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Secure tools

Cloud services, social networks and messenger apps such as Whatsapp and others are becoming increasingly popular and we use them as a matter of course in everyday life. The tools are mostly free, offer a wide range of functions and are easy to use.

However, data protection is poor with many of these tools: they store and exploit user data, show personalized advertising, or their terms and conditions mean they cannot be used in everyday university life (e.g. due to assignment of usage rights, etc.). Important in this context: If a service is free, we usually pay with our data.

In the following table, we list useful alternatives to some popular, but privacy-questionable programs that you can use for your work.

Applications Examples of frequently used services Preferred services of the HRZ
Online storage Dropbox or Google Drive Hessenbox
Video conference or multi-party telephone conferences Skype or Zoom

DFNconf

BigBlueButton

Appointment planner Doodle Foodle (via DFN)
Link shortener (URL shortener) bitly.com

Link shortener for UMR pages

T1P.de for external pages

Web-based text editor Google Docs Etherpad (in ILIAS)
Project management Asana or Trello Planio
Online Calendar Google Calendar STAFF/Students calender (Horde)
Remote Support Software TeamViewer Live Remote Support
Translator Google Translator eTranslation - CEF Digital
Platform for video streaming Youtube OpenCast
Password manager Saving passwords directly in the browser, cloud storage KeePass

Mail management apps

Gmail or Mail.ru

p≡p (Android / iOS, no S/MIME)

FairEmail (Android)