Help Desk Or Security Line: Who To Call And When
One number, two different routes. Calling the wrong one costs you time on the day it matters most. Here is the rule.
In short: if something is broken, use the help desk. If something is wrong, call the 24/7 security line on 678-374-4352, option 1, and say it is a security issue. Broken means it used to work and now it does not. Wrong means the system is doing something nobody asked it to do. When you genuinely cannot tell, call the security line.
Help Desk Or Security Line: How To Tell The Difference
If something is broken, use the help desk. If something is wrong, call the 24/7 security line on 678-374-4352, option 1, and say it is a security issue.
Broken means it used to work and now it does not. Wrong means the system is doing something nobody asked it to do. A printer that will not print is broken. Files renaming themselves is wrong. The first can wait until an engineer picks up the ticket. The second cannot wait at all.
Call The Security Line Immediately For Any Of These
Do not log a ticket and wait. Pick up the phone.
Files are renaming themselves, or you cannot open documents that opened yesterday. A ransom note has appeared, on screen or as a file in a folder. Someone clicked a link or opened an attachment and the machine started behaving oddly afterwards. A colleague received an email from you that you did not send. Money has been moved, or nearly moved, on the strength of an email. Someone is locked out of an account they did not change the password on. A supplier tells you their bank details have changed and you are not certain it is really them.
The line is answered around the clock, and it is answered by an engineer rather than an answering service taking a message.
Use The Help Desk For Everything Else
Password resets, a laptop running slowly, a printer that has stopped, software that will not install, a new hire who needs an account, a mailbox that is full, a screen that will not wake up. All of it goes to the help desk, and all of it is handled under the help desk service levels: critical problems within one business hour, standard requests within four business hours.
There is no penalty for logging something small. A slow laptop reported on Tuesday is cheaper to fix than a dead laptop on Friday.
When You Genuinely Cannot Tell
Call the security line. Getting it wrong in that direction costs an engineer five minutes. Getting it wrong the other way can cost you a weekend.
Nobody at UniVirtual will make you feel foolish for calling about something that turned out to be nothing. The people who hesitate are the reason small incidents become large ones, and that hesitation is almost always about not wanting to bother anyone.
What To Have Ready When You Call
Your name and company, which machine or account is involved, roughly when it started, and whether anyone clicked anything. If a machine is behaving strangely, do not turn it off before you call. Shutting down can destroy evidence an engineer needs, and in some cases it makes recovery harder rather than easier.
Disconnecting from the network is usually the right first move, and the engineer will tell you whether to do it. Unplug the network cable or turn off Wi-Fi. Leave the machine running.
Help Desk Questions We Get Asked
What people ask when they are deciding which route to use.
678-374-4352, option 1. It is answered around the clock by an engineer, not an answering service.
No. It is for anything that looks wrong. Most calls turn out to be nothing, and that is the correct outcome. We would far rather check.
No. Disconnect it from the network, leave it running, and call. Powering off can destroy evidence and can make recovery harder.
Call 678-374-4352 or log a ticket. Emergencies are answered 24/7. Anything that can wait is picked up when the help desk opens, Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern.
Why The Help Desk And The Security Line Are Separate
A help desk queue is built for volume. Tickets are sorted by urgency and worked in order, which is the right way to handle a hundred everyday faults.
A security incident cannot wait in that queue. The security line skips it and puts you straight through to an engineer, because in an incident minutes matter more than order.
Keeping two routes means neither gets in the way of the other. A busy Monday on the help desk does not slow down a ransomware call, and a ransomware call does not leave a password reset waiting all day.
For you, the only decision is which route to choose, and the rule at the top of this page makes that decision for you.
Common Mix-Ups Between The Help Desk And The Security Line
Logging a ticket for a suspicious email that someone already clicked. Once anyone has clicked, it is a security line call, not a help desk ticket.
Emailing one engineer directly about an incident. If they are off that day, the message waits. The security line always reaches whoever is on duty.
Calling the security line for a slow laptop at 2am. It will be answered, but a slow laptop is not an emergency. Log a ticket and the help desk picks it up when it opens at 8 AM Eastern.
Waiting for office hours to report something strange. If a machine behaves oddly on a Friday evening, the security line is open. Leaving it until Monday gives an attacker the whole weekend.
Help Desk Or Security Line Out Of Hours
The security line is answered 24/7 on 678-374-4352, option 1. The help desk is open Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, and answers emergencies around the clock.
Out of hours, ask one question: can this wait until 8 AM? If it can, log a ticket and it will be picked up when the help desk opens. If it cannot, call.
Before you call late at night, note the time you first noticed the problem and what you were doing. There may be nobody else in the office to fill in the gaps.
Does Something Feel Wrong Right Now?
Call 678-374-4352 and press option 1 for the security line. You do not need to be certain. Saying it might be a security issue is enough.
CISA maintains a public overview of everyday security practices if you want to see where these habits come from.