physical world.

Can you spot a Phishing email?

Fraudulent emails are getting cleverer all the time and there are more of them circulating at the moment while we are all online more.

Useful tips to spot these Phishing emails include:

1. Follow your instincts, if it feels dodgy, it probably is.
2. Check the email address, not just the sender’s name.
3. Hover your mouse over any links, to check they go to a valid address or website.
4. Check the grammar as well as the spelling.
5. Look out for a sense of urgency, don't be rushed into doing anything!

One of our Cyber Security academic experts, Tony Proctor, has written this blog about cyber scammers and the opportunistic manner of Cyber Criminals in light of COVID-19.

There is lots of software available for you to use on your own laptops and PCs

You can now access a range of software while you learn off campus. There are three main ways to do this:

1. Using AppsAnywhere - open a browser and go to https://appsanywhere.wlv.ac.uk and log in using your University credentials. You will find approximately 70 applications.
2. By visiting the University’s software download catalogue, logging in and selecting which software you wish to download. To download SPSS you will need to follow the instructions carefully as it is a three step installation process as well as a code to activate the software. 
3. Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator are free to use until 31 May 2020. Visit https://creativecloud.adobe.com and use your University username and password to sign in.

Everything you need to know about how to access the available software can be viewed online.

General Advice

Visit NHS 111 Online for the latest health guidance. This includes the latest advice and guidance about the symptoms and what to do if you think you may have Coronavirus.

Public Health England is regularly publishing information, advice and guidance on Coronavirus. This includes the latest travel information.

We do appreciate that the situation is not ideal at the moment and these are unprecedented times, but rest assured, behind the scenes, we are taking forward plans for teaching, learning, exams and assessments as quickly as we possibly can and we will communicate these plans with you as and when decisions are taken.

There will, however, remain a degree of uncertainty in the short term as we try to find the best solutions which will enable you to continue with your studies.

The wellbeing of our students continues to be the University’s priority and we are encouraging everyone to be mindful of their own health and that of their family and colleagues. Thank you for your continued patience and co-operation during this time.

Professor Julia Clarke

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience)