Concerning your UNCG email and accounts, Information Technology Services (ITS) has these recommendations and advice:
- Be careful when following links in emails or email attachments, especially in emails from unknown sources. Use the “hover” method described below.
- Use discretion when using your iSpartan credentials to log into sites outside of the uncg.edu domain.
- Never reset your password on any site other than reset.uncg.edu.
- If you have any doubts about the authenticity of an email or a website asking for your iSpartan credentials, contact 6-TECH.
- If you believe your account has been compromised, you should immediately reset your password. Then contact 6-TECH for additional steps you need to take.
The "Hover" method of avoiding getting phished
Usually, you can tell whether a link is going to the appropriate place by hovering over the link and checking to see if the text of the link is the same as the actual target of the link.
- When the cursor is placed over a link without clicking, most browsers show the link's target at the bottom of the browser in the status bar.
ITS reminds users to never reset their UNCG password on any site except the official UNCG reset sites. ITS also reminds users to be extremely careful about which websites they provide their UNCG password to. - Most UNCG websites will be located at URLs that contain ".uncg.edu" directly before the first forward slash. For example, if you look at the URL when you log in to your UNCG iSpartan email account, it will appear as "https://idp.uncg.edu/idp/Authn/DuoUserPassword." Seeing "uncg.edu" appear directly before the first forward slash will prove it is a trusted website. For other examples like this, look at the URL when you are logging into other campus services like Canvas, Qualtrics, and Office365. They will appear the same.
- In some specific cases, official UNCG services are provided at other URLs that may not contain "uncg.edu" before the first forward slash. In those situations, if you are suspicious or confused as to whether it is a trusted website, contact the UNCG office providing that service before entering your username and password.