Lynn University IT provides email encryption through our partner Virtru. Email encryption is a secure method of transmitting information so only the intended recipient can read the contents of the message. This is what to helps to ensure the confidentiality of the email and it protects the information from being stolen or accidentally accessed by unintended recipients.
Any email message containing the following should ALWAYS be encrypted
Banking Information
Only @lynn.edu full time employee email addresses that are authorized and licensed are permitted to use the Virtru encryption service. The following list of departments below have been approved as having a business need and function to use email encryption.
IT will begin adding users to the application as well as deploying the Outlook for Desktop and Virtru Apps for mobile devices on the dates suggested below.
Departments | Date | Phase |
---|---|---|
| December 4th 2019 | Phase 1 |
| January 23rd 2020 | Phase 2 |
There are two different methods that you can use to send an encrypted email with Virtru.
If you are using a university owned computer and the operating system in Windows and your department has been approved to use Virtru, you should already have Virtru for Outlook installed. In the event that you are not able to find it or it is not installed, you may contact the Support Service Desk at: |
No. For macs there is no outlook or mail plugin. Once you are approved to have email encryption and you are added to the appropriate group you can use the Secure Keywords to encrypt an email.
Before you can send and receive Virtru emails from Outlook, you'll need to install our Outlook add-in
Click "Run" to give permission to run the installer VirtruForOutlookInstaller.msi.
Outlook must be closed to complete installation. The installation will run and launch Outlook automatically when complete. If Outlook does not launch automatically in a few seconds, manually open it to prompt the next step.
Windows Outlook desktop application only
Please note that this this guide specifically shows how to install and activate Virtru for Outlook on Windows (For Versions 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019). The installer is not compatible with Outlook for Mac or other Windows Mail applications.
Virtru plugin and app activations expire every 120 days. After any expiration, Virtru will prompt a user to re-activate.
Activations are much like application sessions - signing-out of a session and then coming back to the application later will prompt you to login again. Therefore, whenever you encounter an activation prompt in Virtru, simply reactivate in order to continue sending secure emails.
Expiring a session or app activation after a certain period of time or inactivity is a common software best practice. There are a number of reasons behind this, but security is one of the main factors. We chose to expire the activation every 120 days in order to comply with FedRAMP.
There are also a few cases where users might be prompted to activate sooner than 120 days:
Furthermore, if a user receives delegated access to another user's mailbox, the delegatee will be prompted to reactivate every 10 days.
Take a Tour of the Virtru Outlook Add-in Features
You may wish to activate only certain ones or activate some accounts later on after initially activating one account with Virtru, and this is possible with the steps provided below.
1. Select the Virtru tab from the top bar of the main Outlook window.
2. Choose Options
3. Go to the Account Activation tab and select the specific email accounts you would like to activate, then click on "Activate Selected".
Virtru plugin and app activations expire every 120 days. After any expiration, Virtru will prompt a user to re-activate.
Activations are much like application sessions - signing-out of a session and then coming back to the application later will prompt you to login again. Therefore, whenever you encounter an activation prompt in Virtru, simply reactivate in order to continue sending secure emails.
Expiring a session or app activation after a certain period of time or inactivity is a common software best practice. There are a number of reasons behind this, but security is one of the main factors. We chose to expire the activation every 120 days in order to comply with FedRAMP.
There are also a few cases where users might be prompted to activate sooner than 120 days:
Furthermore, if a user receives delegated access to another user's mailbox, the delegatee will be prompted to reactivate every 10 days.
If you do need to reactivate, you can do so following the steps outlined in the Activation section above, or the reactivation steps below.
Before you can send and receive secure emails with Virtru, you will need to install and activate the Virtru Outlook 365 Add-in (for Web, Desktop, Mobile). In this article, we'll show you how to install and activate the Virtru add-in. Step by step instructions can be found below.
Please Note:
In addition to the Virtru Outlook 365 Add-in, Virtru also offers a separate Outlook Desktop Extension (Desktop Only). If you are not sure which Virtru product is best for you, we recommend reviewing this article.
Install and activate the Virtru for Outlook 365 Add-in (for Web, Desktop, Mobile) – Virtru
Important Note about Virtru for Outlook Desktop and Virtru for Outlook 365
The Virtru for Outlook Desktop Extension and the Virtru for Outlook 365 Add-in will conflict if both are installed in your Outlook desktop application. Please be sure only one is installed. Uninstall instructions can be found here.
1) Sign into your Microsoft Outlook account by going to https://outlook.office365.com/mail OR open Outlook on your Desktop.
2) Click the New Message button to compose an email
3) Click the more options button […] at the bottom of the compose email window.
4) Click the Get Add Ins option
5) Click the My Add-Ins option
6) Scroll down on the My Add-Ins page and click on Add a custom add-in, then click Add from URL
7) Paste the following URL link: https://cdn.virtru.com/outlookjs/manifest/VirtruForOutlook.xml
8) Click Install
Your Add-Ins for Outlook section should look like this.
1) Create a New message by clicking the New Message button
2) Click the Virtru logo. If you do not see the Virtru logo, then click the three dots and click Virtru.
3) Pin Virtru to your side panel and click Activate Virtru
We recommend editing your Outlook settings so Virtru is visible in the toolbar. This will make it easier for you to quickly create new encrypted emails as well as decrypt secure emails you recieve.
1) Go to Settings
2) Click on View All Outlook Settings
3) Choose Customize Actions
4) Enable Virtru in the Message surface (located in the Customize actions section) by clicking the check mark next to it.
5) Scroll down and enable Virtru in the Toolbar section (also located in the Customize actions section) by checking it there as well
6) Click Save
Steps for activation:
Send secure messages via Outlook 365 Add-in (for Web, Desktop and Mobile) – Virtru
You should then see a side panel that contains a Virtru toggle. This will allow the option to turn Virtru Protection On, the button will turn blue.
You can also pin the Virtru side panel for continued use.
In order to manually encrypt an email its a pretty simple task but first there are some requirements that have to be met first
Note: These settings are individual user settings. This introduction will not apply to the entire organization.
When a recipient (without the Virtru extension) receives a Virtru email, they'll see either your organization's custom message template or if you don't have one, Virtru's default recipient template.
(Virtru default template)
You can change that default text in the recipient template to a message of your choosing via the Admin Dashboard following the steps below:
(Personal introduction field)
After you've set your personal introduction to apply to all Virtru secure emails, you can still always create a one-off unencrypted introduction for a specific email when composing a secure email. This will overwrite the custom personal introduction for that email only.
In Outlook, after you select New Email and toggle Virtru on, click on "Personalize Introduction". A new window will appear where you can type in a one-time introduction for that specific secure email.
In Outlook Web, after you click on New to compose a new email and toggle Virtru on, you can edit the personal unencrypted introduction in the Cover Letter section
Automatic Encryption Rules