Resources and Guides for M365

New Users Must ‘Claim’ Their CUNYfirst Login

A requirement to use M365 email is to set a password and password reset information for their CUNYfirst account. Anyone currently using CUNYfirst, Blackboard, or any other services using the CUNY login will have claimed their CUNYfirst account already.

• Newly appointed faculty or staff should go to: http://cunyfirst.cuny.edu and click ‘New User’ to set their password and retrieval method.
• Additional information can be found in the IT Help Knowledge Base.

Must-do: Protect Data and Confidentiality of Students, Faculty, and Staff

• Acceptable Use of University Data in the Cloud (CUNY)
• Data Classification Standard (CUNY)
• CUNY Security Policies and Procedures webpage
• Breach Reporting Procedure (CUNY)
• Remove and do not send Personal Identifying Information (PII) from the email you plan to transfer to the cloud. Examples of PII include Social Security Numbers, Passport Numbers. Eliminate PII from emails from this point forward.

Maintain Operating Systems and Apps for M365

• Windows 10, macOS 11 ‘Big Sur’
• Outlook on Web using a current version of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Edge
• Office 2021 with Outlook desktop

Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA is now a requirement for email and all Microsoft Cloud apps.

Methods include:

• A (free) Microsoft Authenticator mobile app running on your iOS or Android smartphone that requests that you confirm your log in attempt. This is the most convenient option.
• A text message sent to your smartphone or SMS text-capable telephone providing a code to enter in the login window.
• An automated voice call to a designated telephone number providing a code to enter to sign-on.

Setup resources:

• Video tutorial: Microsoft video (YouTube)
• Hunter-specific resources:
  • MFA- MS Authenticator App setup
  • MFA- Setup for text or voice
• General instructions: Download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app on your smartphone. (Microsoft.com)
• More help: Microsoft Multi-factor Authentication (CUNY)
• ServiceNow: CUNYIT Help KB article

If possible, clean up Account by Removing Old Emails and Large Messages (>35MB)

Users should clear out email that is no longer needed, and especially any with very large attachments.

1. Sort largest emails and delete anything > 35MB
2. Review email against the University’s Record Retention Policy and delete or archive old email as necessary.
3. Remove old and obsolete calendar items or contacts in Outlook.

How to see and sort emails by size:

Do not Touch Outlook or Mail Folders in the M365 Cloud

• Pre-cutover content migration will copy mail, calendar items, and contacts from Hunter servers to the M365 cloud.
• Disturbing or modifying anything may cause issues with the pre-cutover content migration.
• You can use other M365 features like Teams, Onedrive, Office apps, Sharepoint.

On August 14 (the day before cutover):

• At cutover, an update to the Internet DNS systems will direct email bound for hunter.cuny.edu to the CUNY M365 cloud. Mail will no longer be delivered to the Hunter servers.
• The change takes time, as non-CUNY systems get updated on the new destination for Hunter email. We advise not to check or send email using your Hunter account during the cutover time period.