USO-FX enables the transfer of files to individuals and groups of users with complete confidence that the data is carried securely at every stage.

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1 USO-FX secure file transfer service How to use USO-FX Instructions for school staff You will be aware of recent articles in the media about personal data going astray, and of the consequent need for all of us to be extra vigilant. In particular, it is essential that no personally identifiable or other sensitive information is transferred by an insecure method, such as through normal . USO-FX enables the transfer of files to individuals and groups of users with complete confidence that the data is carried securely at every stage. A secure file transfer or secure service must be used for transferring sensitive information over the internet. Normal must not be used for this purpose, even if files are encrypted before sending. Access to USO-FX requires a login and password. If you use LGfL StaffMail, your USO username and password are the same as your StaffMail credentials. If you don t know your username and/or password, ask a nominated contact in your school. To see a list of who they are, go to click USO and choose your LA and school from the drop-down menus. If no one is listed there, please contact Peter Cowley (p.cowley@richmond.gov.uk). A recent web browser is also required. If you still have Internet Explorer version 6, contact your network manager or IT support staff to upgrade to a more recent web browser. Please note that extra features are continually added to USO-FX. We ll do our best to keep these instructions up to date, but some screens you see may not look exactly like the examples shown.

2 Part one Logging in 1. In your web browser, go to You ll see this screen: 2. Click the blue padlock icon. Enter your USO username and password in the boxes and click Login. 3. If you have an OTP key like this you will see this box:

3 If you don t have an OTP key, go to step Enter your latest OTP code in the box and click Authenticate. 5. If this is the first time you have logged in (or you have not logged in for at least 90 days) you may be asked to choose another, more secure password. Follow the on-screen instructions. 6. You ll now see a screen similar to below and can choose items from the USO-FX menu.

4 Part two Uploading (sending) a file 1. Choose Upload a file from the USO-FX menu: You ll see this screen: This screen has two sections. We ll look at each in turn. (We ll cover advanced options later, so if the top right of your screen says Hide advanced options, please click Hide for now so that your screen looks the same as the one above.) 2. If you know that everyone you ll be sending your file(s) to have OTP tags, leave the box at the top ticked. If you re unsure, remove the tick. 3. If you want to send a file to one or more specific people, search for them in the orange part of the screen. If you know their USO account name, enter it here and click Add: If you don t know their USO account name you can search for them. Don t forget to click Select once you have located them. 4. If you wish to send your file to a known group, select them from the drop-down menu in the green section. In part 3, you ll learn how to define your own groups.

5 Now you ve selected your recipient(s), it s time to send them a file. 5. Click Next at the bottom right. You ll see this screen: It confirms who will receive your file. In this example it s Angela Catlin in Darell Primary School. (If no-one is listed, or there are people missing, it may be because you didn t do step 2 and one or more recipient doesn t have an OTP key.) 6. Click Next again. You ll see this screen: 7. Click the Browse button and locate the file you want to send. The Title and Description boxes are optional. Note the red text anything you enter in the Description box will be sent in an open to the recipient(s), so don t put anything sensitive in there. Alternatively, if you only want to send a short, secure message, and not an attachment, you can tick the box below the red text to turn the Description box into a secure area. Anything you type there will then not be sent in an open text message. Instead, it will be downloadable by the recipient as a simple text file. You can be notified by every time one of your recipients accesses the file; have the document deleted automatically once everyone has acknowledged it; and set an expiry date beyond which the file cannot be accessed. 8. Once you have selected your file and chosen your preferred options, click Finish. Your file will be uploaded and the recipient(s) notified by that a file is waiting for them. All transactions are logged for audit purposes.

6 Part three Uploading (sending) a file: advanced options To enable advanced options, click Enable at the top right: You ll see this screen: The new red section is used to define new groups. Groups are useful if you find that you regularly need to send files to the same set of people. In Advanced mode you have the ability to create your own groups for personal use and, if you are a power user, to create groups for your own school. You start by searching for the people that you want to include in your new group and then save the group with a name of your choice. The member secrecy setting is useful if you prefer to withhold the actual names of any group member from non-members of the group. The grey section may be useful if you wish to send a file securely to a group of people defined by other characteristics. The choices available are self-explanatory but are dependent on individual account holders keeping their profile settings up to date. Headteacher, Child Protection Coordinator and Chair of Governors are regularly maintained by the LA and are reliable.

7 Part four Downloading (receiving) a file 1. Choose Download a file from the USO-FX menu: Files that are available for download will be listed. 2. To download a file, click its name and choose where to save it. Part five Invite a file To invite a file is to send a request to another person to send you a file securely. This is particularly useful because it can be used to receive a file securely from anyone anywhere in the world, whether they have a USO-FX account or not. 1. Choose Invite a file from the USO-FX menu: You ll see this screen: The top section can be used to locate a USO-FX user in the usual way.

8 2. To invite a file from a non-uso-fx user, enter their address in the address field and click Submit. Your recipient will receive an containing a single-use link which, when clicked, will take them to the USO-FX site, from where they can send you the file you want. Important: to complete the process, your recipient will need to know your USO username (but NOT your password!), so you will need to communicate that through another means (such as normal ). Part six Managing your files It s good practice to keep track of whether the files you ve sent have been looked at, and to delete files that are no longer needed. The LA has a space allocation which is shared between all USO-FX users. If some users seem to be taking up a great deal of space they ll be asked politely to tidy up their file lists! 1. Choose Manage Uploaded Files from the USO-FX menu. This screen shows you details of your uploaded files you haven t yet deleted. You can see who has accessed them and so on. 2. To delete a file you no longer need, click Delete to the right of the file you wish to erase. Part seven Distributing files This is a powerful but advanced feature of USO-FX, which is rather like a secure mail-merge. By uploading just one file, you can send secure, personalised copies of that file to a list of recipients and track the status of each file. Macros are available for Microsoft Excel that can automate the process of splitting an Excel spreadsheet into separate files for each worksheet and then sending each worksheet securely to a list of recipients. If you would like to explore this facility, help is available on the USO support site. If you need help on using any other features of USO-FX, or have a suggestion for a useful extra feature, please contact Peter Cowley, p.cowley@richmond.gov.uk.