Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science

Help and Support

We are the frontline support group for SCS Computing, focused on providing exceptional technical support to the SCS community. From desktop troubleshooting, AFS volume provisioning to technical guidance, the SCS Help Desk is your gateway to the services and expertise that we have to offer.

The Help Desk is responsible for SCSCF support-registered computers but also offer broad general technical consulting, best effort troubleshooting as well as offer computing accessories and laptop loan services to the SCS community.

Remote support and your privacy

When our technical support staff uses a remote support tool called Bomgar/BeyondTrust to remotely connect to your computer, there are important security safeguards in place to protect you and your privacy.

All connections require your acceptance of an invitation for the remote support session. SCS Help Desk technical staff cannot remotely view/control your computer without your consent or acceptance.
  • If accepted, the permission is limited to only one (1) remote support session and access is revoked the moment that session ends. An invitation cannot be re-used.
  • If a second connection is needed in the future, you must accept a new invitation.
  • You will see the screen throughout the remote session and any operations performed on the computer at all times.
  • You have the ability to terminate the remote support session at any time.
  • We cannot see your keyboard input, so if a password is entered as part of the support procedure, we do not see anything you are typing.

Our technical support staff is trained to provide clarity about any and all procedures being performed and the expected outcomes of the remote session. You privacy and security are paramount while we work to support you during this time. For more information regarding SCS Computing support during the COVID-19 pandemic, please read our communication.  

How can we help?

Some of the technologies and issues we can assist with include:

The scope and scale of the technology we support extends to thousands of users (faculty, staff, graduate students, & others) along with staff. In terms of computing and peripheral hardware, we support over 4,000 computers.