Supporting the UNI community with technology is a core part of what we do, and we’re committed to helping students, faculty, and staff navigate issues with their personal computers and smart devices. However, it's important to recognize that even routine actions like applying updates, changing settings, or adjusting configurations can sometimes lead to unintended consequences. To avoid potential complications and ensure a positive experience for everyone, IT staff have been instructed to follow a hands-off approach, “advise, don’t touch,” when it comes to supporting non-university-owned devices. Instead, IT staff will offer over-the-shoulder guidance, advice, or recommendations for you to consider and make informed decisions about changes to your personally owned device. This approach is designed to protect both the user community and IT staff from any unfortunate outcomes, while still providing the support that students, faculty, and staff need.

• Provide general advice and troubleshooting steps.

• Offer over-the-shoulder guidance while the customer operates their device.

• Recommend trusted software, updates, or settings changes.

• Help interpret error messages or system notifications.

• Direct users to official support resources or documentation.

• Assist with connecting to university services (e.g., Wi-Fi, email, VPN) using published instructions.

• Physically handle or operate personal devices.

• Install or uninstall software on behalf of the customer (example: “I recommend you check out malwarebytes and install that when you have a chance if you agree that it looks good!”)

• Make configuration changes directly on the device (example: “If it were my computer, I’d probably change that setting to this instead. You can read more about that online before making a decision, though.”)

• Perform data recovery or access personal files.

• Bypass security features (e.g., passwords, encryption).

• Guarantee outcomes or accept liability for changes made by the customer.