Service Call Centre

The Service Call Centre (SCC) is the single point of contact for all clients’ incident reporting, queries, and requests for new services. It provides first-line support which can resolve most incidents at source, limiting the number of calls having to be escalated to second and third lines of support.

The SCC operates in line with the ITIL framework and is equipped with the latest technologies, including interactive voice response telephony, service dashboards, reports, knowledge base repositories, and remote support tools. The Centre operates 24 / 7 and is reachable through several channels, primarily live chat, telephone, email, and specific portals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical Email

Although MITA has a SPAM filter in place, a number of such emails can still make it to your inbox. Check the SPAM, Phishing and Spoofing information in the Email - Recommendations of Use page.

Microsoft Outlook offers the facility to set a rule to automatically move such emails to a required folder. To configure it in Microsoft Outlook follow these steps:

Microsoft Outlook 2007

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • Click on the Tools menu
  • Select Rules and Alerts
  • Click on New Rule button
  • Under Step1: Select Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder
  • Click Next
  • Under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specific words and in the Specify words or phrases to search for in the subject: write "[SPAM] -" (without the quotes)
  • Click Add
  • Click OK
  • Also under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specified folder and select Deleted Items folder or any other folder of your choice (note that if you select another folder you will have to delete unwanted emails manually)
  • Click OK
  • Click Next 3 times
  • Check Run this rule now on messages already in "Inbox"
  • Click Finish
  • Click Apply
  • Click OK

Microsoft Outlook 2010

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Click File
  • Click Manage Rules & Alerts
  • In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, on the E-mail Rules tab, click New Rule
  • Under Step1: Select Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder
  • Click Next
  • Under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specific words and in the Specify words or phrases to search for in the subject: write "[SPAM] -" (without the quotes)
  • Click Add
  • Click OK
  • Also under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specified folder and select Deleted Items folder or any other folder of your choice (note that if you select another folder you will have to delete unwanted emails manually)
  • Click OK
  • Click Next 3 times
  • Check Run this rule now on messages already in "Inbox"
  • Click Finish
  • Click Apply
  • Click OK

Microsoft Outlook 2013 and 2016

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2016
  • In the Quick Access Toolbar under Home click on Rules
  • Click Manage Rules & Alerts
  • In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, on the E-mail Rules tab, click New Rule
  • Under Step1: Select Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder
  • Click Next
  • Under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specific words and in the Specify words or phrases to search for in the subject: write "[SPAM] -" (without the quotes)
  • Click Add
  • Click OK
  • Also under Step 2: (lower part of the Rules Wizard), click specified folder and select Deleted Items folder or any other folder of your choice (note that if you select another folder you will have to delete unwanted emails manually)
  • Click OK
  • Click Next 3 times
  • Check Run this rule now on messages already in "Inbox"
  • Click Finish
  • Click Apply
  • Click OK

Outlook on the Web (webmail)

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'gear icon' and select Options

A new window prompts, on the left side menu, click on Inbox and sweep rules

  • click on the Add icon
  • Fill in the required information as per below;
    • Name: Type in a name to identify the rule (i.e. SPAM Rule)
    • Condition: Select, It include these words > in the subject...
      • Specify words: [SPAM]
      • Click Add and OK
    • Action: Select, Move, copy, or delete > Copy the message to folder...
      • Select a folder of your choosing (i.e. Junk E-Mail folder)
      • Click Add and OK
    • Untick Stop processing more rules

    The rule conditions and actions should be similar to the below;

  • Click Add button to save the rule

The rule conditions and actions should be similar to the below;

If you sent an email by mistake or after you sent it you realised that you need to modify something, there is an option in Microsoft Outlook that allows you to do so.

Note: The success of this method depends on the recipients' actions. If the recipient read the original email immediately (e.g. from a mobile device) or even after the recall attempt has been made, the original email would still have been disclosed.

To try to recall a sent message from Microsoft Outlook (this option is not available from webmail or from mobile devices) perform the following:

Outlook 2007

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • Double click on the Sent Items folder
  • Double click on the email you wish to recall or delete
  • Click Other Actions menu
  • Click Recall this message and click on OK

Outlook 2010

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Double click on the Sent Items folder
  • Double click on the email you wish to recall or delete
  • In the Message menu go to Actions
  • Click Recall This Message

Outlook 2013

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2013
  • Click on the Sent Items Folder
  • Double click on the email you wish to recall or delete
  • Click File
  • Under Info select Resend or Recall
  • Select Recall This Message...
  • This opens the Recall Option dialog
  • Select the required option
  • Click OK

Outlook 2016

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2016
  • Click on the Sent Items Folder
  • Double click on the email you wish to recall or delete
  • Click File
  • Under Info select Resend or Recall
  • Select Recall This Message...
  • This opens the Recall Option dialog
  • Select the required option
  • Click OK

The below method is used to move Email from your government personal mailbox to the Online Archive. This option may also be used to move email content from PST files to the respective Online Archive. It is also recommended to have a backup copy of the PST file before attempting any operation on it. MITA cannot provide restores of PST files in case of corruption or loss.

This method processes its services in the background and should not hinder Microsoft Outlook's performance, irrespective of the traditional ‘drag and drop’ method.

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook   
  2. Select the emails you would like to move/ archive to the Exchange Online Archive by highlighting them.
  3. In Microsoft Outlook,
  4. Navigate to the Home Tab
  5. Click on Move
  6. Click Other Folder

  7. A new window will prompt, Select the destination folder within the Online Archive.
    (Note: The destination folder needs to be manually created within the Online Archive before the above step.)
  8. Click OK

 

Note: Kindly ensure that the workstation does not switch to a state that interrupts communication with the network, as this may stop or cause problems for the ongoing process.

All mailboxes have a 10GB of free storage. To check the remaining free storage folow the below instruction depending on what Microsoft Product you are using;

Mircosoft Outlook 2007
  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • Right click on your name (found on the top left hand side of the screen)
  • Click on Properties
  • Select Folder Size
Mircosoft Outlook 2010
  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Right click on your name (found on the top left hand side of the screen)
  • Click on Account Properties
Mircosoft Outlook 2013/ 2016
  • ​Open Microsoft Outlook 2013/ 2016
  • Right click on you mailbox (found on the top left hand side of the screen)
  • Click on Data File Properties
  • Click on Folder Size

Outlook on the web

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'gear icon', and select Options

Email options

  1. The 'Options' window will prompt, on the left hand side menu, click ​My account
    My Account Options.png
  2. Under My account you will be able to see the Mailbox size as per below

My Account.png

The information below, explains how to correctly configure applications, scripts and document centers (such as printers/scanners) that are routing emails through MITA smtp relay service (smtp.email.local).

An email is communicated between 2 or more mailboxes, the receiver (To field) and the sender (From field), both mailboxes must have a valid email domain/ suffix. This also applies when configuring automated emails, otherwise the email will not be able to route and will fail to deliver.

The below table shows examples of a valid email domain/ suffix;

​Valid Email Domain Invalid Email Domain
​gov.mt x​​erox.com
​transport.gov.mt ​server1.local
​arms.com.mt ​test123.com

A valid smtp address is also required. The below samples show a valid smtp address;

  • <pinter_floor>@gov.mt
  • <server_name>@gov.mt
  • <application_name>@gov.mt
During configuration, the SMTP Server Settings must be configured using the Hostname and not the IP Address
If not already configured, the DNS must be configured using the following IP Addresses;
  • 10.81.0.3
  • 10.83.0.3

The below methods indicate of how one can configure a government Personal and  Generic Mailbox in Microsoft Outlook 365 and Microsoft Outlook 2016.

Configuring a Personal Mailbox in Microsoft Outlook

  1. Click the Start Button  or found in the bottom left corner of the screen
  2. Type Control Panel and press Enter
  3. From the top right set the View by to 'Large icons' 
  4. click on the Mail application
  5. A new Window will prompt, click on Show Profiles…
  6. Click on Add…
  7. Type in a Profile Name to your liking
  8. Under the Email Account the Display Name and Email Address will automatically be generated
  9. click Next
  10. Once automatic configuration is done, as shown below, click Finish

 

Configuring a Generic Mailbox using a Dedicated Microsoft Outlook Profile

  1. Click the Start Button  found in the bottom left corner of the screen
  2. Type Control Panel and press Enter
  3. From the top right set the View by to 'Large icons' 
  4. click on the Mail application
  5. A new Window will prompt, click on Show Profiles…
  6. Click on Add…
  7. Type in a Profile Name to your liking
  8. Under the Email Account type in the Generic Mailbox Display Name and Generic Email Address, example below;
  9. click Next
  10. A login window will prompt, type in your personal Email Address
  11. Click Next
  12. Click Finish

Extending a Generic Mailbox using an existing Microsoft Outlook Profile - Method 1

  1. Open MS Outlook
  2. Right Click on your personal Email Address from the left-hand side menu
  3. A new window will prompt, Click on Advanced…
  4. Another window will prompt, select the Advanced tab
  5. Click Add…
  6. Type in the email address of the Generic Mailbox and click OK

  7. The Generic Mailbox will be added as shown below
  8. Click on OK twice
  9. The Generic Mailbox will be added to the left-hand side menu
  10. Click on the Arrow to expand and view folders under the Generic Mailbox

 

Extending a Generic Mailbox using an existing Microsoft Outlook Profile - Method 2

NOTE: This method only apply if you have Send As permissions on the Generic Mailbox

 

  1. Open MS Outlook
  2. From the Top Left corner, click File
  3. Under Info, click Account Settings and select Account Settings…
  4. A new window will prompt, Under the tab Email, click New…
  5. Another window will prompt to have the Generic Mailbox configured
  6. Type in the Generic Mailbox email address
  7. Click Connect

  8. Select Exchange
  9. A Log in window will prompt
  10. Type in your personal government Email Address (i.e. surname@gov.mt) and Password
  11. Click Sign in

  12. Click Done


  13. Close and re-open Outlook
To configure the Apple Mail applications that comes as a standard with Mac OSX with the email provided by MITA, please carry out the  following steps:
Note: If you need to use Microsoft Office instead please click here​​.
  1. Ensure internet connectivity and open Mail.
  2. Add Account
  3. If this is the first time opening the application, you will be presented with an “Add Account” Dialogue.  Choose “Exchange” and then click on “Continue”
  4. If Mail has been already set up to access other personal mailboxes, click on “Mail” (next to File, Edit, View….) and then click on “Add Account”.  Choose “Exchange” and then click on  “Continue”
  5. Insert Name and Surname in the “Name” text box.
  6. Insert your Government Email Address  in the “Email Address” text box.
  7. Insert your Government Email password in the “Password” text box
  8. Click on “Sign In”.
  9. Type in "webmail.gov.mt" as Incoming and Outgoing URL​
  10. You will be presented with an error stating “Unable to verify account name or password”.  Insert your Corp username in full (Corp\LastF001) and click “Next”.
  11. Select the apps to synchronise and click “Done”.​

A recurring appointment is an appointment that is repeated on a regular basis (e.g. every Monday, once a week, every Wednesday once a month, etc.)

To create a recurring appointment follow the below instructions, depending on what Microsoft Outlook you are using;

Microsoft Outlook 2007/ 2010

  • Select Calendar icon, bottom left section on Outlook
  • Set up appointment, click New > New Appointment
  • Compose appointment details, then click Recurrence button
  • An Appointment Recurrence dialog will pop up
  • Select the preferred Appointment TimeRecurrence Pattern and Range of recurrence
  • Once finished click Ok
  • Click on Save & Close to save the appointment

Microsoft Outlook on the web (webmail)

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'functions' button and select Calendar

functions.png

  1. Click on the  button
  2. Fill in all the required details of the appointment
  3. Under Repeat, select on of the conditionsRepeat.png
    Condition Other... will give further options to repeat the calendar appointment as per below;
    more options.png
  4. Click save.png

Calendar appointments and any documents attached to these appointments take up space from your allocated mailbox size.  To manage your mailbox size it is good practice to remove all the unwanted Calendar appointments.

NOTE: Keep in mind that once deleted from your Calendar the appointments cannot be viewed.

To delete appointments from your respective Microsoft Outlook follow the below steps:

 Microsoft Outlook 2007/ 2010

  • Open Microsoft Outlook
  • Click on Calendar
  • Select the View menu and click on Current View (For Outlook 2010 select Change View)
  • Set the view as By Category
  • Select the items (Sort by date) you wish to delete (Pressing CTRL+A selects all items)
  • Click on the delete icon
  • On the top left hand side of the window (or press the DEL key)
  • To go back to the previous Calendar view select the View menu and click on Current View (For Outlook 2010 select the view as Day/Week/Month)

If you delete an item by mistake and you wish to know how to recover it please click here.

Microsoft Outlook on the web (webmail)

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'functions' button and select Calendar

appointments

  1. Browse the date of the calendar using one of the following (Circled in red) functions to search for the appointment
    cancel-calendar
  2. Left click on the required meeting/appointment and click on the Decline button or Cancel button
    cancel calendar

Click here for instruction on how to migrate .pst files to Microsoft's Exchange Online Archive.

 

Deleted emails or calendar items are stored in the Deleted Items folder, still taking up storage from your allocated mailbox size.

It is good practice to empty the Deleted Items folder, to free up your mailbox storage. This can be done by;​

  1. Right click on the Deleted Items folder
  2. Select Empty folder

NOTE: Emptying the Deleted Items folder, will permanently deleted all items found in the Deleted Items folder.

If by ACCIDENT you have permanently deleted emails or a calendar items, it is possible to recover them for up to 180 days after they have been deleted.

The below 2 methods will assist in trying to restore deleted items depending on whether the item is still in the Deleted Items folder or not.

Recover items from the Deleted Items folder (Applies for: Microsoft Outlook)

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
  2. Browse and select the Deleted Items folder from the left-hand side menu
  3. Right click on the email/ calendar item you wish to recover
  4. Select Move to Folder
  5. Select the folder where you need the mail to be recovered to
  6. Click on Move​

If the required email/ calendar item is NOT found in the Deleted Items folder;

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
  2. Browse and select the Deleted Items folder from the left-hand side menu
  3. Right click on the email/ calendar item you wish to recover
  4. Switch to the Home tab
  5. Click on Recover Deleted Items from Server
  6. Click on the items you want to recover
  7. Select Recover Selected Items
  8. Click OK​

NOTE: This works only if the item was deleted less than 180 days ago. Once an item is recovered, it will automatically be placed under the Deleted Items folder

Recover items from the Deleted Items folder (Applies for: Outlook on the web)​

  1. Login into your email account/ generic mailbox
  2. Browse and select the Deleted Items folder from the left-hand side menu
  3. Right click on the email/ calendar item you wish to recover
  4. Select Move to a different folder
  5. Select the folder where you need the mail to be recovered to
  6. Click on Move​

If the required email/ calendar item is NOT found in the Deleted Items folder;

  1. Login into your email account/ generic mailbox
  2. Browse and select the Deleted Items folder from the left-hand side menu
  3. Click on the Recover deleted items found on top of the emails list​
    Recover-emails
  4. Select the required email you wish to recover and select Recover

NOTE: This works only if the item was deleted less than 180 days ago. Once an item is recovered, it will automatically be placed under the Deleted Items folder​

If you will not be able to read incoming emails of your personal mailbox (e.g. you will be on vacation leave) it is good practice to set a message to notify people who send you an email that you will not be available.
 
 
Microsoft Outlook 2003
  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2003
  • Click Tools
  • Select Out of Office Assistance
  • In the Out of Office Assistant dialog box, click Send Out of Office auto-replies.
  • In the text box, type the message that you want to send while you are out of the office
  • Out of Office Assistant will continue to run until you repeat step 1-3 and select the “I am currently In the Office” option.
Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • ​Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • Click Tools
  • Select Out of Office Assistance
  • In the Out of Office Assistant dialog box, click Send Out of Office auto-replies.
  • Click on Only Send during this time range: and set the dates and time as requested
  • In the text box, type the message that you want to send while you are out of the office
  • Click on Outside My Organization tab and repeat the same settings and text
Microsoft Outlook 2010, 2013 and 2016 
  • ​Open Microsoft Outlook 2010, 2013 or 2016
  • Click File
  • Under Info select Automatic Replies
  • In the Out of Office Assistant dialog box, click Send Out of Office auto-replies.
  • Click on Only Send during this time range: and set the dates and time as requested
  • In the text box, type the message that you want to send while you are out of the office
  • Click on Outside My Organization tab and repeat the same settings and text

Outlook on the Web

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'gear icon', and select Automatic replies

setting-Auto-reply

A new window prompts;

  1. Tick the Send automatic replies
    Auto-Reply-selction
  2. ​Should you require to set a starting date and a finishing date of when such automatic replies are sent, check the ​Send replies only during this time period and select the dates and time
    Auto reply time-rang
  3. Type in the required message in the specified fields as shown below. Should you require automatic replies to be send also to external organisations check the ​Send automatic reply messages to senders outside my organisation
  4. Click on OK to save the automatic replies.

Sometimes it might be required to autoforward (i.e. automatically forward) emails to another mailbox.  While forwarding to a third party email is usually not allowed for security reasons (click here for more details on Mail Forwarding to a Third Party Mailbox if you have a business reason to do so), below you can find guidelines on how to go about it for transferring emails to other gov mailboxes.

By using a rule, any received email message that match conditions specified in the rule can be forwarded or redirected to another email account. Usually it is required that all email messages are automatically forwarded (autoforwarded) to another recipient.

One must first understand that there are two different ways how messages are sent to another mailbox.

  • Message forwarding: When a rule automatically forwards a message that you receive, the rule adds the designation "FW:" to the beginning of the Subject line, changes the message formatting, and forwards the message to the account specified by the rule. The recipient represented by the account sees that the message came from you. A copy of the message you received is left in your Inbox or in the folder to which the message was originally delivered.
  • Message redirection: When a rule automatically redirects a message that you receive, the rule sends the message, unchanged, to the account specified by the rule. To the recipient, the message appears as though it came directly from the original sender. There is no indication that the message was delivered by way of your account. A copy of the message you received is left in your Inbox or in the folder to which the message was originally delivered
​Follow the below instructions to set forwarding/ redirection on;
 

Microsoft Outlook Client 

  1. Click the Tools menu, Rules and Alerts (Outlook 2007) or go to File menu, Info and select Manage Rules and Alerts (Outlook 2010)
  2. Click on New Rule
  3. Under Start from a blank rule click Check messages when they arrive, and then click Next.
  4. Under Step 1: Select condition(s) select the check box next to each condition that you want the incoming message to match and then click Next. E.g. where my name is in the To or Cc box and where my name is not in the To box
  5. Under Step 1: Select condition(s) select forward it to people or distribution list / redirect it to people or distribution list (depending whether you wish to forward or redirect emails - refer to description further above)
  6. Under Step 2: Edit the rule description click the underlined value that corresponds to the condition (in this case people or distribution list), and then select/search for the mailbox to which you want mails to be forwarded to. Click Next twice.
  7. Fill in the rule name as required in the Specify a name for this rule.
  8. To run this rule on the messages that are already in your folders check the Run this rule now on messages already in ... check box. To apply this rule to all your e-mail accounts and inboxes, select the Create this rule on all accounts check box. This option is greyed out if you do not have more than one e-mail account or Inbox.
  9. Click on Finish

Microsoft Outlook on the web (webmail)

Once you login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'gear icon' and select Options

Email-options

 

A new window prompts, on the left side menu, click on Inbox and sweep rules
 
  1. Click on the icon
  2. Fill in the required information as per below;
    1. Name: Type in a name to identify the rule (i.e. Auto Forward E-mails)
    2. Condition: Select, My name is > in to the To or Cc line
    3. Action: Forward, redirect, or send > Forward the message to... or Redirect the message to...
      1. A new windows will prompt, type in the email address you want to forward the messages to as per below
        email-address
      2. Click Save

d.     Untick Stop processing more rules

The rule conditions and actions should be similar below;
 

Auto-FW-rule.

3. Click  button to save the rule​

The information listed below, explain how you can download and configure your email signature. In addition, there are also the steps how you can create and use a different signature for your generic mailbox.

NOTE: To be able to download and configure an email signature using the mentioned scripts, you must have access to an Outlook application from a Windows operating system, either by having a local installation (such as Office 2016) or else be in possession of an Office E3 license or higher. If you access your mailbox using webmail.gov.mt or Outlook on Mac OS, you may copy the signature from someone else who has an identical signature. The safest is to use an email from someone within your section (who has set their signature using the respective script). More information how you can set your signature for webmail.gov.mt or Mac OS can be found further below.

 

How to Configure the Email Signature for a Personal Mailbox

Click on the following link (which will open for you in a separate tab) and scroll down until you reach the 'Email – How do I set my Email Signature in Microsoft Outlook?' section as displayed below:

 

If you scroll down a bit further a three-part list will be visible consisting of all the signatures that are available for download. The first being those pertaining to the Government Departments, the second for the Ministry Secretariat / Private Secretariat and lastly the signatures for the Government Entities. Depending on your place of work, once you identify the correct signature to be used, you may click on the 'Click Here' adjacent to it for the signature script to download. (MITA’s signature will be used as an example)

 

One of the zip files screenshotted below will be downloaded.

Note: Irrespective of whichever zip file was downloaded for you, the same steps apply.

 

Once the download is complete, kindly navigate to the downloads folder and click on the zip file.

 

Open the VBScript Script File found inside, and the below screen should appear. Click Open.

 

If it prompts you to enter your details such as your Mobile Number, you may do so or leave blank if not required and click OK.

 

The following screen should now appear indicating that you have succeeded to configure the signature for your personal mailbox. Click OK.

As indicated by the next window, close your Outlook and re-open it. Your email signature should now be visible when writing a new email, and when replying to or forwarding an email.

If you click on New Email and any of your signature details appear incorrectly,

you may modify them by going to Signature and Signatures…

 

The below window will appear where you may modify your signature from the bottom window. When you are satisfied with how your signature appears, click on OK. Close the New Email window and re-open it.

 

The Signature should now be how you modified it.

 

Note: If the incorrect details were any of the following: Name, Position, Section, Office, or Department, kindly liaise with your IMU / IT section to raise an RFS to correct them for you in your CORP account. If your telephone number was incorrect, you may correct it from https://rfs.gov.mt/MyAccount. Should you encounter any difficulty and not manage to update it yourself, your IMU / IT section can also raise an RFS on your behalf.

 

How to Configure the Email Signature for a Generic Mailbox

Note: To create a signature for a generic mailbox you must first have your personal mailbox one configured.

Open Outlook and click on New Email.

 

Then go to Signature and Signatures…

 

The following window should appear and click on New.

 

Type a name for your signature in the dialog field and click OK.

(In the example shown the signature was named Generic Mailbox)

 

The name chosen should now appear in the box at the top left of your window, just below your CORP username.

 

Click on your CORP username and select the entire signature from the bottom window. Right click on it and select copy.

 

Click on the generic mailbox signature name that you created from the top left (1) and right click (2) to paste your signature in the box at the bottom (3) as shown in the following screenshot.

 

After your signature is pasted, modify the details of the signature to reflect those of the generic mailbox. Once finished click on OK.

 

After completing the previous step, the generic mailbox signature has been created and configured.

When you require to send an email from your generic mailbox using its respective signature you may do so by clicking on

 

Go to Signature and select your generic mailbox signature

 

The generic mailbox signature which you have created should now appear for you to use.

 

How to Configure the Email Signature on Webmail

Open an internet browser and open https:\\webmail.gov.mt (Sign in with your CORP credentials if prompted)

Find an email with a signature identical to the one you wish to have. This could be an email of yours, that you have sent with a signature configured from Outlook, or else an email received from someone else within your section, who has set their signature using the respective script as described above.

Select the signature from the chosen email, right click on it and copy it as shown below.

Click on the Settings symbol found at the top right, as shown below and select Options

 

Click on Email Signature from the menu on the left-hand side and paste the signature in the box shown below.

If the signature copied, was your own, you can click on Save from the top. However, if the signature copied belonged to someone else, you may modify the details to reflect your own and then Save it once finished.

Once the above is complete click on from the top left to go back to your emails.

How to Configure the Email Signature on Mac OS

Kindly follow the steps found in the following link as the Signature Scripts are not compatible on Mac OS.

 

 

In an effort to consolidate the corporate government image, an initiative has been triggered to install standard image signatures across all government users.  The below scripts have been compiled to work both on workstations connected to a MITA managed domain and on personal workstations running Windows OS using a third party internet connection.​

To set your email signature for Microsoft Outlook 2016 / 365 on a Windows workstation please open the appropriate zip file and double click on the script within the zipped file.  If you have a Mac workstation please click here ​to follow the instructions how to set the signature manually.

After executing the script, the new email signature will automatically be installed on the workstation you are using.  If you need to set your signature on other workstations you need to repeat the process from those workstations.  Note that the signature will only be visible when using the Microsoft Outlook client. The signature will not be visible when the email is accessed via webmail (webmail.gov.mt).

NOTE: For the signature script to work Microsoft Outlook must be set to send emails as HTML (not Text). This can be checked from the Tools Menu - Options - Mail Format tab - Message Format section.  Government workstations have this configured by default.  It is also important that the latest MS Office service packs are installed for the signature to work properly.

If changes within your details are necessary, kindly contact your respective IMU or IT Department.

Below is a list of the available signatures for Government Departments and further below for Ministry Secretariat /  Private Secretariat.  At the bottom of the page are the signature for Government Entities.  Click on the respective link pertaining to your organisation & department / secretariat to download the zip file with the script to modify your signature.

​Organisation ​Applicable Departments ​Download Link
HOR ​All Departments Click here​
MAFA All Departments​​​ Click here
​MECP All Departments​​​  Click here
MEEE All Departments Click here
​MEFL All Departments​​ Click here
MESD All Departments​​​ Click here​
MEYR All Departments​​ excluding Schools Click here
MEYR Schools (ILearn users)​ Click here
MFAA All Departments Click here
MFET All Departments​​ Click here​
MFE ​All Departments Click here​
MFH​ ​​All Departments (Excluding MDH) Click here
MFH​ Mater Dei Hospital​ Click here​
MFH​ COVID-19 Contact Tracing Team​ Click here​
MFH​ ​COVID-19 Vulnerable Population Team Click here
​MFH ​​COVID-19 Public Health Follow-up & Discharge Team Click here​
MFJ All Departments Click here
MFT All Departments Click Here
​MGOZ​ All Departments​​ Click here​
MHAL​ All Departments (Including Local Councils)​ Click here​
MHSR ​All Departments Click here​
MPWP All Departments Click here
MRCA​ All Departments​ Click Here
​MSAA All Departments​​ Click Here
MTIP All Departments​ Click here
MIVC All Departments Click here
MSPC All Departments Click here
​OPM ​Cabinet Office​ Click here
​OPM Electoral Office​​ ​Contact IT support
OPM​ Public Service Commission​ Click here
​OPM​ All OPM Departments except the above​​ Click here
OPM​ Manual Signature
(Officers will be asked to input details manually)​
Click here​
​OPR ​All Departments​ Click here

 

​Organisation ​​Secretariat ​Download Link
​All ​Ministry Secretariat /  Private Secretariat Click here

 

​Abbreviation ​​Government Entity Name ​Download Link
AFM Armed Forces of Malta Click here​​​​
​Agenzija Sapport​ Agenzija Sapport​ Click here​​​​
ARUC Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis Click here​​​​
AWAS Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers Click here​​​​
BA Broadcasting Authority Click here​​​​
BAAI Bureau Of Air Accident Investigation Click here
BICC Building Industry Consultative Council Click here
CEMalta Circular Economy Malta Click here​
CGBVDV Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Click here
​CFC Commissioner For Children ​​Click here​​
GAB Agricultural Bioresources Agency Click here
CSA Correctional Services Agency Click here
​PPL​ Projects Plus Ltd​ Click here​​​​
​MPO Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Click here​​​​
​Archives National Archives Click here​​​​
MICAS Malta International Contemporary Arts Space Click here​​​​
SCH Superintendence of Cultural Heritage Click here​​​​
FK Fondazzjoni Kreattivita' Click here​​​​
PTR Pjazza Teatru Rjal Click here​​​​
VCA Valletta Cultural Agency Click here​​​​
GHRC Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation(GHRC) Click here​​​​
ACM​ ​Arts Council Malta Click here​​​​​​
​BCA ​Building & Construction Agency Click here​​​​​​​
​Court Services Court Services Agency ​ Click here
DSA Detention Services Agency Click here
​ERA Environment & Resources Authority​ Click here​
FITA ​Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility Click here​
FM Festivals Malta Click here
FMS Foundation For Medical Services Click here
HA​ Housing Authority​ Click here​​
​HM Heritage Malta​​​ Click here​
IMA​ ​Identity Malta Agency ​Click here​
IE Institute for Education Click here
IPA International Protection Agency Click here
​ITS ​Institute Of Tourism Studies​​ Click here
Jobsplus​ Jobsplus​ Click here​​
​JU ​Judiciary Click here
LAM Legal Aid Malta Click here
LC Local Councils Click here
LESA​ ​Local Enforcement​ System Agency Click here​
​KF ​Kottonera Foundation Click here​
KM Kor Malta Click here
MAC Malta Arbitration Centre Click here
​Malta Libraries​ ​Malta Libraries ​Click here​
MBR​ ​Malta Business Registry Click here​
MCCAA​ Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority​ Click here​
​MCESD ​Malta Council For Economic and Social Development Click here
​MDB Malta Development Bank​​ Click here​​
MFA Malta Food Agency Click here
MFAC​ Malta Fiscal Advisory Council​ Click here​
MFC​ ​Malta Freeport Corporation Click here​
MFC​ Malta Film Commission​ ​​Click here​
MFWS The Malta Foundation for the wellbeing of Society Click here​
​MGA ​Malta Gaming Authority ​Click here
​MGI​ Malta Government Investments​​ Click here​
MHL Malta Health Ltd Click here
​​MIMCOL Malta Investment Management Company Limited​ Click here​
​​​​​MITA ​Malta Information Technology Agency ​​Click here
NCC National Coordinating Committee on Combating Money Laundering & Funding of Terrorism Click here
​NDSF National Development and Social Fund​​​ Click here​​
OAFS Office Of The Arbiter For Financial Services​ ​​Click here​
​OAG ​Office Of The Attorney General Click here​​
PG Project Green Click here
RGF Responsible Gaming Foundation Click here
SA​ Office of the State Advocate​ Click here​​
​​​​SCSA Social Care Standards Authority​ Click here​​
Servizz.Gov​ Servizz.Gov​ (Agents only) Click here​
Servizz.Gov​ Servizz.Gov​ (Head Office) Click here​
​Teatru Manoel​ Teatru Manoel​ ​Click here
TM Transport Malta Click here
VSA Victim Support Agency Click here
ŻM Żfin Malta Click here
The scripts provided here that facilitate the configuration of a standard signature are written for Windows operating system and thus are not compatible with Mac OSx workstation.  For Mac these have to be set manually as explained below.

  1. Copy the signature from someone else who has an identical signature (highlight the required text and images, and press the cmd and c keys simultaneously.  The safest is to use an email from someone within your section (who has set his signature using the respective script).
  2. Open Outlook for Mac and go to Outlook menu - Preferences.
  3. A window will open with a number of icons.  Click on the Show All button and then click on the Signatures icon from the Email section.  A new window will open.
  4. Click on the plus (+) icon at the left hand side of the window.  Double click on "Untitled" to give your signature a description.  This description is for your information only and will not be seen by the recipients.
  5. In the signature area (right top part of the window) remove any text that might be present and paste the signature previously copied by pressing the cmd and v keys simultaneously.
  6. Due to compatibility issues between MS Office for windows and Office for Mac you might need to rearrange some items.  In some cases it might be better to paste the copied signature in Word, switch on the table borders, arrange the items from Word itself and then switch off the borders and copy the signature again from Word.
  7. From the Choose default signature dropdowns, select your government email in the Account dropdown and your new signature for both New messages and Replies/forwards dropdowns.

How to configure Offline mail in Outlook 2007

The online mailbox has limited capacity to store emails (including attachments) and calendar appointments.  To learn how you can check your mailbox size click here​. Where Microsoft Outlook is being used it has the facility to set an offline folder pst file to allow you to move items from the online mailbox to an offline file.

Note: Refer to Email - Recommendations of Use for recommendations on maximum size of pst file.

To create a new offline mail (archive) in Microsoft Outlook 2007 carry out the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
  • Click on File and Select Data File Management
  • Click on Add
  • Select Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) and click OK
  • Provide the location and name of the file in which the offline mail will be stored (It is recommended that this is stored on your PC / Laptop hard disk - make sure you remember the location to be able to backup the offline mail)
  • Click OK
  • Type in the name how the offline Mail folder will be displayed in Microsoft Outlook
  • Provide a password if you would like to password protect your offline mailbox and click OK (it is recommendable that a password is provided but note that MITA cannot reset this password if you forget it)
  • Click Close and your Personal Folder is ready to be used
  • You can now create subfolders in your offline mail by right clicking on the offline folder and select the New Folder menu item
  • Mail items can now be dragged from the online to the required offline folder

If you already have an existing offline mail (archive) pst file and you want to configure Outlook to view it perform the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook
  • Click on File and Select Data File Management
  • Click on Add
  • Select Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) and click OK
  • Provide the location and name of the pst file in which the offline mail is stored. Usually this is stored on your workstation hard disk.  If the offline mail is stored on a pen drive or a CD it is advisable to copy it to the local hard disk before you proceed.
  • Click OK
  • Type in the name how the offline Mail folder will be displayed in Microsoft Outlook
  • IF the file was password protected, input the password for your offline mailbox and click OK
  • Click Close and your Personal Folder is now visible in Microsoft Outlook left hand pane
  • Click on the folders / emails you wish to view

If you want to back up an existing offline mail (archive) pst file do the following:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook
  • Click on File and Select Data File Management​
  • Click on the Data Files tab and a list of offline mail (archives) will be provided
  • The first entry (where your email address is shown) is the online mailbox and this cannot be backed up locally
  • The below steps should be carried out for each individual offline (archive)
  • Click on the required offline (archive) pst file to be backed up and click on the icon with the yellow folder called Open File Location.. (shown at the right hand part where the icons are shown)
  • This will open a Windows folder where the offline (archive) pst file is located
  • CLOSE MICROSOFT OUTLOOK - this is important since if you will not close it the backup will not be performed correctly
  • Right click on the required pst file and select Copy
  • Navigate to locate the destination folder where you wish to back up the file (e.g. Pen Drive)
  • Right click in a blank area in the destination folder and select Paste

Note: When items are deleted from offline mail, the file size of the offline mail does not automatically reduce.  Sometimes it may be a problem to copy large files to a pen drive, so the following steps might be useful to try to reduce the offline file size.  Always make a copy of the offline mail before you attempt this procedure:

  • From the Tools menu select Account Settings
  • On the Data Files tab, click the data file that you want to compact, and then click Settings
  • Click on Compact Now

How to configure Offline mail in Outlook 20013/ 2016

The online mailbox has limited capacity to store emails (including attachments) and calendar appointments.  To learn how you can check your mailbox size click here​. Where Microsoft Outlook is being used it has the facility to set an offline folder pst file to allow you to move items from the online mailbox to an offline file.

Note: Refer to Email - Recommendations Of Use for recommendations on maximum size of pst file.

To create a new offline mail (archive) in Microsoft Outlook 2013 and 2016 carry out the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2013/2016
  • Click on File and under Info Select Account Setting
  • Select Account Settings
  • Account Settings window will open
  • Select the Second Tab called Data Files
  • Click on Add..
  • Create or Open Outlook Data File will open
  • Select the destination of where you want to create the Offline mail (This location will be needed to back up the Offline mail)
  • Type in a File name of your choice
  • Click OK
  • Click Close
  • Offline mail will be visible in the side view of Outlook​

If you already have an existing offline mail (archive) pst file and you want to configure Outlook to view it perform the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2013/2016
  • Click on File and under Info Select Account Setting
  • Select Account Settings
  • Account Settings window will open
  • Select the Second Tab called Data Files
  • Click on Add..​
  • Provide the location and name of the pst file in which the offline mail is stored. Usually this is stored on your workstation hard disk.  If the offline mail is stored on a pen drive or a CD it is advisable to copy it to the local hard disk before you proceed.
  • Click OK
  • Click Close
  • Offline mail will be visible in the side view of Outlook​

If you want to back up an existing offline mail (archive) pst file do the following:​

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2013/2016
  • Click on File and under Info Select Account Setting
  • Select Account Settings
  • Account Settings window will open
  • Select the Second Tab called Data Files
  • Click on the required offline (archive) pst file to be backed up and click on the icon with the yellow folder called Open File Location.. 
  • This will open a Windows folder where the offline (archive) pst file is located
  • CLOSE MICROSOFT OUTLOOK - this is important since if you will not close it the backup will not be performed correctly
  • Right click on the required pst file and select Copy
  • Navigate to locate the destination folder where you wish to back up the file (e.g. Pen Drive)
  • Right click in a blank area in the destination folder and select Paste​

Note: When items are deleted from offline mail, the file size of the offline mail does not automatically reduce.  Sometimes it may be a problem to copy large files to a pen drive, so the following steps might be useful to try to reduce the offline file size.  Always make a copy of the offline mail before you attempt this procedure:​

  • From the File Menu Click Account Settings and select Account Settings
  • From the Data Files tab, click on the data file you want to compact, and then click Settings
  • Click on Compact Now

The online mailbox has limited capacity to store emails (including attachments) and calendar appointments. To learn how you can check your mailbox size click here​.​ Where Microsoft Outlook is being used it has the facility to set an offline folder pst file to allow you to move items from the online mailbox to an offline file.

Note: Refer to Email - Recommendations Of Use for recommendations on maximum size of a pst file.

To create a new offline mail (archive) in Microsoft Outlook 2010 carry out the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Select the File menu, click on the Account Settings button, click on Account Settings menu item and select the Data Files tab
  • Click on Add
  • Provide the location and name of the file in which the offline mail will be stored (usually this is stored on the hard disk of your PC / Laptop - make sure you remember the location to be able to back up the offline mail)
  • Type in the name how the offline Mail folder will be displayed in Microsoft Outlook
  • Click OK and the offline mailbox will then be visible in the Data Files tab
  • If you would like to password protect your offline mailbox ​(it is recommendable that a password is provided but note that MITA cannot reset this password if you forget it),  select the offline file and click on Settings
  • Click on the Change Password button
  • Leave the Old Password field blank
  • Type in a new password in the New password field
  • Re-type the same password in the Verify password field
  • Click OK
  • Click Close and your Personal Folder is ready to be used

If you already have an existing offline mail (archive) pst file and you want to configure Outlook to view it perform the following steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Select the File menu, click on the Account Settings button, click on Account Settings menu item and select the Data Files tab
  • Click on Add
  • Provide the location and name of the pst file in which the offline mail is stored. Usually this is stored on your workstation hard disk.  If the offline mail is stored on a pen drive or a CD it is advisable to copy it to the local hard disk before you proceed.
  • Click OK
  • Click Close and your Personal Folder is now visible in Microsoft Outlook left hand pane
  • Click on the folders / emails you wish to view

If you want to back up an existing offline mail (archive) pst file do the following:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook 2010
  • Select the File menu, click on the Account Settings button, click on Account Settings
  • Click on the Data Files tab and a list of offline mail (archives) will be provided
  • The first entry (where your email address is shown) is the online mailbox and this cannot be backed up locally
  • The below steps should be carried out for each individual offline (archive)
  • Click on the required offline (archive) pst file to be backed up and click on the icon with the yellow folder called Open File Location.. (shown at the right hand part where the icons are shown)
  • This will open a Windows folder where the offline (archive) pst file is located
  • CLOSE MICROSOFT OUTLOOK - this is important since if you will not close it the backup will not be performed correctly
  • Right click on the required pst file and select Copy
  • Navigate to locate the destination folder where you wish to back up the file (e.g. Pen Drive)
  • Right click in a blank area in the destination folder and select Paste

NOTE: When items are deleted from offline mail, the file size of the offline mail does not automatically reduce.  Sometimes it may be a problem to copy large files to a pen drive, so the following steps might be useful to try to reduce the offline file size.  Always make a copy of the offline mail before you attempt this procedure:

  • Select the File menu, click on the Account Settings button, click on Account Settings menu item and select the Data Files tab
  • On the Data Files tab, click the data file that you want to compact, and then click Settings
  • Click on Compact Now

How do I know what is my Windows version?   Click here while accessing this site from your Windows device.

Configure email on Windows Mobile 7 phone

  1. Open menu and tap on Email Setup
  2. Choose Outlook
  3. Enter your e-mail address and password and tap on Sign In
  4. Enter your username (e.g. surnn001) and domain name: CORP or EMBASSIES and click again on Sign in
  5. Tap on Advanced
  6. Enter the server name: webmail.gov.mt
  7. Tap on Show all settings and choose which options you want to synchronize (mail/contacts/calendar)
  8. Tap on Sign In

How do I know what is my Windows version?   Click here while accessing this site from your Windows device.

Configure email on Windows Mobile 8.x phone
  1. Open Setting
  2. Choose email + accounts
  3. Click on ‘Add an Account’ , and select ‘Exchange’
  4. Enter your e-mail address and password and tap on Sign In
  5. Enter the username (e.g. surnn001) and domain name: CORP and click again on Sign in
  6. Tap on Advanced
  7. Enter the server name: webmail.gov.mt
  8. Tap on Show all settings and choose which options you want to synchronize (mail/contacts/calendar)
  9. Tap on Done

Once configured if you want to change the password follow these steps:

  1. Make sure your device is connected to a network
  2. Tap on settings
  3. Tap on email + accounts
  4. Select your government mailbox
  5. Tap the field under password
  6. Enter the new password
  7. Click the icon indicating that you are ready

A delivery receipt tells you that an email message  was delivered to the recipient's mailbox, but not whether  the recipient has seen it or read it.  A read receipt tells you that message was opened.  In both cases,  you receive a message  notification in your Inbox.

Microsoft Outlook 2007

  1. On the Tools menu, select email options
  2. Click on tracking options
  3. Tick Read receipt or Delivery receipt
  4. Click OK


Microsoft Outlook 2010/ 2016/ 365

  1. Click the File tab
  2. Select Options
  3. Click Mail
  4. Under Tracking, select the Delivery receipt confirming the message was delivered to the recipient`s e-mail server or Read receipt confirming the recipient viewed the message check box.

 

To set up Office Outlook 365 on macOS, you can follow these steps:

Method 1: How to setup a Personal Mailbox

  1. When you first launch the Outlook app for the first time, the below window will appear, kindly click on Add Email Account

2.  Type your personal gov email address and click Continue

3. In the following window input the details as follows and click on Add Account

Method: Username and Password

Email Address: name.surname@gov.mt (your gov email address)

DOMAIN\username or Email Address: corp\surnn001 (your corp\username)

Password: Your password

4. Click Done.

 

Method 2: How to add a Generic Mailbox

  1. From the ribbon at the top, click on Tools

2. Click on Accounts

 

3. From the bottom left click the + sign and click on New Account...

4. Type the email address of the generic mailbox you wish to add.

5. In the following screen, you will be prompted to authenticate using your account. Therefore remove the generic email written and type your personal email address and click Next.

Please note that you need to use an account that has access to the generic mailbox in order to proceed with the following steps.

6. Type in your password and click Sign in

7. Approve the sign in request using your default MFA method.

8. Click Done

8. To complete the setup, simply close the window by clicking on the top left corner.

 

To share your government Calendar with other users carry out the steps of one of the following methods:

Sharing a Calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2007/ 2010

Method 1:

    1. Open Microsoft Outlook
    2. Click on the Calendar Tab
    3. Click on Share My Calendar  (For Outlook 2010 click on Share Calendar Tab)
    4. A calendar share request window will pop up
    5. Enter the email addresses of the recipients you want to share your calendar with - separate the email addresses with a semicolon
    6. Make sure the box of allow recipient to view your Calendar is checked (Note: If you want to view the recipient’s calendar, check the box next to request permission to view recipient’s Calendar as well)
    7. Click the Send button
    8. Another small window will pop up asking for permissions - click Yes
    9. A separate email will be sent to the email addresses you have selected
    10. Your recipients will need to grant you access to their calendar through the share calendar email request that they receive from you
    11. Once both parties grant access to share calendar, click on the Calendar tab
    12. You should see the name of the other party appear in the mid-section of the Navigation pane, under People’s Calendar
    13. Check the box next to the name to be able to view the person’s calendar
    14. To set different user level permissions, right click on Calendar and click on Change Sharing Permissions
    15. For each user name you have granted access, choose the level of permissions you wish to grant  (See table at the bottom of this page for permission types)
 
Method 2:
    1. Open Microsoft Outlook
    2. Click on Tools (for Outlook 2010 go to File and Click on Info)
    3. Select Options (for Outlook 2010 click on Account Settings)
    4. Select Delegates (for Outlook 2010 click on Delegates Access)
    5. Click on Add
    6. Search the email address of the recipient/s you want to share your calendar with
    7. Click Add and click OK
    8. After that the below window will pop up asking for permissions (See table at the bottom of this page for permission types)
    9. Go to Calendar section and choose permissions accordingly (Note: Automatically send a message to delegate summarizing the permissions must be checked in order to inform recipient/s)
    10. Click OK
    11. Click Apply
    12. Click OK

The recipient/s who has been given permissions need to follow the below procedure in order to access calendar:

  • Click on Go
  • Select Calendar
  • Click on Open a Shared Calendar
  • After that a window will pop up in order to type the name/s of the person who gave you the permission in order to access the shared calendar and then click OK
Stop sharing Calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2007/2010
  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
  2. Click on the Calendar Tab
  3. Under My Calendars, right-click the name of the calendar that you want to remove a user from and then click Change Sharing Permissions
  4. A new window will now appear
  5. Click on the Permissions tab
  6. Select the person you wish to revoke, and click on the Remove button and close the window.
  7. Right Click on the person from the People Calendar and select Delete ‘required recipient​ #
 
 
Role ​Allowed Actions
​None ​ You have no permission. You can't open the folder.
​Reviewer ​ Read items and files only.
​Author ​ Create and read items and files, and modify and delete items and files you create.
​Editor  ​Create, read, modify, and delete all items and files.

Sharing a Calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2016/ 365

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook​
  2. Click on the calendar icon found in the bottom of the screen​​
    Calendar-tab
  3. Under the Home tab, click on Share Calendar
    Share calander

  4. Type in the ​recipient's email address of who require access to the calendar
  5. Select the type of permissions using the drop down menu. Each permission is followed by an explanation​.
    /wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FAQs-Share-cal-2.png
  6. Click Send

NOTE: An email will be sent containing the invitation of the calendar. The recipient/s who has been given permissions need to follow the below procedure in order to access calendar:

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
  2. Browse and open the email with the calendar invitation 
  3. Click on Open this Calendar
    open calendar
  4. The new shared calendar will be visible under ​My Calendars
    Calendars

Stop sharing Calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2016/ 365

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
    Calendar-tab
  2. Click on the calendar icon found in the bottom of the screen​​
  3. Under the Home tab, click on Calendar Permissions
    Calendar permissions
  4. Select the recipient you wish to stop sharing to and click on Remove
    stop-share
  5. Click Apply and OK

Sharing a Calendar in Microsoft Outlook on the web

  1. Login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'functions' button and select Calendar
    Calander
  2. Click on the Share button
  3. Type in the recipient email address in the Share with: field and press Enter
    share-with
  4. Select the type of permissions required using the drop down menu
    permissions
  5. Click Send

NOTE: An email will be sent containing the invitation of the calendar. The recipient/s who has been given permissions need to follow the below procedure in order to access calendar:

  1. Login into your email account/ generic mailbox.
  2. Browse and open the email with the calendar invitation 
  3. Click on the Accept button
    accept share
  4. Calendar will be listed under Other Calendars
    other calanders

Stop sharing a Calendar in Microsoft Outlook on the web

  1. Login into your email account/ generic mailbox, click on the 'functions' button and select Calendar​
    Calander
  2. Under Your Calendars, right click Calendar and select Permissions...
    remove permission
  3. A side window will open, next to recipient you wish to stop sharing the calendar with, click on the 'cross icon' to stop sharing
    remove-permission
  4. Click Save

Using Microsoft Word, one can send an email to multiple individuals separately, by utilizing the Mail Merge functionality in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook. The Mail Merge will send the emails from the default mailbox of your Outlook profile, which is currently open. Hence, if you make use of multiple Outlook Profiles, make sure that the default mailbox open is the one you wish to send your emails from. This functionality is not available on webmail or from mobile devices.

To use this option kindly perform the following steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook and if prompted, select the Profile you wish to send your emails from.

 

2. Open the Microsoft Word document with the email contents you wish to send or else, you may open a new blank document and type in the contents at a later stage.

 

3. From the ribbon at the top, select Mailings (marked in red)

 

4. Click on Start Mail Merge and select E-mail Messages

Note: From this point onwards, you may formulate the email contents you wish to send.

 

5. Click on Select Recipients

 

The below 3 options should appear. Kindly proceed from the indicated step, according to your preferred option.

 

6. If you click on Type a New List… the below window will appear:

 

Here, you have the flexibility to customize the columns of your recipients depending on what information you require about them such as, their Title, First Name, Last Name, Email Address and more from the customize columns button. Once you select the preferred columns, you may proceed to enter the data of your recipients as screenshotted below.

Upon inputting all the recipients in the New Address List dialogue box, click on OK. At this stage you will be prompted to Save your Address List on your computer, where you are able to name it as you like and save it in your preferred location. You may skip to step 9.

 

7. If you click on Use an Existing List… the following window will appear, where you can locate your pre-existing address list and open it. Once opened, you may skip to step 9.

 

8. If you click on Choose from Outlook Contacts… the below window will appear where you are prompted to choose a contacts folder to import.

 

Once selected, the following screen will show where you can modify your contacts list as explained in the window itself and click OK. Continue from Step 9.

 

9. The Mail Merge functionality allows you to use fields from the Address List, to personalize each individual email. You can do this by clicking on the Insert Merge Field button in the ribbon. This will display all the data fields you may use in your email content.

For instance, if you choose «First_Name» «Last_Name» and place them in the email content, in the email sent, the recipient will read their full name.

Mail Merge Email Received by recipient

 

To test the fields chosen, you may click on Preview Results (marked in red) to check that the correct fields are being shown. You may go through all the emails by using the arrows marked in green.

 

10. Once the email content is complete you may proceed to click on Finish & Merge and Select Send Email Messages.

 

11. The below window will appear, where you are prompted to select the field containing the email addresses in the To: field and to type the Subject of the email in the Subject line: field.

Within the Send records section, you may select whether to send the email to All, the currently shown record, or select the records required using the From: and To: options. Once all the fields are filled, kindly click on OK.  The emails will now be sent.

 

The Email service provided by MITA offers the Outlook on the Web facility, also known as webmail.  This is a feature that allows users to access it from a web browser from any location or from your personal PC / Laptop (not just from work) as long as an internet connection is available.  One has to keep in mind that offline emails are only available on the workstation where they were set and are not available through this facility.

Although Outlook on the Web is accessible from most browsers, including from mobile devices, there might be some limitations depending which operating system and browser version you are using.  More information on these limitations can be found here​.

If your device / operating system are not fully compatible you will use the OWA light version.  To know which features are not available in the light version please click here.

Logging In to Outlook on the web

To use the webmail service, open an internet browser of your choice and type the following in the URL: https://webmail.gov.mt

The below page will be displayed and will ask to login using your government credentials (Government Email Address and password).

New-OWA-Log-in
 

Email Address:          Your Government Email Address (e.g. someone@gov.mt)
Password:                  Your domain password.

Accessing a Generic Mailbox using Outlook on the web (On Computer/ Laptop)

Login to https://webmail.gov.mt (as explained above) using your government credentials. Once logged in to your email account;

  1. ​Click on the person icon found in the top right corner of the screen, and select Open another mailbox…
    Person-Icon
  2. Once selected, a new window will prompt. Enter the generic mailbox email address and click Open
  3. A new browser tab will automatically open the generic mailbox account

​​NOTE: You can only access generic mailboxes of which you have permissions to.

Composing and Sending a New Email

Once you login into your email account, make sure that the selected function is set as Mail. This can be confirmed by having Mail written in the top left corner of the ​screen
Mail-function

  1. Click on the new button and the below window will prompt, replacing the reading pane
    Email-UI-Layout
  2. Below once can find the icons found in the ‘New Email’ window, further explained; (Kindly refer to the letters found in the image above)
    1. To send the current email
    2. To attach an item
    3. To discard the current email
    4. Other options (Such as Save Draft, Set Importance etc.)
    5. To open the ‘New Email’ window in a separate window
    6. To enter recipients email addresses
    7. To enter recipients email addresses in Bcc
    8. To enter recipients email addresses in Cc
    9. To type in the email’s subject
    10. To type in the email’s message
    11. Font options
    12. Most relevant shortcuts
    13. To import a template which was saved earlier

Reading and Replying to Emails

Once you login into your email account, make sure that the selected function is set as Mail. This can be confirmed by having Mail written in the top left corner of the screen
Mail-function

You will be automatically re-directed to your inbox folder, where a set of new emails may be found as per below picture
Inbox-folder

Reading: Double click on the email which you may wish to read. This will prompt a new window expanding the selected email with more details.
Replying to Emails: Double click on the email which you may wish to reply. This will prompt a new window expanding the selected email with more details and actions.

​One of the actions found is the Reply all. Such action can be found in 2 buttons as shown as shown below. Select either Reply, Reply all or Forward depending on your needs;​

  • Reply: Will reply only to the sender
  • Reply all: Will reply to all recipients in the email
  • Forward: Will forward the whole email including attachments to a new recipient​

Reply

Logging Out from Outlook on the web

When you are done processing emails you should always log out of your session.  This is especially more important if you are using a shared workstation at work or a PC in public places.

To log out,

  1. ​Click on the 'person icon' found in the top right corner of the screen, and select Sign out
    Person-Icon
  2. Close all browser windows to ensure that your credential are not used in another session/ window and cannot be used by someone else.
 

An email distribution list is a group of contacts which you can choose as a single recipient.  When an e-mail is sent to the specified distribution list, all the contacts in that list will receive a copy of the e-mail.   It has to kept in mind that by default one can only send up to 200 recipients simultaneously.  To increase this limit one has to apply for the non standard request to increase the Maximum Number of Recipients.

There are two types of distribution lists: server-side and a local distribution list.

Server-side email distribution lists are created, modified or deleted following an eRFS request, and can only contain government e-mail addresses found on the email server.   Such lists or groups are query based, meaning that the list is calculated on the fly based on a predetermined parameters (e.g. users' organisation = ministry x).  Examples of a server distribution list would contain the users within a specified department or for all the users within a specific ministry.

These lists can be used by anyone who has been authorised by an eRFS, and can be used from any workstation that has outlook properly configured or from webmail.

 
Local email distribution lists can only be created through the client’s workstation (Outlook software or webmail), but can include email addresses from third party providers such as Gmail and Yahoo.
These lists can be only used by the person who has created them, and can be used from any workstation that has outlook properly configured or from webmail.
 
There are two main methods of creating a local distribution list, one is by inserting contacts manually through Outlook, and the other is by importing contacts from a file, for example Microsoft Excel.
 

Microsoft Outlook 2007

 

Method 1
  1. Go to Contacts
  2. Click on the dropdown next to the New icon (refer to image below) and select Distribution List
  3. Name the distribution List
  4. Select Add New to insert manual members or Select members to select contacts from the Global Address List
    NewDistributionList
Method 2
  1. Create a Comma Separated Value File (.csv) in Notepad
  2. Import .CSV file into Outlook (File > Import and Export...) – and choose import from another program or file
  3. Choose .CSV format (Windows) and browse for file on desktop
  4. Tick “allow duplicates to be created.”and click Next
  5. Import File to “Contacts” folder
  6. Tick “Import filename.csv into folder: Contacts”
  7. Drag values from .csv file where you have the e-mail value, to “E-mail” field on the “Contacts” value
  8. Click OK
  9. Click Finish
Microsoft Outlook 2010
 
Method 1
  1. Go to Contacts
  2. Select New Contact Group
  3. Click on Add Members and select one of the following options:
  4. From Outlook Contacts (Select a contact saved locally in your contacts)
  5. From Address Book (Select contacts from the Global Address List)
  6. New E-mail Contact (To manually insert members)
Method 2
  1. Create a Comma Separated Value File (.csv) from MS Excel
  2. Import .CSV file into Outlook (File > Open > Import) – and choose import from another program or file.
  3. Choose .CSV format (Windows) and browse for file on desktop.
  4. Tick “allow duplicates to be created.”
  5. Import File to “Contacts” folder.
  6. Click on “Map Custom Fields”
  7. Drag values from .csv file where you have the e-mail value, to “E-mail” field on the “Contacts” value
Microsoft Outlook 2016/ 365
    1. Open Outlook
    2. Under the Hom​e tab, Click New Items > More Items > Contact group
    3. A new window will prompt;, type in a Name for the group
    4. Click on Add Members
    5. Choose on of the following;
      1. From Outlook Contacts (Select a contact saved locally in your contacts)
      2. From Address Book (Select contacts from the Global Address List)
      3. New E-mail Contact (To manually insert members)​
        add-members
    6. Click Save & Close

The below instructions only applies for configuring your Government Mailbox on Android Devices using the Outlook application

NOTE: Microsoft Outlook Application is only supported on devices running Android Version 8.0 or later and can be downloaded from the Play Store.

 

  1. Make sure to have the Microsoft Outlook Application downloaded and installed
  2. Open the Microsoft Outlook application
  3. Type in your government email address (i.e. name.surname@gov.mt)
  4. Click Continue

  5. You will be redirected to fs.mita.gov.mt, where you are required to type in you Corp domain password
  6. Once your domain password is typed in, Click Sign In

  7. You will be prompted to verify your authentication.
    • This depends on how you enrolled;
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by SMS.
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Click Accept from the Notification received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Press the # Key from the phone call received..
  8. Once MFA Authentication is approved, you will be redirected to your government mailbox
  9. Mailbox is now successfully configured
 
The below instructions only applies if you are using the Outlook application on Android Devices.
 
  1. Open the Microsoft Outlook application
  2. Click on the Exchange Icon, located at the top left-hand side

  3. Click on the Setting button at the bottom of the menu

  4. Click on the respective email account which you would like to have removed
  5. To double check that the account has been removed, repeat step 4 and 5
  6. Ensure that the Outlook account is no longer visible.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-ConfigureYourEmailAccountOnAndroidDevicesUsingTheNativeApplication

The below instructions only applies for configuring your Government Mailbox on Android Devices using the Outlook application

  1. Open the Native mail application
  2. Click on Add an email address
  3. Select, Exchange and Office 365
  4. Type in your government Email Address
  5. Click Next
  6. You will be redirected to fs.mita.gov.mt, where you are required to type in you Corp domain password
  7. Once your domain password is typed in, Click Sign In

  8. You will be prompted to verify your authentication.
    • This depends on how you enrolled;
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by SMS.
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Click Accept from the Notification received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Press the # Key from the phone call received..
  9. Once MFA Authentication is approved, your mailbox will be successfully configured

  10. Click Done
 
 
The below instructions only applies if you are using the Native email application on Android Devices.
 
  1. Navigate to the mobile Settings 
  2. Choose Accounts
  3. Click on the Account and select Remove Account
  4. Click on Remove Account

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#EmailCreateAnEmailAccountOnIOSDevicesUsingTheNativeApplication

The below instructions only applies for configuring your Government Mailbox on iOS Devices using the Outlook application

NOTE: Microsoft Outlook Application is only supported on devices running iOS Version 14.0 or later and can be downloaded from the App Store.

 

  1. Make sure to have the Microsoft Outlook Application downloaded and installed
  2. Open the Microsoft Outlook application
  3. Type in your government email address (i.e. name.surname@gov.mt)
  4. Click Add Account

  5. A screen similar to the below will prompt, click on Open Authenticator
  6. You will be redirected to fs.mita.gov.mt, where you are required to type in you Corp domain password
  7. Once your domain password is typed in, Click Sign In

  8. You will be prompted to verify your authentication.
    • This depends on how you enrolled;
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by SMS.
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Click Accept from the Notification received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Press the # Key from the phone call received.
  9. Once MFA Authentication is approved, your mailbox will be successfully configured
 
The below instructions only applies if you are using the Outlook application on iOS Devices.
 
  1. Open the Microsoft Outlook application
  2. Click on the Exchange Icon, located at the top left-hand side

  3. Click on the Setting button at the bottom of the menu

  4. Click on the respective email account which you would like to have removed
  5. To double check that the account has been removed, repeat step 4 and 5
  6. Ensure that the Outlook account is no longer visible.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#EmailRemoveAnEmailAccountFromIOSDevicesUsingTheNativeApplication

The below instructions only applies for configuring your Government Mailbox on iOS Devices using the Outlook application

 

  1. Open the device Settings from the Home Screen
  2. Tap on Password & Accounts
  3. Tap on Add Account
  4. Select Microsoft Exchange
  5. Type in your government Email Address
  6. Click Next
  7. Click on Sign In if the below message prompts. The domain in the prompt will vary according to the user’s email address.
  8. You will be redirected to fs.mita.gov.mt, where you are required to type in you Corp domain password
  9. Once your domain password is typed in, Click Sign In

  10. You will be prompted to verify your authentication.
    • This depends on how you enrolled;
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by SMS.
      • Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Click Accept from the Notification received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
      • Press the # Key from the phone call received.
  11. Once MFA Authentication is approved, your mailbox will be successfully configured
The below instructions only applies if you are using the Native email application on iOS Devices.
 
  1. Open the device Settings from the Home Screen
  2. Tap on Password & Accounts
  3. Click on the respective email account which you would like to have removed
  4. Click Delete Account
  5. Tap Delete from my iPhone

This documentation provides instruction of how to log in to Webmail (https://webmail.gov.mt) from a non-trusted device, such as
mobile phones, tablets and personal workstations.

  • If using a MITA managed device (have an inventory number) than the below is not applicable.
  • If using a personal device, kindly go through the below process;
    • Enrolled to the Multi-Factor Authentication? This can be confirmed by navigating to https://mfa.mita.gov.mt.
      • If not enrolled, then enrolment must first be initiated. One can follow instruction found in the
        MITA Support Website. Once enrolment process has been complete, proceed to Method
      • If enrolled, then proceed to Method

Method:

  1. Navigated to https://webmail.gov.mt, you will be prompted with the following requirement shown below:
  2. Type in you government email address (i.e. surname@gov.mt) and click Next
  3. You will be redirect to fs.mita.gov.mt where you are required to type in you CORP domain password:
  4. After the domain password is inserted you will be prompted to verify you authentication. This depends on how you have enrolled;
    - Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by SMS.
    - Type in the Multi-Factor Authentication code received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
    - Click Accept from the Notification received by the Microsoft Authenticator App.
    - Press the # Key from the phone call received.
  5. Once MFA authentication is successful, you will be ask to stay signed in. This option will reduce the number of times you will be asked to sign in.
    - This option can be accepted or declined to your desire by either pressing Yes or No
  6. After your selection you will be redirected to Webmail with successful authentication.

PST files, also known as Personal Storage Table files, are data files used by Microsoft Outlook to locally store and manage a wide range of data, with a primary focus on email messages. In addition to emails, Outlook utilizes PST files to store and organize various Outlook items like contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes. Among CORP users, PST files are often referred to as Offline Mail since they enable users to access their emails and related data even when offline, directly from their computers.

To ensure data safety and prevent any potential data loss, it is crucial to create backups of these locally saved PST files. It's important to note however, that while you can use OneDrive for backing up your PST files, it's important to only backup copies of the PST files in OneDrive rather than directly placing the ones mounted in Outlook. Accessing PST files from Outlook while they are not located on the same workstation (e.g. laptop), increases the chance of irreversible corruption and hence loss of data. For instructions on how to back up your data, please refer to this link.

 

 

 

The Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) system is a Microsoft delivered feature that offers government enrolled users to a self-help facility to reset their Corp domain password if forgotten.

One must first enroll to the Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) system to be able to reset the Corp domain Password.

Click here for documented instructions of how one can enroll​ to the Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) system

Accessing Government services is now closer to your fingertips. Most Government services are now accessible from any device or location and at any point in time. In this regard, we must ensure that security plays a vital role in protecting our identity as well as safeguarding the data that we are entrusted with. Ultimately, this data would hold information that are records of our citizens, including yours.

Protecting mobile devices especially when accessing Government’s services and data, must be considered as crucial. Failing to protect your device might lead to unauthorised access, which may result in compromising your data.  That is why MITA believes and constantly updates its systems and assets in order to continuously protect its infrastructure and data. To help in these practices, especially when using your mobile devices, you are required to do your part.

Please note that MITA only provides support to contracted devices.  It is expected that personal and mobile devices are supported through the users’ own support channels, if required.

Although standards are in place across the world, devices and different operating systems offer different varieties of security features. We encourage you to follow your vendors’ recommendation on which security best practices can be adopted from your end.

Furthermore, visit www.cybersecurity.gov.mt for tips on how to adopt cyber hygiene best practices within your daily lifestyle.

The below are some quick guides to start you off:

On your Device

  • Set a complex password, pin, passphrase or biometrics to access a device. Setting up at least two of these is a good start although other measures are required.
  • Use different passwords for different accounts. Using a variety of passwords will limit the extent of the breach just in case this happens.
  • Change your password, pin, passphrase frequently. Changing them regularly, makes them more secure and difficult to guess.
  • Download apps only from official stores. Downloading from official sources may keep malware apps away from your device.
  • Keep your Operating System and Apps updated. Updating to the latest versions apart from having the latest features, will mitigate vulnerabilities.
  • Don’t leave devices unattended. Having physical access to your device, facilitates cybercriminals to steal your data apart from the device itself.
  • Lock devices when not in use. Locking down your device prevents from accidental hits whilst keeping away trespassers. You may set your device to automatically lock after a period of inactivity.
  • Enable Multi Factor Authentication (MFA). Usernames and passwords on their own are not considered as secure and thus the recommended use of MFA. Adding an extra layer of security that sends you or requires a code generated on a previously determined device is also helpful.
  • Be cautious when Apps ask for permissions to phone’s photos, microphone, location and notifications. Giving access to necessary resources only and while in use, can offer some peace of mind.
  • Set privacy settings on your device. Hiding notifications if phone is locked, protects you from eavesdropping and stops others from accessing your information without you knowing.
  • Enable Apps’ permissions with caution. Only use the permissions necessary for your app to work.
  • Enable the track my device feature for tracking purposes. Tracking your device will help you find your device if you lose it or otherwise.
  • Enable the remote locking or wiping option after several incorrect logins. Attempting to access your mobile from your behind might give away your device but at least not to your data.

Your mindset

  • Never reply to unexpected messages or click/tap on links from unknown or unexpected sources. Replying to an unexpected message or clicking/tapping on erroneous links might lead you to become a ransomware or a phishing victim.
  • Use known Wi-Fi networks that are secure. Having access to Wi-Fi which is open does not mean that it is secure.
  • Limit the use of public Wi-Fi for non-sensitive data only. Accessing banking, personal information or corporate’s data over a public Wi-Fi is not recommended.
 
Technical Internet

A number of internet related issues can be solved by clearing the browser's history cache where various data is stored.  This will clear items such as your browsing history, stored password, cookies and other temporary files that might be causing the issue.

To delete the cache in Internet Explorer (versions 8 - 11) perform the below steps:

  • Open Internet Explorer
  • Click on Tools menu
  • Select the Internet Options menu item
  • Under the General tab, in the Browsing History section, click on the Delete button
  • Tick the options as shown in the screen shot below
  • Click on Delete

If browser problems still persist after performing the above you might wish to try check the following page:  How do I Reset the Internet Explorer settings?

In order to solve several types of internet related issues, Internet Explorer has the functionality to reset all the settings to default without the need of a re-installation.  By resetting Internet Explorer settings, you return it to the state it was in when it was first installed on your computer.  This is useful for troubleshooting or eliminating problems that might be caused by settings that were changed after installation.

Before you start if you would like to know which Internet Explorer settings that are affected by a reset please click here.

To reset the Internet Explorer settings to default carry out the below steps:

  • Open Internet Explorer
  • Click on Tools menu
  • Select the Internet Options menu item
  • Click on the Advanced Tab
  • Click on the Reset Button
  • Select the option Delete personal settings if you require to reset ALL settings
  • Click Close
  • Click OK
  • Close and Reopen Internet Explorer

RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a service which provides a "feed" that is updated regularly. User can subscribe to an RSS feed to automatically receive the updated information. 

RSS feeds can be viewed in different ways, with the easiest methods being the following - you can find more information on each method further below:

  • Use a web browser to surf the RSS feed page - this might require installing add-ons / extensions to the browser
  • Configure Microsoft Outlook to receive the information directly in the RSS feeds folder - you can then view them using Outlook.

Microsoft Outlook offers a built in RSS feed reader, which allows the user to easily view RSS Feeds. To configure RSS feeds in Microsoft Outlook 2007 kindly follow the below steps:

  • Open Microsoft Outlook
  • Click on the Tools Menu
  • Select Account Settings
  • Select the RSS Feeds tab
  • Click on the New button
  • Enter the RSS Feed you want to add and click Add. The RSS Feed URL can usually be found by clicking the   symbol on the webpage providing the feed.
  • Enter the Feed name in the following window and click OK.
  • This will take you back to the Account Settings window where the RSS Feed will be listed as ‘Pending’. Close this window to finish setting up the RSS Feed.
  • The RSS Feed can now be viewed in the RSS Feeds folder in your Mailbox

In order to remove and RSS Feed you no longer require kindly follow the below steps.

  • Open Microsoft Outlook
  • Click on the Tools Menu
  • Select Account Settings
  • Select the RSS Feeds tab
  • Select the required Feed and Click Remove.
  • Click Yes to remove the Feed.
  • Kindly note that this does not remove the previously downloaded feeds. In order to do so, right click on the RSS Feed folder and click Delete.
As explained in the Internet – Service Definition section, the Internet service provided by MITA includes a filter that groups websites into a set of categories.  Whenever you try to access a website that falls under a category for which you do not have access, the Government Internet Filtering page is shown with the Page Blocked message as below.  The category is shown similar to the screen shot below (outlined in red).

In these cases you need to apply for the additional Internet Packages (refer to the section Internet – How do I apply for Additional Options?)   To know which Internet package you need to apply for based on the category shown when a page is blocked, click here.

 
​The below is a short list of popular websites that require additional Internet Packages to be accessed or to function properly:
Web Site ​URL ​Internet Package required
​​Facebook https://www.facebook.com/​​ Standard Plus
​Drop Box https://www.dropbox.com/ ​Standard Plus
We Transfer​ https://www.wetransfer.com/ ​Standard Plus​​
Softpedia http://www.softpedia.com/ ​Standard Plus​

Below are some basic troubleshooting steps to assist you in determining whether you have an internet related problem.

  • Ensure that you are logged on to the internet.  Type logon.gov.mt in the browser URL bar and if you are presented with a page to type in your credentials (user name and password) type them in, click on the Log In button and try to access the required web page again.
  • If you are able to access the Internet service but a particular web site is not accessible you can check if the web site is down by using free online services such as http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ which will tell you if the web site is down for everyone else, in which case you have to wait until the site owner / provider fixes the issue.
  • Try to use a different browser (if available) to see if the issue solves itself when using a different browser.
  • Try to clear the browser cache.  Click here to see how to clear Internet Explorer cache.

MITA's internet service includes the filtering of web sites according to their category.  Each web site falls under a specific category as defined by the web filtering product in use by MITA (FortiGuard Web Filter).  MITA has grouped these categories in a small number of packages, such as the Standard, Standard Plus, Restricted and Prohibitive.

While using the internet service one might encounter pages that are being blocked (click here for more information).  In these cases to access the required sites you will need to apply for additional internet packages. To learn how to apply for the Prohibitive Package internet package click here.

One can check a website classification from the Fortigate ​Web Filter Lookup. Insert the URL of the required website in the Search URL and press enter. The site will then return the category accordingly.

To be able to know which package is required to access particular categories refer to the below list.

CATEGORY AVAILABLE CONTENT
INTERNET ​PACKAGE
Standard 
Standard Plus
Restricted
Prohibitive 
Potentially
Liable 
Discrimination     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Drug Abuse    
check_sign_icon_gray.png
check_sign_icon_gray.png
Explicit Violence       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Extremist Groups     check_sign_icon_gray.png
check_sign_icon_gray.png
Hacking       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Illegal or Unethical       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Plagiarism     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Proxy Avoidance       check_sign_icon_gray.png
 ​  ​      
Adult/ Mature Content Abortion     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Advocacy Organizations check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Alcohol     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Alternative Beliefs     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Dating     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Gambling   check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Lingerie and Swimsuit       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Marijuana     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Nudity and Risque       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Other Adult Materials       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Pornography       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Sex Education   check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Sports Hunting and War Games check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Tobacco check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Weapons (Sales)   check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
           
Bandwith Consuming File Sharing and Storage check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Freeware and Software Downloads check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Internet Radio and TV check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Internet Telephony check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Peer-to-peer File Sharing check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Streaming Media and Download check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Security Risk check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Dynamic DNS       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Malicious Websites       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Newly Observed Domain check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Newly Registered Domain check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Phishing       check_sign_icon_gray.png
Spam URLs       check_sign_icon_gray.png
           
General Interest
- Personal
Advertising check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Arts and Culture check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Auction check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Brokerage and Trading check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Child Education check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Content Servers check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Digital Postcards check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Domain Parking check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Dynamic Content check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Education check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Entertainment check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Folklore check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Games check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Global Religion check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Health and Wellness check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Instant Messaging check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Job Search check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Meaningless Content check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Medicine check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
News and Media check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Newsgroups and Message Boards check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Personal Privacy check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Personal Vehicles check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Personal Websites and check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Blogs check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Political Organizations check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Real Estate check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Reference check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Restaurant and Dining check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Shopping check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Social Networking   check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Society and Lifestyles check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Sports check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Travel check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Web Chat check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Web-based Email check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
           
General Interest
- Business
Armed Forces check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Business check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Charitable Organizations check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Finance and Banking check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
General Organizations check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Government and Legal Organizations check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Information Technology check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Information and Computer Security check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Online Meeting check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Remote Access     check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Search Engines and Portals check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Secure Websites check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Web Analytics check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Web Hosting check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Web-based Applications check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
           
Unrated Unrated check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png check_sign_icon_gray.png
Technical Workstation
Microsoft Excel has the facility to allow you set a file in such a way that the user is asked for a password to be able to view the file and another password to be able to edit the file.

The following steps need to be performed:

  • Open the required workbook
  • Click on the File menu and select the Save As option
  • Click on the Tools button (to the left hand of the Save button) and select General Options... (refer to below screen shot)

excel-tools-generaloptions.

  • You will now be prompted with two possible passwords - make sure that you remember any password that you type in as the file might be inaccessible if you forget it
  • Type a password in the Password to open textbox if you want the users to be prompted for this password when they want to view the file (you will be prompted to re-enter the password to verify it)
  • Type a password in the Password to modify textbox if you want the users to be prompted for this password when they want to edit the file (you will be prompted to re-enter the password to verify it)
  • Finally select the location and File name and click on the Save button

Scan to Mail automatically scans a photo or document, launches the e-mail application, and attaches the file as a JPG image to a new outgoing message.

The following information are guides to successfully configure printers with the correct parameters for Scan to Mail within MAGNET.

A valid email address consists of an email prefix and an email domain, both in acceptable formats. The prefix appears to the left of the @ symbol. The domain appears to the right of the @ symbol. For example, in the address example@mail.com, "example" is the email prefix, and "mail.com" is the email domain.

  1. The Organisation name must be included in the prefix. (i.e. Printer1.mita)
    .
  2. Both the Sender (From) and the Recipient (To) addresses must be populated during the configuration.
    .
    • Recipient Address: The email address of the user (i.e. name.surname@gov.mt)
    • Sender Address: A valid MITA domain which is assigned to the respective Organisation. Below Table refer:
      Valid Domains Invalid Domains
      gov.mt Xerox.com
      transport.gov.mt Server1.local
      arms.com.mt Test123.com

      .

  3. Ensure that in the SMTP Server Settings, configuration is set using the smtp.email.local Hostname. Avoid configuring the printer using the IP Address.
    .
  4. The below IP Address must be used if DNS needs configuration
    • 10.81.0.3
    • 10.83.0.3

This document is applicable only for Office 365.  It is NOT applicable for Office 2016.  Office 365 asks you to register the first time you load an Office product (e.g. Word).  If when you load the Office product you are not asked to register, go to the File menu and click on Account.  A page that contains the Product Information with will be displayed and the Subscription Product should be "Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus".

To register / activate Office 365 follow the below steps:

  • Load the Office 365 application Word application and you will be prompted to activate the product
  • Enter your Email address (e.g name.surname@gov.mt)
  • If prompted for a password use your CORP password
  • After you log in Office 365 you must set your email signature as explained here.

Please note that you can activate your Office 365 account on up to 5 workstations.  If you wish to unregister / deactivate an account from a particular workstation, please follow the below steps:

  • Log in https://portal.office.com using your Email credentials (e.g. ​name.surname@gov.mt)
  • Click on the personalised icon in the top right hand corner of the window
  • ​A tab will be shown on the right-hand part of the screen - click on "My Account"
  • Click on "Manage installs" under Install Status
  • Select the device you no longer use and click on "Deactivate" and confirm

A Central Storage Repository is an online folder system that stores all of your files and documents in one place, that everyone could access with the right login credentials and permissions. Examples of Central Storage Repositories are, the File Sharing Services commonly known as the (P:) Drive and SharePoint Online.

 

To do a backup on one of these Central Storage Repositories, kindly follow the below steps according to your preferred storage repository.

 

How to do a backup on a Shared Drive? (File Sharing Service)
  1. Kindly select the file/s you wish to backup on your computer.
  2. Right click and click Copy, to copy file/s.
  3. Navigate to your preferred location within the Shared Drive and paste the file/s.

Kindly note that by default you cannot store the following file types on a Shared Drive: *.aac, *.aif, *.aiff, *.asf, *.asx, *.au, *.avi, *.flac, *.m3u, *.mid, *.midi, *.mov,*.mp1, *.mp2,*.mp3, *.mp4, *.mpa, *.mpe, *.mpeg, *.mpeg2, *.mpeg3, *.mpg, *.ogg, *.qt, *.qtw, *.ram, *.rm,*.rmi, *.rmvb, *.snd, *.swf, *.vob, *.wav, *.wax, *.wma, *.wmv, *.wvx, *.eml, *.idx, *.mbox,*.mbx, *.msg, *.ost, *.otf,*.pab, *.pst, *.bkf

 

 

How to do a backup on SharePoint Online?
SharePoint Online is a cloud-based collaborative platform integrated with Office365 which is used for storing and sharing content securely. To backup your data on SharePoint Online you may do so, by either clicking Upload from your SharePoint Online Location and selecting the files from your computer, or else you may Drag and Drop your files from your computer to your SharePoint Online Location and wait for them to Upload. For more information regarding this backup method kindly click here.

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-HowDoIBackupTheDataOnMyWorkstation

It is important to back up your files regularly from your workstation to minimize data loss especially in the case of a hard disk failure.​

You should always check your backed up data ensuring that you have the very latest copy of the data before you authorize activities such as erasing, wiping or reinstallation on your PC / laptop​.

 

Recommended Method: Microsoft OneDrive
It is recommended to use OneDrive as a form of backup. Click here for instruction on how to back up data using OneDrive.
Alternatively, the below Method can be used.

 

Alternative Method: External Medium

Disclaimer: Use this method only if it is approved that the business needs require the use of external storage.

'Perform the following steps to back up data onto external mediums such as USB pen drives, Hard Disks, CDs/ DVDs, etc.

  1. Save any pending files and close all applications (including outlook, word, excel etc.)
  2. Open This PC
  3. Double click on the icon for the local drive C:
  4. Open the Users folder.
  5. Locate the profile folder with your username (e.g. surnn001) and double click to open it.
  6. To start copying all data in your profile right click on the profile folder and select Copy.
  7. Navigate to the external medium where the data will be backed up. (This will have a different drive letter other than C:) and can be found on the left-hand side of the window you were using.
  8. Paste the data to the External medium (One may wish to create subfolders). Right click and select Paste.
 

When a PC is moved from one place to another or is disconnected to facilitate maintenance work, the peripherals have to be connected again.

The below picture shows the back side of a typical computer.  As it can be seen there are a number of sockets / connectors / ports with the most important ones labelled.  Further below you can find a brief description on each of them.​  The ports can be located anywhere on the back (or even on the front) and not necessarily in the same place as shown in the sample layout below.

Name ​Function / Description​
​1 Mouse PS2​ ​​Used to connect a PS2 mouse.  Note that in most cases the mouse is connected​ via USB instead, in which case this port is not used.
​2 Keyboard PS2​ ​Used to connect a PS2 keyboard.  Note that in most cases the keyboard is connected via USB instead, in which case this port is not used.
​3 ​VGA Video ​Used to connect a monitor (or projector in the case of laptops).  Some monitors might use the DVI Video connector instead, in which case this port is not used.  If the monitor cable is not connected or not connected properly then the display can be blank, blurred, or having distorted colours.
​​4 DVI Video​ ​Used to connect a monitor (or projector in the case of laptops).  Some monitors might use the VGA Video connector instead, in which case this port is not used. Not all computers have a DVI Video port since there might be only the VGA port available.   If the monitor cable is not connected or not connected properly then the display can be blank, blurred, or having distorted colours.​
​5 USB 3​ ​Used to connect various USB devices such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, pen drive or external hard disk.  Note the blue colour of the plastic that indicates that this is the faster USB 3 (not USB 2) port.  Although USB 2 devices are compatible with this port, ideally such ports are used with USB 3 devices that require faster speed such as Pen Drives and external Hard disk.  Not all computers have USB 3 ports.
6​ ​USB 2 Used to connect various USB devices such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, pen drive or external hard disk.  Note the black colour of the plastic that indicates that this is the slower USB 2 or USB (not USB 3) port.  Although USB 3 devices are compatible with this port, ideally faster USB 3 devices such as Pen Drives and external Hard Disks are connected to the faster USB 3 ports where available.​
​7 Audio Speaker​ ​Connect audio speakers / speaker bar to the green jack socket.
​8 ​Network / LAN RJ45 ​Used to connect the network cable (that is also connected to the network wall port at the other end).  This port usually has green / orange LEDs to indicate network traffic.
Note: The power supply must also be connected to a power cord that is connected to the mains plug at the other end.  On some PCs there is also a power switch at the back that has to be switched on as well.​  When reconnecting a PC it is recommended that you connect all peripherals before connecting the power supply and switching it on.
 
When using a workstation joined to a MITA managed domain, a number of shared folders are automatically mapped.  These are normally the homes (H:), projects (P:) and apps (X:) drives.  Users who have the Archive Spaces will also have the R: mapped to this service.
 
In some instances it might be required to map a drive manually.  These scenarios are usually when using VPN or when you need to map a non standard shared folder.
 
Before you start you need to know the server name (as below) and the share name (e.g. OPM_Proj):
 
\\crt01-lj.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-entities.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-govapps.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-govproj.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-homes.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-mdh.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-mita.corp.root.gov.mt
\\oagz1-lg.corp.root.gov.mt
\\FSS-archive.corp.root.gov.mt​
 

To manually map shared folders on a Windows device please follow the below steps:

  • Press the Window Key + R from the keyboard
  • In the Run command box, type the server name e.g. \\FSS-GovProj.corp.root.gov.mt and click on OK
  • A list of all shares is then listed; Right Click on the share that needs to be accessed and select "Map network drive..."
  • Select the required drive letter (standard drive letters are explained further above)
  • Check "Reconnect at sign-in" / "Reconnect at logon" so that you will keep using the mapped drive
  • Click on Finish and type in your domain credentials to start using the share
 
To manually map shared folders on a Macintosh device (MAC OS X) device please follow the below steps:
  • Press the Command key and the “k” key from the keyboard simultaneously.
  • In the Connect to server box, type the server name adding smb:// as a prefix e.g. smb://fss-govproj.corp.root.gov.mt/sharename and click on connect.  Note that you have to use “/” and not “\”
  • Type in your domain credentials corp/username and password to start using the share
  • Enter into System Preferences, from the Apple menu
  • Click on ‘Accounts’
  • Click on “Login Items”
  • Click on the + button to add another login item
  • Locate the network drive you previously mounted and click “Add”
  • Exit out of System Preferences

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format that captures all data of a printed document as an electronic image. It ensures that when a file is viewed or printed it retains the intended format and the data in the file cannot be easily changed or edited.  PDF files retain their original format better than other file formats (e.g.  .doc, .xls) especially when viewed on mobile devices.

PDF format top benefit is its mobility and portability. PDF files can be viewed from most operating systems including mobile devices. This means that when you need to circulate a document, the other users only need a PDF viewer to read the document (i.e. there is no need for them to have e.g. Excel, Word, Publisher, Powerpoint, Project, Visio to read your file).

It is quite easy to convert files or web pages to PDF. Below you can find the different methods used to save as PDF depending on the Microsoft Office or Internet Browser version you are using. ​

​​​Software used ​Method to save file as a PDF document
​Microsoft Office
2007 / 2010 / 2013​
  • ​Click on File
  • Select Save As (Save As dialog opens)
  • Select PDF (*.pdf) from Save As type

or

  • Click on File
  • From the Save As menu select Save as Adobe PDF (PDF or XPS​ for Office 2007)
 

 

​Microsoft Edge Browser
  • ​Click the ... icon (top right side of the window)
  • Select Print
  • Under Printer option select Print as a PDF
 
Microsoft Internet Explorer
version IE9 / IE10 / IE11

Note: PDF Printer must be installed for this method to work. If it is not installed kindly contact your respective IMU / IT section to trigger the process to raise an ERFS for the installation of PDF Creator.

  • Click the Tools icon (top right side)
  • Select Print
  • Select the PDF Creator printer
  • Click Save
  • Select path where PDF file will be save and click Save
​Google Chrome Browser
  • ​Click on the Customize button (top right side)
  • Select Print
  • Change Destination to Save as PDF
  • Click Save
  • Select the File Name and Destination where the PDF file will be saved​
 
​Firefox Browser

To Save As PDF from a Firefox browser you need to install a plug in first.  Open the below link from the Firefox browser on which you want to install the plugin and click on the + Add to Firefox button on that web page :

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/save-as-pdf/​

  • Once the plugin is installed, to save a file as PDF from the Firefox browser just click on the Save as PDF icon found at the top left side of the browser window.
If you already have the Maltese keyboard installed (standard government PCs and Laptops have it pre-installed) you can select the Maltese fonts / language by clicking on the language (e.g. "ENG") in the taskbar at the bottom right hand side of the screen.

maltese_keyboard

To test if the Maltese keyboard is working properly open Microsoft Word, select the Maltese keyboard and try the below keys to see if ALL the Maltese characters are functioning.

Note: There can be multiple Maltese keyboards set (e.g. 47 and 48 key).  Try them both to see which one works best for your current keyboard.

​Key on Keyboard ​Maltese Character
​\ ż​
​` ​ċ
​[ ​ġ
​] ​ħ

If you need to install the Maltese keyboard on a Windows 8 / 10 PC / Laptop perform the following steps:

  • Click on Start
  • Type Control Panel
  • Click on Language
  • Click on Add a Language
  • Choose Maltese and click Add (kindly note that by default the Maltese 47-Key keyboard is going to be added)
  • Sort the Maltese language as the first option to set as default language
  • Try the Maltese keys by performing the below;
  •  Click on the right hand side of the task bar (bottom) and choose Maltese 47-Key Keyboard
If one or more keys are not properly translated into Maltese characters perform these additional steps:
  • Click on Start
  • Type Control Panel
  • Click on Language
  • Click on Maltese and click on Remove
  • Click on Add a language
  • Choose Maltese and click Add
  • Sort the Maltese language as the first option to set as default language
  • Click on Options
  • Click on Add an input method
  • Choose Maltese 48-Key and click Add
  • Click Save

When a number of network dependent services (e.g. email, internet, OA shares) are not available on a workstation that used to access such services, the cause can be lack of network access.  This is identified by a red cross on the task bar at the bottom right hand of the screen (refer to screen shot below).

network_unavailable

The following can be attempted to try to restore access or identify the cause if you are using a wired network (PCs are usually wired):

  • Ensure network cable is properly slotted both from the workstation side and from the wall port.
  • Try to change the network cable with a known working cable.  If this solves the issue and a new network cable is required contact your respective IT department or IMU.
  • If a number of workstations within the same area are impacted simultaneously, it is likely that some network equipment (e.g. a network switch) is switched off.  If possible ensure that the network cabinet is powered up.  Electricity related issues should be directed to the respective maintenance department, your IT department or your IMU.
  • If after performing the above the network is not yet restored you need to contact MITA to log a request as there can be other issues (such as a faulty network card on the workstation) that have to be seen to by MITA representatives.

Note: If the workstation is being connected for the first time to the network, the port has to be patched from the network equipment's side.  You need to contact MITA to log a request to have the port patched.

 
If you are using a wireless network (all laptops have WIFI facility but not always used) please check the following:
  • Make sure that the laptop wireless switch is set to on.
  • If you are using MITA provided wireless access from a government department for the first time, you need to ask your respective IT Department / IMU to raise an eRFS (xxxxx) to be granted access.
  • If you are using third party (i.e. not provided by MITA) wireless access, you need to ask your respective IT Department / IMU to provide you the respective wireless key and security settings.
  • If possible try to ask other users within the same area to check if they have wireless access.  If wireless access is not available to other users as well then there might be problems with the access point.  If the wireless service is provided by MITA then you need to raise a request with the MITA Service Call Centre.  If the wireless is provided by third party then please contact your respective IT Department / IMU.

There are two most common type of printer configuration as follows:

Network printer: This type of printer is connected directly to the network via a network cable or by means of an external print server.  This is the better option to share a printer between multiple users, and some models have other features such as scan to email.

USB printer: This type of printer is usually cheaper to purchase (although consumables might be more expensive) and is connected directly to a workstation via a USB cable.  Sharing this type of printer with other users is also possible but this requires the workstation that has the printer attached to be switched on.

If you cannot print from your printer, please make sure to check the below:

- Make sure that the printer and print server are powered on and that the printer is loaded with papers.

- If it is a Network printer, it is important to check that all the cables connecting the printer to the electric power supply, network wall port and/or network print server are properly connected from both ends. It is also important to check that if the printer is connected to a print server or network wall port, the LED lights on the printer’s network port are on and flickering.

- If a workstation that has a USB printer shared with others also has power management enabled, the other users will not able to print when the workstation is set to sleep (refer to the Power Management section in the Workstation Service Definition page).  To learn how to apply for the removal of Power Management settings refer to the Remove Power Management section in the Workstation - How do I apply for Non-Standard Requests​ page.
 
- If it is either a Network or a USB printer, go to Start, Control Panel and select Devices and Printers and check that ​the printer is listed there.  If it is listed there, you can do the following steps in order to troubleshoot your issue:
    1. Set as Default Printer. This can be done by right clicking on your printer and selecting Set as Default Printer. This will ensure that every time you try to print, the required correct printer is chosen.
    2. Print a Test Page.  This can be done by right clicking on your printer and selecting Printer Properties and clicking on Print Test Page. This step will serve as a clear indication of whether this printer is accepting print jobs or not.
    3. Check for any stuck print jobs. This can be done by double left clicking on your printer and followed by a double left click on See what’s printing. A new window will show on screen with the pending (if any) print jobs pertaining to your printer. Right click on the stuck print job and select Cancel.

- If it is a USB printer and showing as an Unknown Device in Devices and Printers under Control Panel, try to ​change the USB port on the workstation and the USB cable.​

If your workstation is powering up but not booting (blank screen) try the following steps.  First try the below generic steps.  The steps further below are specific to whether you have a PC or a Laptop.

  • Ensure that all the workstation plugs (including monitor) are connected to a mains power socket that is switched on
  • Try to move the mouse or press a key on the keyboard to reactivate the workstation from hibernation / sleep mode
  • Press the power button once (short press)
  • Connect the mains plug to a different power outlet and try a different power cable / laptop charger
  • For laptops disconnect the battery and switch on the laptop using just the charger

For PC

  • Check that the display is powering on - if not check that the display power cable is properly attached
  • Check that the keyboard and mouse are properly connected - if not connect them and switch the PC off and on again (where possible try a different mouse / keyboard)
  • Disconnect the power cable from the PC
  • Press the power button for 10 times
  • Hold the power button for 10 seconds
  • Reconnect the power cable
  • Try to switch the PC back on

For Laptops

  • Disconnect the power adapter
  • Remove the battery from the laptop
  • Press the power button for 10 seconds 
  • Press the power button for 10 times
  • Reconnect the power adapter and try to boot it.
  • If it boots, shutdown the laptop, disconnect the power, reconnect the battery and the power 
  • Turn on the laptop
 
Note: If after performing these steps your workstation still does not boot, please contact us to report the issue.

Click here to view instruction on how to configure Windows Hello.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-HowDoIRetrieveBitLockerKey

BitLocker is Microsoft's Windows encryption technology that protects your data from unauthorized access by encrypting the workstation's hard drives.


When BitLocker is enabled, a unique 48-digit recovery key is provided. The BitLocker recovery key can be used to unlock your system if BitLocker is otherwise unable to confirm for certain that the attempt to access the system drive is authorized. This key may be stored in your Microsoft account, printed or saved on an external device as a file.

If the BitLocker recovery key is required, however is out of your possession, the below methods must be followed:

Method 1 - Using Microsoft's Self-Service Portal
This option is used at your convenience to retrieve your BitLocker recovery key.
Requirements
  • A device connected to any network connection
  • Current Corp password must be known
Instructions
  • Navigate to https://myaccount.microsoft.com
  • Authenticate the portal using your Government Email Address and Password
  • Click on Manage Devices
  • Click on the name of the workstation (e.z. L123456) to expand more options
  • Once detail are expanded, click on View Bitlocker Keys
  • Click on Show recovery key to reveal the BitLocker recovery key
Method 2 - Submitting a UAM request
This option allows you to be provided with your BitLocker recovery key. RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.
Requirements N/A
Instructions

Users are to contact their respective IMU/ IT Department to submit the necessary request using rfs.gov.mt​. Once RFS request has been submitted and approved (by the respective IMU/ IT Department).

NOTE: Proxy is provided by the respective IMU/ IT Department when submitting the UAM request.

 

When changing your CORP account password while your work laptop is not connected to MAGNET (Gov Network or VPN), the laptop will not be aware of the new password. Consequently, it will only allow you to log in using the old password. This can have an impact on the use of file shares (P: Drive) and other applications.

To resolve this issue, please follow the steps below:

  1. Connect to the MITA VPN using the new password.
  2. Once connected, lock your laptop by pressing the 'Windows key' and the 'L' key simultaneously on your keyboard.
  3. Log in using the new password.

By following this process, you will update the cached password on your laptop, allowing you to log in using the new password.

 

Technical VPN

MITA provides Microsoft's Azure Multi-Factor Authentication service that is used in conjunction with other MITA services to make their access more secure. The most common use is in conjunction with MITA's VPN service.

One must first enroll to the Multi-Factor Authentication to be able to make use of such service. Users accessing the VPN service will be prompted with the normal Corp domain credentials and a token code / approval from the multi-factor authentication service depending on the selected method.

Instruction of how to enroll for the Multifactor Authentication can be found below:

Open an internet browser and navigate to the link https://mfa.mita.gov.mt (ideally from a laptop or computer, as you require your mobile device for another step)

The below screen should appear, login using your CORP email address (name.surname@gov.mt) or UPN (surnn001@corp.root.gov.mt) and click Next

In the next page, type your CORP password and click Sign in

 

After you successfully login the below window will appear, click Next

 

 

For the following steps you require your mobile device.

The first method to setup is the Authenticator App.

As instructed in the following step, please download and install the Microsoft Authenticator  app on your mobile device. This application is available from Google play store, iPhone App Store or Windows phone store.

Once you download the app, from your computer click Next and from your mobile device open the app and tap Add Account where you will be met with the below two screens.

Computer Mobile Device

From your laptop or computer click Next. On your mobile device select Work or School account and then select Scan QR code. With your mobile device scan the QR code shown on your computer.

Computer Mobile Device
 

Once you scan the QR code, your CORP account should appear within the Microsoft Authenticator App on your mobile device. When it appears, click Next on your Computer or Laptop.

In the following screen, your Computer will show you a number which you will need to input on your mobile device, and tap Yes as shown hereunder.

Computer Mobile Device

Once you complete the above, the following screen will appear and click Next.

 

The second method to setup is your mobile number where you can approve the authentication either by a phone call or a text message.

From the following screen on your Computer, select the respective country code pertaining to your mobile number (e.g. Malta) and type in your mobile number and click Next.

If you choose for Microsoft to Call you, a robotic voice will instruct you to press # on your mobile phone and that way you will be verified. The process shown below is how you setup the SMS method.

A message from Microsoft should be received on your mobile device. Input the code received in the field as shown below and click Next.

The following window will appear indicating that the SMS was verified and click Next.

After successful completion of the above steps, the below screen will appear signifying that you are enrolled you may click Done and close the window.

 

Instructions on how to install the VPN client software on a government workstation click here​. To know how to install the VPN client software on other machines click here.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-HowDoIInstallAndUseTheVPNSoftwareOnAGovernmentWorkstation

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) extends a private network across public network. VPN users are able to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computer device was directly connected to the Government network (MAGNET).

MITA provides a VPN client called FortiClient . FortiClient access is established in conjuction with the Multi-Factor Authenticaton token, therefore one must enrol to the Multi-Factor before using FortiClient.

Installing FortiClient VPN software (On a Government Supported Workstation)

Requirements

  • Access to a workstation
  • Workstation must be connected to the Government Network (MAGNET)

Instructions:  

  • Click on the Start Button startbtn
  • Type and select Software Centre 
  • Under Applications, click on the Fortinet VPN Client and select Install
    vpn app

Note: To install FortiClient on a personal workstation, kindly click here

Using FortiClient VPN software (On Government Supported Workstation)

Note: Workstation must be connected to a Thrid-Party network connection. VPN does not work if workstation is connected to the government network (MAGNET)

  1. After the installation is complete the FortiClient shortcut icon ​is created on the desktop. A green shield icon with a white check mark also should be visible in the taskbar. ​Forticlient_shield_taskbar
  2. Double click on the shortcut to log in using to MITA's VPN service.
  3. Enter your Corp domain username (e.g. surnn001) and password 
  4. Click on the Connect button.
  5. Depending on the Multi Factor Authentication method chosen, you will now be asked to enter the token code / approve the Multi Factor Authentication. Click here​ for more information.
  6. You will now be connected to the MITA VPN service.
  7. To disconnect click on the FortiClient icon in the taskbar and click on the Disconnect button.​

Note: Should you require to access/ map a Network drive (Such as P: Drive), click here.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-HowDoIInstallAndUseTheVPNSoftwareOnAPersonalWorkstation

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) extends a private network across public network. VPN users are able to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computer device was directly connected to the Government network (MAGNET).

MITA provides a VPN client called FortiClient . FortiClient access is established in conjunction with the Multi-Factor Authenticaton token, therefore one must enroll to the Multi-Factor before using FortiClient.

Installing FortiClient VPN software (On personal Workstation)

Requirements:

  • Workstation must be connected to any network connection
  • Corp domain password must be known
  • Workstation must have one of the below Operating System:
    • Microsoft Windows 7,8.1, 10 and 11 (32 and 64 bit)
    • Mac OS X v10.15, 11 and 12
    • Linux Ubuntu 18.04 or newer, Red Hat 7.4 newer or CentOS 7.4 or newer ​

​​Instructions:

  • Go to MITA's VPN Portal
  • Select Software
  • Choose Linux, MAC or Windows (Depending on the Operating System on you workstation)
  • Click on the setup file to start downloading FortiClient (To check if Windows Operating System is 32 or 64 bit kindly click here)
  • Follow the instructions in the setup to install FortiClient

Note: To install FortiClient on a government support workstation, kindly click here

Using FortiClient VPN software (On personal Workstation)

  1. After the installation is complete the FortiClient shortcut icon ​is created on the desktop. A green shield icon with a white check mark also should be visible in the taskbar. Forticlient_shield_taskbar
  2. Double click on the shortcut to log in using to MITA's VPN service.
  3. Enter your Corp domain username (e.g. surnn001) and password 
  4. Click on the Connect button.
  5. Depending on the Multi Factor Authentication method chosen, you will now be asked to enter the token code / approve the Multi Factor Authentication. Click here​ for more information.
  6. You will now be connected to the MITA VPN service.
  7. To disconnect click on the FortiClient icon in the taskbar and click on the Disconnect button.​

Note: Should you require to access/ map a Network drive (Such as P: Drive), click here.

Technical Archive Space

When using the MITA VPN service from a government workstation, the R: drive to access the service is automatically mapped after about 1 minute after logging on with the VPN credentials.

If this fails or you want to access the drive using your personal workstation, you can map the drive manually as follows:

  • Press the Windows Key + R (the Windows Key is found on the left hand side between the CTRL and ALT keys)
  • In the Run command box, type the server name \\FSS-Archive and click on OK
  • Click on the share ArchiveSpaces; Right Click on the folder (that resembles your username) that needs to be
  • accessed and select "Map network drive..."
  • Select the required drive letter (it is recommended to use letter R)
  • Check "Reconnect at sign-in" / "Reconnect at logon" so that you will keep using the mapped drive
Account Management

One may opt to change certain details pertaining to his/ her Corp account by using the RFS Self Service Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt/myaccount.

The below instructions, guides how you one can update the Telephone, Mobile and Other numbers through the RFS self-service portal.

 

  1. Navigate to https://rfs.gov.mt/MyAccount
  2. Click on Proceed to My Account
  3. If prompted, type in your Gov Email Address and Password
  4. Click Sign in
  5. Click on the Modify icon of one of the below fields (Depending which field you wish to modify).
    1. Telephone Number
    2. Mobile Number
    3. Other Telephone
  6.  A new page will load. Type in the new contact number accordingly in the fields located at the right-hand side.
  7. Should you wish to amend other contact fields;
    1. Tick the checkbox next to the respective field
    2. Type in the new contact number in the fields located at the right-hand side.
  8. Tick the below tick box to proceed in changing details provided is accurate
  9. Once all the necessary changed are made, click Apply
  10. Click on the Submit button, to submit your request for approval.

NOTE: Request must be approved by the Ministry's respective RFS Approvers.

One may opt to change certain details pertaining to his/ her Corp account by using the RFS Self Service Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt/myaccount.

The below instructions, guides how you one can update your Profile Picture through the RFS self-service portal.

 

  1. Navigate to https://rfs.gov.mt/MyAccount
  2. Click on Proceed to My Account
  3. If prompted, type in your Gov Email Address and Password
  4. Click Sign in
  5. Click on the Modify icon  found under your current Profile Picture.
  6. A new page will load with the necessary requirements of the picture as per below:
    • Maximum Image Dimensions: 648px X 648px
    • File Type: .jpg or .jpeg
    • Maximum File Size: 240KB
  7. Click on the Add button .
  8. Locate the required picture from your workstation and click Open.
    • Should you require to change the picture uploaded, click on the cross found at the top left of the image
  9. Once the picture has been uploaded, tick the I confirm that the image supplied is of me and conforms to the image requirements.
  10. Click Apply

  11. Click on the Submit button, to submit your request for approval.

NOTE: Request must be approved by the Ministry's respective RFS Approvers.

One may opt to change certain details pertaining to his/ her Corp account by using the RFS Self Service Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt/myaccount.

The below instructions, guides how you one can remove the Profile Picture through the RFS self-service portal.

 

  1. Navigate to https://rfs.gov.mt/MyAccount
  2. Click on Proceed to My Account
  3. If prompted, type in your Gov Email Address and Password
  4. Click Sign in
  5. Click on the Revert icon  found under your current Profile Picture.
  6. The image will be replaced by your respective initials. (e.g. Joe Smith is displayed as SJ)
  7. Tick the I confirm that the image supplied is of me and conforms to the image requirements.
  8. Click Apply

  9. Click on the Submit button, to submit your request for approval.

NOTE: Request must be approved by the Ministry's respective RFS Approvers.

When a new account is created for government employees, a new Persona Package is provided. A Persona Package includes the below;​

  • ​​​​​​A Domain Account (Corp or Schools)
  • A government Mailbox
  • Basic Internet Access​​

All of the above services, are accessible using the same credentials (Domain Username and password). If your workstation is connected to one of the domains (Corp or Schools), the same credentials also applies to log in.​

One can change the Corp domain account password using different methods (mentioned below), depending on the requirements of the situation. All Passwords must meet a set of complexity requirements.

 

Password Complexity Guidelines
The Complexity policy settings determine if the password meet a series of guidelines (mostly mentioned hereunder) that are considered important for a strong password. ​
  • Password must not have been exposed to any danger or risks.
  • Passwords must not contain information pertaining to user such as: name, surname, ministry, department, country and city.
  • The latest 5 previous used passwords cannot be reused.
  • ​Passwords must at least be 8 characters long and contain one character from three of the following categories:
    • English uppercase characters (A through Z)
    • English lowercase characters (a through z)
    • Numbers (0 through 9)
    • Symbols (for example, + - = ( ) & % ! ? > <
    • Passwords must NOT contain three (3) or more consecutive characters of the user's username, name or surname.
Domain Password can be changed using the below methods:
 
Method 1 - Using a workstation connected to MITA's domain.
This option is used to change standard and privileged (e.g. DAS, DAU, DAC) accounts’ password using a workstation connected to the Government Network.
Requirements
  • Access to a workstation​
  • The workstation must be connected to the Government’s network (MAGNET) or VPN
  • Current password must be known
Instructions
  • Press ‘CTRL’ + ’ALT’ + ’Delete’ from a logged in workstation
  • Select Change a Password​
  • Type in the required details (Instructions below refers);​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
    • Username: Corp\surnn001 or Schoolsad\surnn001
    • Old Password: Type in current password
    • New Password: Type in a new password
    • Confirm Password: Type the new password
Method 2 - Using https://passwordchange.gov.mt/
This option allows users to change ONLY their standard CORP domain account password.
Requirements
  • A device connected to any network connection
  • Current password must be known
  • Enrolled to the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Instructions
  • Open an Internet browser and browse to https://passwordchange.gov.mt
  • Old Password: Type in the current password
  • Create New Password: Type in a new password
  • Confirm New Password: Type in again the new password
Method 3 - Using the Self-Service Password Reset
This option allows users to change ONLY their standard CORP domain account password.
Requirements
  • A device connected to any network connection
  • Must be registered to the MITA Password Reset System. More information available here.
Instructions
  • Open an Internet browser and browse to https://passwordreset.gov.mt
  • If already registered, click on Reset Password after agreeing to the Terms & Conditions
  • Type in your domain username
  • Click Next and follow the instructions provided in the portal
Method 4 - Submitting an RFS request
This option allows users to change their standard/ privileged (e.g. DAS, DAU, DAC) domain accounts’ password even if forgotten.
Requirements N/A
Instructions

Users are to contact their respective IMU/ IT Department to submit the necessary request using rfs.gov.mt​. Once the RFS request has been submitted and approved (by the respective IMU/ IT Department), an automated tool will reset the password and send it to the password proxy

NOTE: Password proxy is provided by the respective IMU/ IT Department when submitting the UAM request. Password might take up to a few minutes.

Method 5 - Using the MITA VPN service
This option allows users to change their standard and privileged (e.g. DAS, DAU, DAC) domain accounts’ password using a workstation connected to a 3rd party network via VPN
Requirements
  • A workstation connected to any network connection
  • Access to MITA VPN (using FortiClient)
  • Current password must be known
Instructions
  • Open FortiClient and connect to the Government’s network (MAGNET)
  • Once connected, Press ‘CTRL’ + ’ALT’ + ’Delete’ from a logged in workstation
  • Select Change a Password
  • Type in the required details (Instructions below refers);​​​​​​​​​​​​​
    • Username: Corp\surnn001 or Schoolsad​\surnn001
    • Old Password: Type in current password
    • New Password: Type in a new password
    • Confirm Password: Type the new password

MITA provides Microsoft's Azure Multi-Factor Authentication service that is used in conjunction with other MITA services to make their access more secure. The most common use is in conjunction with MITA's VPN service.

One must first enroll to the Multi-Factor Authentication to be able to make use of such service. Users accessing the VPN service will be prompted with the normal Corp domain credentials and a token code / approval from the multi-factor authentication service depending on the selected method.

Instruction of how to enroll for the Multifactor Authentication can be found below:

Open an internet browser and navigate to the link https://mfa.mita.gov.mt (ideally from a laptop or computer, as you require your mobile device for another step)

The below screen should appear, login using your CORP email address (name.surname@gov.mt) or UPN (surnn001@corp.root.gov.mt) and click Next

In the next page, type your CORP password and click Sign in

 

After you successfully login the below window will appear, click Next

 

 

For the following steps you require your mobile device.

The first method to setup is the Authenticator App.

As instructed in the following step, please download and install the Microsoft Authenticator  app on your mobile device. This application is available from Google play store, iPhone App Store or Windows phone store.

Once you download the app, from your computer click Next and from your mobile device open the app and tap Add Account where you will be met with the below two screens.

Computer Mobile Device

From your laptop or computer click Next. On your mobile device select Work or School account and then select Scan QR code. With your mobile device scan the QR code shown on your computer.

Computer Mobile Device
 

Once you scan the QR code, your CORP account should appear within the Microsoft Authenticator App on your mobile device. When it appears, click Next on your Computer or Laptop.

In the following screen, your Computer will show you a number which you will need to input on your mobile device, and tap Yes as shown hereunder.

Computer Mobile Device

Once you complete the above, the following screen will appear and click Next.

 

The second method to setup is your mobile number where you can approve the authentication either by a phone call or a text message.

From the following screen on your Computer, select the respective country code pertaining to your mobile number (e.g. Malta) and type in your mobile number and click Next.

If you choose for Microsoft to Call you, a robotic voice will instruct you to press # on your mobile phone and that way you will be verified. The process shown below is how you setup the SMS method.

A message from Microsoft should be received on your mobile device. Input the code received in the field as shown below and click Next.

The following window will appear indicating that the SMS was verified and click Next.

After successful completion of the above steps, the below screen will appear signifying that you are enrolled you may click Done and close the window.

 

Instructions on how to install the VPN client software on a government workstation click here​. To know how to install the VPN client software on other machines click here.

Service Email

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-ServiceInformation

The email service is the principal means of electronic communication within the Government departments and entities.

The service provided by MITA offers mail and related tools to users within Government Departments and several Government Entities.  The following is a list of features provided by this service:

  • Integrated email and calendar function
  • Access from anywhere (inc. private connections) using Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2016 or 365
  • Access from anywhere (inc. private connections) using desktop Internet browser to email, calendar, contacts and tasks via Outlook on the Web (OWA) using  https://webmail.gov.mt
  • Access to personal email and personal calendar from a mobile device (depending on device capability) using the primary personal account (note: access to shared calendar from a mobile device might be possible using third party tools not provided or supported by MITA)
  • Access to generic emails to personal email account holders
  • Send email to multiple recipients (By Default up to 200 recipients)
  • Send and receive file attachments such as MS Word and MS Excel files
  • Directory to search email addresses of other Government email users
  • Facility to store email addresses of frequently used Contacts in an address book
  • Distribution Lists / Groups​to facilitate sending an email to many recipients grouped by pre-defined categories
  • Antivirus and Anti-Spam protection
  • Message tracking including receipt notices for emails sent to Government email users
  • Ability to set designate rights for others, i.e., administrative assistants, to view Email or create meetings on your behalf
  • Calendar facility to efficiently plan and communicate meetings venue and agenda
  • Calendar facility can be used to facilitate booking of resources such as meeting rooms or other shared resources (used as a resource calendar)
  • Personalised or shared daily notes and tasks
  • Mailbox restore facility (restore to DVD if request is more than 30 days after mailbox deletion)

This Service targets a Service Level of 99.5% availability on a 24x7 basis.  Note that this target Service Level excludes unavailability of other services, such as network and workstation, on which this service depends.

SLAs for requests are specific to the type of request as below.  Note that these SLAs are applicable during MITA Office Hours only.

 

​Request Description ​SLA
​Outlook Installation, Configuration and Issues 12 hours
​​​Create / Modify / Delete distribution list 1 working day
Create / Modify / Disable / Delete email account 1 working day
​Email Access issue ​1 working day
​Email Delivery issues 1 working day
​Email Password Issues 1 working day
​Email Unquarantined 1 working day
​Increase / Decrease Mailbox Quota 1 working day
​Mailbox Restore ​​3 working days
​Ad-Hoc Email Reports ​15 working days​

 

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-ServiceDefinition

Who is entitled for the Service?

All users working under a Government Organisation who make use of MITA's service, are entitled to a Persona package; this includes a domain (Corp) account, Standard Internet access and a Government Email Service.

Personal Email Name format

The general syntax of the display name for an email address is the following:

  • ​​<Last name> <First name> at <Business Function> - e.g. Borg Joe at MITA

Subsequently the email address would take the following format:

  • <First name>.<Last name>@<domain> - e.g. joe.borg@gov.mt
  • <First name>.<Middle Initial>.<Last name>@<domain> - e.g. joe.a.borg@gov.mt

The left-hand side of the email address (i.e. the text before the @ sign) must be unique and never used before.  If the desired address is in use or was used previously by another person, a number is added to the email address as per below example:

  • <First name>.<Last name>.<next available number>@<domain> - e.g. joe.borg.1@gov.mt

The maximum number of characters the Display name (Alias) can be up to 64 characters. The email address itself can be up to 64 characters.

Examples of Business Function are:

  • An organisation (e.g. Ministry or Entity acronym)
  • A unique function across Government
  • An initiative or event

Note: Due to technical limitations with email clients, the only special characters allowed in the email address are the full stop / period ( . ) and the dash ( - ).

Generic Mailbox Name format.

Generic e-mail addresses shall take the below format:

  • <name>.<function>.<organisation name>@domain (Where name is optional)

The general syntax of the display name for an email address is the following:

  • <name>/ <function> at <organisation name> - e.g. Call Centre at MITA

Subsequently the email address would take the following format:

  • <name>.<function>.<organisation name>@<domain> - e.g. callcentre.mita@gov.mt

The maximum number of characters the Display name (Alias) can be up to 64 characters. The email address itself can be also up to 64 characters.

The left-hand side of the email address (i.e. the text before the @ sign) has to be unique and never used before.

Note: Due to technical limitations with email clients, the only special characters allowed in the email address are the full stop / period ( . ), the dash ( - ) and the underscore ( _ ).​

Mailbox size

A specific mailbox size is available according to the category under which the user falls.  When the mailbox is at

  • 90% full:An automatic warning email is received.
  • 95% full: The mailbox is no longer possible to send emails however can still receive emails.
  • 100% full: The mailbox is blocked, and no further emails can be sent or received.

Once emails have been deleted or moved to an Offline/ Archive mail, the mailbox capacity decreases under the allowed limits and normal service is automatically restored.

NOTE: Mailbox size includes the size of Calendar (including Appointments and Tasks) and any respective attachments.

The following table shows an example of possible mailbox sizes and the respective limits.

​Mailbox 90% Full ​95% Full ​100% Full
​Size ​(Receive Warning) ​(No Send) ​(No Send / Receive)
10GB (10000MB)​ 9000MB​ 9500MB​ 10000MB​
15GB (15000MB)​ 13500MB​ 14250MB​ 15000MB​
20GB (20000MB)​ ​18000MB 19000MB​ 20000MB​
​25GB (25000MB) 22500MB​ 23750MB​ 25000MB​
50GB (50000MB)​ 45000MB​ 47500MB​ 50000MB​


Attachments

It must be kept in mind that adding an attachment increases the size of the email being sent, so the attachments should be compressed (zipped) where possible.  The filename of the attachments should also be contained, and it is recommended that the file length does not exceed 50 characters.

When sending attachments from a non-gov email address to a gov email address, the mail filter blocks files with the following extensions since they may pose a security threat:

 
​ade ​adp ​bas ​bat ​chm ​cmd ​com ​cpl ​crt ​exe
​hlp ​hta ​inf ​ins ​isp ​js ​jse ​lnk ​mdb ​mde
​msc ​msi ​msp ​mst ​pcd ​pif ​reg ​scr ​sct ​shb
​s​hs ​url ​vb ​vbe ​vbs ​wmd ​wmz ​wsc ​wsf ​wsh

Any file type which is not mentioned in the above list may also be quarantined (for example, a newly identified security threat) without a prior notice for security reasons.  Files with modified extensions, password protected files and file types that are not identified by the quarantine software are also automatically blocked.

To un-quarantine emails a non-standard request has to be made.

Maximum Email size

It is always recommended to keep the email size as small as possible. Compressing files before sending them as attachments can help to reduce the size. In any case the largest size of a single email cannot exceed 20Mb. This includes both the email content and attachments.  If this maximum size is exceeded then the email is not delivered. In most cases splitting the attachments over several emails can serve as a workaround.

Maximum Number of Recipients 

If you have a justified business need to send emails to multiple recipients, the limit (by policy) to which you may do so per email is 200.  Please use this facility sparingly.

Limitations on Offline/ Archive files

The maximum size of an Outlook offline (.PST) file is 20Gb.  It is recommended that Offline files are not kept on a Network Drive while in use since this can lead to loss of offline data due to the corruption of the Offline file.

Offline is not available when using Outlook Web Access.

Limitations from Mobile Devices

Although email and calendar is accessible from mobile devices, there are Microsoft Exchange technical limitations that limit this access to the primary account.  This means that calendars that are shared to you by other persons and access to generic mailboxes is not technically possible from a mobile device

 
RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal.
 
Personal Mailbox
All employees working with a Government Organisation who make use of MITA's email service are provided with a Persona package, which includes a domain (Corp) account, Standard Internet access and a Government Email Service.
 
Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt
 
NOTE: Instructions of how to submit a new Persona Package can be found in the RFS Service Classification.
 
Generic Mailbox
 
A generic mailbox is a normal email account, with the difference that it is shared between a number of users. When granting rights to a generic mailbox, there can be these two different types of accesses that users can be assigned:
  • ​​​Send on Behalf rights allows the delegate to send messages from the mailbox. When this option is used the recipients see that the email was sent by the delegate ("<Delegate> on behalf of <Mailbox>"). However, replies to these messages are sent to the generic mailbox, not to the personal mailbox of the sender. Users assigned Send on Behalpermissions cannot make use of dedicated Outlook profiles of generic mailboxes.
  • Send As rights allows the delegate to send messages as if they came directly from the mailbox. Recipients see the emails as originating directly from the generic mailbox and there is no indication of the individual who sent the message. This can be partly mitigated by using a personal email signature within the email text. Users assigned Send As permissions can make use of dedicated Outlook profiles of generic mailboxes.
 
Such services can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt
 
NOTE: Instructions of how to submit for a New/ Modification or Deletion of a Generic Mailbox can be found in the RFS Service Classification.
 
NOTE: Users must have a personal email account to access a generic mailbox. Based on best practice, generic domain accounts are NOT associated with a generic mailbox. The reason is that is this is done there is no accountability for the mailbox and hence any operations within it may not be traceable in an audit/ investigation.​

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-HowDoIApplyForAdditionalOptions

RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal.

The below services can be applied for through the ​RFS Portalhttps://rfs.gov.mt

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit such services can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

Modify Persona Details

  • Business Justification: After an email account is created, there might be the need to modify the user details (e.g. Name, Surname, Position / Title, Department, Section / Location).

Exchange Online Archive

  • Business Justification: Office 365 mailboxes feature an online (cloud) archive service (Exchange Online Archive) intended to move (archive) emails within as a long-term repository while alleviating load from the mailbox itself. When activated, the user is presented with a new folder under the mailbox’s folder structure [Online Archive – email address] and may be managed as a normal Outlook folder.
  • The Exchange Online Archive service is attainable by design, on Government personal mailboxes only.

Additional Mailbox Size

  • Business Justification: Regular maintenance of the mailbox and the use of offline folders should always be attempted first before placing a request to increase the mailbox size.  If there is still a justified work-related need to have a mailbox larger than standard, approval from your department’s management for the additional expense is required.

Mailbox Restore

  • Business Justification: It is possible for users to recover deleted emails up to 180 days after the emails have been deleted without the need to restore the mailbox.  Please check this link ​to learn how this can be done. If this is unsuccessful, you can request for a mailbox restore to be performed by MITA.  It is important to note that when the mailbox is backed up, the information stored is a snapshot of that time (i.e. If a mail/calendar appointment is sent/received and deleted during the same day, it will not be backed up in the daily backup.One has to keep in mind the available backup dates (i.e. the date from which the restore will be made) according to the backup schedule, since this limits the date options from which a restore can be made. Refer to the below table. The backup is taken at 1800HRS daily.
 
​Backup Date Available Restore​ Mail Folder Structure 
​​​1 - 7 Days Any day up to 7 days​ ​Yes
​0 - 180 Days Self-Recover: Users can recover email from the Deleted Items
folder. Click here ​to learn more.
N/A
RFS: If Deleted Items folder was purged, a UAM request must be raised No

 

 
 

Distribution Group

  • Business Justification: Server-Side Distribution Groups are used to send an email to a large number of users.  An example of this is the DOI Information Releases that are sent by email. More technical information about Distribution Groups can be found here.

NOTE: When sending to the all email users distribution group, the maximum mail size including attachments is 20MB. This option might require another Non-Standard Request to increase the Maximum Number of Recipients.


Secure Email (AIP)

  • Business Justification: Secure Email is an email system whereby transmissions of email messages are encrypted.  Emails sent using Secure Email can only be opened by clients who also have secure mail configured at their end. This service is required where higher security is required, such as when sending confidential information via email. More information can be found here.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-HowDoIApplyForNon-StandardRequests

Consideration should be given to all cases before non-standard request are made, ensuring that a valid business need for every request.  Such requests are submitted against a deviation from one or more policies or best practices. Additional charges might also be incurred to fulfil these requests.  In some instances, there might be additional risks and liabilities that will be carried by the respective user and/or department.

Approval from your department’s management as well as your CIO / IT Manager is required before proceeding with the request.


Un-Quarantine Email

  • Business Justification: Although the GFI e-mail filter is intended to block attachments that may pose security threats, there might be a valid business reason to un-quarantine such blocked email.
  • Method: Quarantined emails can be requested for release by forwarding the email sent by the E-mail filter to callcentre.mita@gov.mt.

 

Multiple Email Addresses

  • Business Justification: If a person requires multiple email addresses pointing to the same mailbox (i.e. to the same role within government) a one or more secondary SMTP email addresses can be attached to the one physical mailbox.  The old email address is kept as secondary email address so that emails sent to the old address are not lost.  If you need to apply for a secondary SMTP use the method below.  It is important to keep in mind that The secondary SMTP email address needs to be a government email (usually @gov.mt).
  • Method: Send an email to your respective CIO or IT Manager.  If approved, your request will then be forwarded to the MITA Service Call Centre mailbox for processing.

 

NOTE 1: If the email address is in use or was previously used for a personal account pertaining to a different individual (i.e. not the same person requesting it), then the email address cannot be used. If the required email address was previously used by the same individual while in a different organisation, then approval from the previous organisation must be sought before the request can be processed.

NOTE  2:  When there is a change in user details that triggers a change in the email address (e.g. change in surname, organisation etc.) MITA automatically sets the old email address as secondary SMTP and no further requests need to be made in this regard.

 

Access Generic Mailbox from a Mobile Device

  • Business Justification: Although it is possible to access a generic email from a mobile device, care should be taken with such requests since there are some technical limitations.  A generic email can be configured to be accessed from a smartphone by only one specific person.  This specific person must also have a secondary domain account, since it is not technically possible to access a generic email from an account that has a personal mailbox associated to it.
  • Method: An email from a person who can approve RFSs is to be sent to callcentre.mita@gov.mt including the user details and the generic mailbox to be accessed​.  A secondary domain account will be created and bound to the required generic mailbox.

 

Maximum Number of Recipients

  • Business Justification: As default, users can send up to a max of 200 recipients simultaneously. Some roles include duties to send business emails to a large number of recipients.  This can be, for example, via a Distribution Group, or via a local Distribution List within the contacts.  If the number of recipients exceeds the allowed limit, then the email is not sent.  In certain cases, it might be possible to send the same communication multiple times each time including a limited number of recipients.  However, if this functionality is required on an ongoing basis a request should be made as below.

Each ministry has a generic email account (Information Release at Ministry Name) that can send bulk emails.  If the requirement to send an email to multiple users is a one-off case then this account can be used. The respective Information Management Unit should be contacted to enquire about this facility.

NOTE: ​As per email GMICT policies, bulk email should only be sent before 08:00 and after 17:00. To protect the email infrastructure, failure to comply with the policy may result in the sender account being disabled.

 

Maximum Email Size

  • Business Justification: It is always recommended to keep the email size as small as possible. Compressing files before sending them as attachments can help to reduce the size. In any case the size of a single email cannot exceed 20MB. This includes both the email content and attachments.  If this size exceeds, then the email is not delivered.  In most cases splitting the attachments over several emails can serve as a workaround.

 

Mail Forwarding to a 3rd Party Mailbox

  • Business Justification: While from security point of view it is acceptable to forward or redirect your emails to another government mailbox (click here ​to learn how to set forwarding and redirection emails), forwarding emails to a Third Party Mailbox (i.e. not hosted by MITA) should be avoided. If you have a business reason to forward emails to other providers, you need to apply for a deviation from policy.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Email-RecommendationsOfUse

Correct use of Email

  • Email should be used primarily for business purposes.  Personal use is only acceptable in limited circumstances and if it does not interfere with the performance of the Account Holder’s duties or those of other Account Holders.


Mailbox Owner

  • The Government Email service is provided for business use only, and hence it is deemed to be the property of Government. Thus, any Emails, including attachments that are created, sent, received, or printed via the Email service become the property of Government.

 

Offline/ Archive Mail

  • It is good practice to regularly clean up the mailbox (including the Deleted Items and Sent Items folders) to keep the mailbox size as low as possible.  Remember that even calendar appointments take up mailbox space.  Click hereto learn how to remove old unwanted calendar appointments.An Offline folder can be created to further reduce the size of the online mailbox.  It is recommended that regular backups of the Outlook Offline files are taken on media such as DVDs, USB Pen Drives, Archive Space R: drive (if you have the service enabled)  or External Hard Disks (you cannot store PST files on H: and P: folder ).  However, it is important to keep in mind that Microsoft neither supports nor recommends the use of PST files on a network drive.  This means that although you can back up onto a network drive that allows you to do so (such as R: if available - you cannot back up on P: or H:), the offline file being used must be stored on your local hard disk. This warning can be found within a Microsoft web page here​.Since offline is in effect a local file, the offline file must be available to view or update offline email.  This means that although online features are available from anywhere using Microsoft Outlook Clients, the offline file must be available on the workstation being used in order to be accessed.

NOTE: Microsoft recommends keeping the size of a .pst file to less than 20GB for MS Outlook 2007 but it is recommendable to try to keep it much less than that.  Keep in mind that if this file is damaged or corrupted then you will possibly lose all the offline mail within that file.

 

SPAM, Phishing and Spoofing

    • SPAM is the use of email to send unsolicited messages, usually for advertising purposes. MITA has a service in place to try to prevent as much as possible such emails from arriving to your inbox.  However, it is not always technically possible to detect such emails without the risk of blocking legitimate ones.  For this reason, emails that are likely to be spam will still be delivered to your inbox but will have the mail subject prefixed by "[SPAM] - " so you can easily recognise and archive such mails.  You can click hereto learn how to set a rule in Microsoft Outlook so that emails tagged as SPAM are automatically moved to a specific folder.  However, one must keep in mind that there are technical constraints and the automated systems cannot be 100% accurate.  To be entirely sure whether an email is SPAM or not one needs to contact the sender to verify the validity of the email.

 

    • Phishing is similar to SPAM, but the sender is explicitly attempting to gain sensitive information from you, such as logins, passwords or credit card details.  In essence phishing emails rely on social engineering techniques to deceive users to willingly provide information to untrusted third parties.  Such emails are usually made to seem legitimate emails coming from popular web sites, and might sometimes press you by stating that your account will be closed or that your account has been compromised.  It is important not to click on any links and especially not to provide any password in such links.  The provided link is usually to a fake web site that may seem identical to the legitimate one.

 

  • Spoofing is a method of sending emails (usually phishing emails or emails containing viruses/malware) that seem to originate from legitimate senders.  Thus you might receive an email from a person you know when in fact it was send from a malicious sender or from a virus on this person's workstation.

NOTE: In all cases, if in doubt do not open suspicious emails and attachments. You may consult with MITA by forwarding the suspicious email (as an attachment .msg) to callcentre.mita@gov.mt.

 

Use of Distribution Lists and Distribution Groups

  • When the business requires emails to be sent to many recipients, it might be better to put the recipients in the Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc) field while addressing the email to your own email address. This way the individual recipients would not be able to view the email addresses of all the other recipients. It is always recommended to limit the attachment size as much as possible and send such emails outside office hours, since such emails can generate higher load on the email servers and on the network. Emails that are not related to the business of the respective department, such as chain emails, should not be sent.

 

Attachments

  • Attachments facilitate the exchange of electronic documents between users.  In most cases compressing the files before attaching them greatly reduces the email size.  Attachments from unknown senders should not be opened.

 

Access from a Mobile Device

 

  • Access to email from mobile devices is dependent on the make and model of the device and also upon the software installed on the mobile phone model.  Refer to the Email - Technical Questions and Answers section for configuration instructions.
Service Internet

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-ServiceInformation

The service provided by MITA offers Internet to users within Government Departments and several Government Entities.  The following is a list of features provided by this service:

  • Authentication using the CORP or Embassies domain login and password
  • Access of Internet from multiple workstations simultaneously using the same account
  • Internet Filter that blocks access to potentially harmful sites
  • Web sites grouped by categories to facilitate level of access
  • Security appliances in place to prevent illegal access to the government network from the internet
  • Caching of HTTP websites for improved performance

NOTE: The Internet filter for users within schools is managed by the Ministry of Education.

This Service targets a Service Level of 99.6% availability on a 24x7 basis. Note that this target Service Level excludes unavailability of other services, such as network and workstation, on which this service depends.  SLAs for requests are specific to the type of request as below.  Note that these SLAs are applicable during MITA Office Hours only.

 
​​​​​Request Description​​ SLA
​Internet Access issue​s 19 hours
​​​​Create / Modify / Delete Internet Account ​1 working day
​​​Internet Filter issues (within MITA's control)​​ 19 hours
​​Internet Performance Issues ​19 hours
​​Generation of standard internet report ​​5 days
​​Generation of ad-hoc Internet reports 30 working days
 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-ServiceDefinition

RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal.

 

Who is entitled for the Service?

  • All Government employees who make use of MITA's email service are provided with a Persona package, which includes a domain (Corp) account, Standard Internet access and a Government Email Service.Most users authenticate the Internet Service automatically, once logged in to the workstation, using the Single Sign On (SSO) technology. Workstations not connected to the MAlta Government NETwork (MAGNET) must authenticate to the Internet by logging in to https://logon.gov.mt​using the Corp domain credentials.Any additional internet packages are granted following requests via the RFS Portalhttps://rfs.gov.mt. This service is available only to sites that are connected to the MAGNET

 

Internet Packages

    • The Internet service provided by MITA offers a more secure browsing experience by regulating access according to the category of sites which a user is allowed to view.  This is facilitated by an industry standard web filtering back-end system that sets a specific category (or categories) for each web site.

 

    • Each internet user has access to one or more packages and each package can access a pre-defined list of categories. Thus, to be able to view a particular site the user must have the respective internet package that allows access to the category of the site being accessed.  To view the complete list of the categories that can be accessed by each package please click

 

    • It must be noted that MITA does not have control on these categories and although recommendations on incorrect categories can be made upon request, it is up to the discretion of the supplier to accept or discard such recommendations.  One must also keep in mind that it takes some time for new websites to be properly categorised by the system.

 

    • When a new internet account is created, the Standard Internet Access Package is given by default. Users can have further access by applying for additional Internet Packagesaccording to the business needs either during the account creation or at a later stage.

 

  • The following is the list of Internet Packages provided by MITA. Some of the Internet Packages, must be applied for through the User And Access Management (UAM) system, https://rfs.gov.mt.

NOTE: This list does not apply to users in schools since these have a different set-up managed by personnel from the ministry of Education).

 

​Internet Package Name    How to Apply
​Internet Standard ​Provided b​y default as part of the Persona Package
​Internet Standard Plus ​UAM Request
​Internet Restricted ​UAM Request​
​Internet Prohibitive ​UAM Request​
​No Internet
 
 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit a new Persona Package can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

Most users authenticate the Internet Service automatically, once logged in to the workstation, using the Single Sign On (SSO) technology. However, users who are not connected to the MAlta Government NETwork (MAGNET) must authenticate to the Internet by logging in to https://logon.gov.mt​ using the Corp domain credentials.

The internet service is configured to request authentication after 12 hours from when the internet was initially accessed (i.e. credentials were provided to login) even if the connection is being used.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-HowDoIApplyForTheService 

RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal. 

Internet Account

  • Business Justification:Internet is used to search and access information related to the line of business of the respective user.  All users who have a government email account are automatically granted standard internet access.

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit a new Persona Package can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-HowDoIApplyForAdditionalOptions

RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal.

The below services can be applied for through the ​RFS Portalhttps://rfs.gov.mt

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit such services can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

Additional Internet Packages

  • Business Justification: If the business needs require access to additional Internet Packages other than the Standard package provided with the Persona Package, one can apply for additional Internet Packages.

 

Internet Audit History Report

  • Business Justification: There might be cases when information about the internet activity made by a specific Internet account is required by the user’s superiors.  MITA offers the facility to request an audit history of Internet related activity.  The information provided includes the Internet address of sites accessed and the respective date and time stamp.  A standard report can generate information on the last 60 days of activity, while an ad-hoc report can also get older data.  The latter takes more time to compile.

 

Internet Reports:

  • Standard Internet Report - Current & Previous Month
  • Ad-Hoc Internet Report - Older than the last 2 months

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-HowDoIApplyForNon-StandardRequests

Consideration should be given to all cases before non-standard request are made, ensuring that a valid business need for every request.  Such requests are submitted against a deviation from one or more policies or best practices. Additional charges might also be incurred to fulfil these requests.  In some instances, there might be additional risks and liabilities that will be carried by the respective user and/or department.

 

RFS are submitted by the respective IMU or IT department.  Any related cost is indicated within RFS Portal.

The below services can be applied for through the ​RFS Portalhttps://rfs.gov.mt


NOTE
: Instructions of how to submit such services can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

​​​Access the Prohibitive Package

  • Business Justification:If your work requires you to access sites that fall under the Prohibitive Package, then the request can be made as below. The request is vetted and approved by the MITA Information Security Department before it is processed.

 

Unauthenticated Web Site

  • Business Justification:  Un-Authenticated sites contain pages that need to be be accessed by everyone on the Magnet without the need to have a MITA Internet Account. All sites that end .gov.mt are an example of such sites.  Due to the business nature of a particular site, there can be a need to have it accessible to all Government users i.e. make the site as un-authenticated. All requests are evaluated by the MITA Security Department and their final approval is required to process such requests.

NOTE: Users from within schools do not follow this process.

Deviation​ from policy content:  Electronic Mail and Internet Services Directive

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Internet-RecommendationsOfUse

Like any other password, Internet account passwords should NOT be shared.  It has to be kept in mind that in the majority of the cases your internet password is also your email password, which makes sharing the password even worse.

The Internet account provided by MITA is a personal account, and the responsibility of such account relies on the Permitted User.  The GMICT Security Policy specifies that passwords should never be shared or stored in a visible location.  Additionally, the activity carried out be other users utilising a shared account will be attributed to the Account holder and s/he will be held responsible for such activity.

 

Disconnecting from the Internet

 

  • When using a Workstation that is shared by other persons it is good practice to disconnect and log off from the internet.  To logoff go to http://logoff.gov.mt/


Audio and Video Streaming

 

  • Audio and Video streaming takes up more bandwidth than a normal website, and for this reason special attention should be made when frequently accessing sites providing these services (e.g. sites allowing you to listen to radio or watch video clips).  There should be valid business requirements for individuals to access such sites
Service Workstation

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-ServiceInformation

A Workstation is a Desktop Computer or a Laptop within a site that is connected to the government network (Magnet) and joined to a MITA managed Windows domain. It also includes any government owned peripherals attached to it.

Support is only given on contracted workstations.  All contracted workstations have an inventory label with a unique identification number, also referred to as the Inventory number.  This number is registered in systems within MITA to facilitate the identification of Contracted Workstations.  For all workstation related requests, the respective inventory number has to be provided by the user before the request can be logged.

There are three different kinds of labels, with the old Inventory Labels being phased out.  The Inventory Labels on PCs are usually attached on to the top left hand corner of the PC case, while on Laptops these are normally found  on the bottom side of the case.

inventory stickers

The service provided on workstations can be Software support, Hardware support or both, depending on how the particular workstation is contracted.  Hardware support is any intervention that requires the servicing of hardware components within the Workstation.

 
The following is an overview of the Software support provided:
  • Configuration of workstations for network access
  • Troubleshooting Operating System issues
  • Configuration of printers and other peripherals
  • Assistance in installing Line of Business software
  • Installing and supporting Corporate Software
  • Reinstallation of workstations (if required to solve technical issues) using a standard predefined image
  • Centrally managed Operating System patch updates
  • Centrally managed Power Management features (excluding health related workstations)
  • Centrally managed Antivirus / Endpoint updates and configuration
  • Remote support using Microsoft SCCM
  • Remote deployment of applications using SCCM where available
  • On Site support (where necessary) during Service Hours
 
The following is an overview of the Hardware support provided:
  • Installation, configuration and commissioning for new workstations.
  • Diagnosis, troubleshooting and repair of hardware.
  • On Site Support during Service Hours.
 
The service explicitly excludes support on the following types requests (the standard SLAs are not applicable when servicing such types of requests) :
  • Support outside Normal Working Hours unless explicitly contracted.
  • Hardware Repairs and Replacements on workstations that are not contractually covered for this service.
  • Consumables such as mice, keyboards, laptop batteries, printer toner and cartridges.
 
When bulk installations or movement of workstations are required on a number of multiple workstations, the work has to be prioritized so as to minimize impact on the provision of service. For this reason and for the fact that such work usually takes more time to complete, different SLAs may apply in such scenarios as per the below table:
 
​​No of impacted workstation
​​SLA Priority
​1-4 ​2
​​​​5-25 ​3
​​​>25​ ​Time & Material​
 
 
This Service targets 90% of all requests to be solved within their respective Service Level.  Each workstation can have SLA 1 or SLA 2 assigned to it. This is set by MITA as requested by the respective CIO and stored within the MITA systems to facilitate the identification of the SLA during the provision of the service.  SLA 3 is used for bulk requests as indicated above.
 
 
Note that these SLAs are applicable during respective Service Hours only unless indicated otherwise.
 
 
Workstation Incidents SLAs for Government (excluding schools)
​​Service Hours: Monday to Friday 07.45 - 17.15  (excludes Public Holidays)
Request Description SLA
​SLA 1 workstation request ​​4.5 hrs
​SLA 2 workstation request ​12 hrs
​​SLA 3 workstation request ​5 working days

 

Workstation Incidents SLAs for Schools
Service Hours: Monday to Friday 08.00 - 14.00  (excludes Public and School Holidays)
Request Description SLA
​SLA 1 workstation request ​​n/a
​SLA 2 workstation request ​15 hrs​
​​SLA 3 workstation request ​5 working days
 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-ServiceDefinition

 

Who is entitled for the Service?

  • All government employees using contracted workstations are entitled for workstation support within contracted sites.

 

Remote Support

  • Where possible and feasible MITA will try to connect remotely to contracted workstations to perform better first line support and attempt remote resolution.  Remote support is done using Microsoft SCCM technology where the remote session is triggered by MITA and the user will be asked to approve the connection before it starts. If this fails MITA can also opt to use Bomgar by requesting the user to go to https://bomgar.gov.mtand select the appropriate agent from the list (as instructed by MITA). Simple on-screen instructions will guide the user to allow the MITA agent to connect to your workstation.  MITA can also provide a session key that will be entered by the user in this website to initiate the remote support session.  Alternatively, MITA can send an email with a link that will take the user directly to the remote support session after approval is granted.

 

Remote Support

  • Contracted Workstations have to be configured according to best operational practices adopted by MITA.  This configuration includes the following:
    • Connection to the government network.
    • MITA standard antivirus software.
    • Standard Netbios naming convention that uniquely identifies each workstation according the the inventory label number.
    • Initial installation that contains a standard set of approved software.

 

Centralised Configuration

  • Workstations that are installed with the standard configuration benefit from the below centrally managed services:
    • Automatic antivirus definition updates
    • Automatic Windows updates
    • Version updates of specific software included within the standard configuration
    • Group Policies (GPOs and GPPs) configured in a way to protect the operating system files from accidental or malicious deletion and/or modification
    • Screen saver that triggers after 15 minutes of inactivity, automatically locking the workstation, requiring credentials to resume working for security reasons
    • Access to approved virtual applications, most of which are automatically installed when a user logs on a new workstation
    • Power management settings

 

Power Management

  • In collaboration with the Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit (SEWCU), MITA sets power management settings on workstations connected to CORP domain.  The scope of this change is to have the workstations configured in a more energy efficient manner, thus resulting in less power consumption. The settings configured are as below (any user settings are superseded):

     

    • PCs and Laptops connected to the mains / power adapter:
      • Display is turned off automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity.
      • PC / Laptop is put in sleep mode after 30 minutes of inactivity.
    • Laptops using the battery:
      • Display is turned off automatically after 5 minutes of inactivity.
      • Laptop is put in sleep mode after 15 minutes of inactivity.

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-HowDoIApplyForTheService

 

Procurement of a Workstation

  • Workstation for a new user or changing an obsolete one. Requests for the procurement of a new PC / Laptop have to be channelled through the respective IMU or IT department who will, in turn send a request to mita@gov.mt.  Unless otherwise requested, workstations that are procured through the standard MITA procurement process are automatically added to the support contract.

 

Adding a Workstation to Support Contract

  • In some cases it might be required to make use of a workstation that was procured by other means or was received as a donation.  However, if such a PC / Laptop is required to be connected to a MITA managed NT domain and / or support is required then it has to be contracted. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit Workstation Configuration - Add Workstation to Support Contract can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

Removing a Workstation from Support Contract

  • Whenever support is no longer required on  a workstation, such as when it is written off, an RFS has to be raised to ensure that it is removed from the support contract.  This change would be reflected in subsequent invoices. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit Workstation Configuration - Remove Workstation to Support Contract can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-HowDoIApplyForAdditionalOptions

 

Additional Microsoft Products Installation

  • Business Justification: Microsoft products which require a license, and which were not part of the standard workstation installation need to be procured before they can be installed.  Since these products come at a cost it is important to ensure that the license is required and whether an alternative free product (such as a compatible viewer) can be used instead. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to apply, transfer and remove license on MS VisoMS ProjectMS Dynamic 365 or MS Power BI Pro Contract can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

Line of Business Software Installation

  • Business Justification: The Workstations come pre-installed with a defined set of standard software.  In several cases the user might need additional software to be able to perform the required work.  In these cases, the Software Installation Procedure must be followed (including the SIRA form​) to ensure that licensing and security concerns are considered appropriately.  If the request is approved by the respective CIO or IT manager then the below eRFS has to be raised if MITA is required to assist in the software installation.  In this case it is important that the user has the software installation medial / files before the RFS is raised except in those cases where the application is virtualised. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit Line of Business Software Installation can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

NOTE: If software that is part of the Security Classified List needs to be installed please refer to the Installing Software in the Security Classified List section found in the page Workstation - How do I apply for Non-Standard Requests?

 

 

Movement of Workstation

  • Business Justification: When PCs and Laptops are moved from one site to another both technical and administrative interventions might be required.  The workstations might have to be commissioned as necessary (e.g. printer installation and configuration). The Asset Management System also must be updated for each computer that is moved. MITA and its Suppliers can provide technical assistance to move computers if notice is given in advance as per table below.

    Whenever the Logging Process requires an RFS (RFS classification: Movement of Workstation) the current organisation (i.e. the organisation that currently own the asset, according to AMS) must raise an RFS, after obtaining the necessary approval from the asset destination organisation (i.e the new organisation the asset will go to).

N° of
W/stations
Across
Orgs?
MITA
Assistance
Required?​
SLA
Priority
Logging
Process​
​​1 - 4 ​Yes​ ​​Yes ​2 ​eRFS
​No ​n/a ​eRFS
​ No ​Yes ​2 ​Phone or Email
​No ​n/a ​n/a
​​​ 5 - 25 ​Yes ​Yes ​3 ​eRFS
​No ​n/a ​eRFS​
​ ​No ​Yes ​3 ​Phone or Email
​No ​n/a ​n/a
> 25​ ​ ​Yes ​Yes ​Separate
project
​eRFS
​No ​n/a ​eRFS
No​​ ​Yes ​Separate
project​
​eRFS​
​No ​​n/a ​n/a

 

 

File Sharing System (FSS)

  • Business Justification: FSS is a shared Network folder which allows users to upload data and share it with other members. FSS is similar to any other folder within the Operating System, however not effecting the workstation's storage. Only users who are granted permissions can access and view data. Data is backed up regularly, therefore should there be any data loss, an RFS can be raised to restore the said data. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

     

    NOTE: Instructions of how to apply, transfer and remove license on MS VisoMS ProjectMS Dynamic 365 or MS Power BI Pro Contract can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

Backup Date Available Restore​
​​​1 - 30/31 days Any day​
​1 - 6 Month(s) First Friday of any Month​

 

NOTE: Backups are retained by MITA for only 6 months.

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-HowDoIApplyForNon-StandardRequests

 

Consideration should be given to all cases before non-standard request are made, ensuring that a valid business need for every request.  Such requests are submitted against a deviation from one or more policies or best practices. Additional charges might also be incurred to fulfil these requests.  In some instances, there might be additional risks and liabilities that will be carried by the respective user and/or department.

 

Approval from your department’s management as well as your CIO / IT Manager is required before proceeding with the request.

 

 

Removal of GPOs​

  • Business Justification: The government standard workstation is configured centrally via Group Policy Objects (GPO) to enhance the endpoint security.  Sometimes it might be required to remove the GPOs on a workstation and to grant local administrator rights on the same workstation.  Such cases might be to allow end users to install drivers on laptops that are being used outside government premises, or for legacy software that is not compatible with GPOs.  However to eliminate software issues it must be emphasised that before any software is procured, its compatibility with GPOs should be confirmed. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit an RFS related to Remove/ Enforce GPOs can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

Modify GPO for list of Trusted Sites ​

  • Business Justification: The government standard workstation is centrally configured via Group Policy Objects (GPO) to enhance the endpoint security.  One GPO which is centrally enforced is a list of sites that the workstations’ internet browser should trust.  Sometimes it might be required to modify (include/remove) this list of sites for a particular in-house built website to be allowed to function properly. To add / remove a website URL from the trusted site list, an Email from an RFS approver must be sent to callcentre.mita@gov.mt.

 

NOTE:  Proof of testing must be provided to make sure that this modification solves the intended issues without creating undesired impact. ​

 

Remove Power Management

  • Business Justification:Some workstations might have a business or technical (e.g. workstation has a local printer connected to it that is shared with other users) justification that requires the workstation NOT to have centrally set power management. Health Workstations are excluded from central Power Management configuration and thus should not be impacted. It can take up to 1 day (with workstation switched on) for Power Management settings changes to take effect after being centrally modified.​ Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit Remove/ Enforce Power Management Setting can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

Screen Saver Timeout

  • Business Justification:Due to the nature of the work procedures within some specific departments (especially in Mater Dei Hospital and the Health sector in general), there is an option for a longer screen saver timeout period to be set.  Once can also apply for the removal of the centrally managed screen lock feature and set it to managed by user. The standard screensaver timeout is 15 minutes, but options for 45 minutes (Health only), 6.5 hours (Health only) and no screen saver.  If the option is selected the respective user must ensure that the required screen saver timeout has been configured. ​Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit User Screensaver Timeout  can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

Installing Software in the Security Classified List

  • Business Justification: The Software Installation Procedure contains a Security Classified List which is essentially a list of application types that cannot be requested as part of this procedure.   If software that is part of the Security Classified List needs to be installed, then a deviation from policy has to be raised.

    Deviation​ from policy content:  Software Installation Procedure

 

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#Workstation-RecommendationsOfUse

 

Data Backups

  • As specified in the Personal Computer Configuration Policy, it is every employee’s responsibility to ensure that all data that has a continuing value to the Government is stored on corporately governed and managed repositories.  Backups should be carried out on a regular basis and it is recommended that at least the latest 3 backups are kept. Thus, MITA is notresponsible for backups on user's workstations. However, if requested assistance is provided so that the User is able to perform data backup and restore.

 

 

Job Sheets

  • Job Sheets are used whenever a MITA agent or representative performs a site visit.  It is a means of confirmation by the user that a request has been serviced as described, as well to document any further required actions.  A Job sheet must be filled in for every site visit that is performed. There will be multiple job sheets for the same call if multiple site visits were performed.  It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that the details entered are correct and reflect the actual work carried out.  The client then fills in his details in the appropriate area and signs off the Job Sheet.

 

The client can request to take a photocopy of the filled in job sheet.  The client should always keep a copy of the job sheet whenever hardware is being picked up or delivered back.

 

 

Offline Mail

  • It is good practice to regularly clean up the mailbox (including the Deleted Items and Sent Items folders) to keep the mailbox size as low as possible.  An Offline folder can be created to further reduce the size of the online mailbox.  It is recommended that regular backups of the Outlook Offline files are taken on media such as DVDs, USB Pen Drives or External Hard Disks.

 

Since offline is in effect a local file, the offline file must be available to view or update offline email.  This means that although online features are available from anywhere using Microsoft Outlook Clients, the offline file must be available on the workstation being used to be accessed.

 

 

Sharing of Folders

  • Folders on workstations should not be shared to other users since the security levels of such setup is not robust enough.  Sharing of data between users should be made by using shared folders on OA servers.
Service VPN

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-ServiceInformation

 

The Virtual Private Network (VPN) service provides secure remote access to systems hosted at MITA over standard personal internet connectivity. The service provided by MITA is offered to the following using personal domain accounts:

 

  • Users within government who need to access applications or Office Automation folders from home; (teleworking)
  • Third party suppliers who need to provide support on services hosted at MITA
 
 
The VPN service provides the following facilities:
 
  • Connection using agent software on Windows, Mac and Linux
  • Use of any broadband connection provided by third party suppliers
  • Multi factor authentication to provide another layer of security via software secure tokens offering various methods of authentication (end users are not charged for phone calls or text messages sent as part of the multi factor authentication service, but phone owners may incur roaming-related or other costs from their telephone carriers to receive the phone calls or text messages)
 
This Service targets a Service Level of 99.5% availability on a 24x7 basis.  Note that this target Service Level excludes unavailability of other services, such as network and workstation, on which this service depends.
 
SLAs for requests are specific to the type of request as below.  Since the VPN service heavily depends on the Secure Token service, SLAs for both services are listed.  Note that these SLAs are applicable during MITA Office Hours only and exclude the time during which client action is required.
 
​​Request Description SLA
​Create / Delete VPN account​ with token 1 working day
​​Create / Modify / Delete VPN profile ​5 working days
​Secure Token access issue​ ​19 hours
​Secure Token query ​​19 hours​

Who is entitled for the Service?

  • The Virtual Private Network (VPN) service can be granted to government employees or suppliers who need to access systems hosted at MITA.


Multi Factor Authentication

  • To make the service more secure, to access the VPN service users must provide both their domain credentials as well as multi factor authentication.  Various methods of multi factor authentication can be set by the user.  More information about this can be found here​.


Terms and Conditions

  • When using the MITA VPN service users are bound by the Terms and Conditions as found here.


Use of Domain Account for Secure Token

  • A personal CORP account is required to be used in conjunction with the Secure Token every time a user needs to connect to the VPN service.  Thus it is mandatory to have a domain account to make use of this service.

Third party suppliers / contractors performing work for multiple organisations (Ministries and Entities) must have a separate personal domain account for each organisation they support.  This is because each organisation can request the deletion of the supplier's specific domain account when the supplier's services for that organisation are no longer required.

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-HowDoIApplyForTheService

 

Create VPN Account

  • Business Justification: Users who require to access systems hosted at MITA from third party connections (e.g. from home) or suppliers who need to perform support on systems hosted on the MAGNET. Accesses are granted according to the VPN profile that is determined by the user's Organisation, Department and Section.  When applying for users who need to have new accesses (i.e. new VPN profile) then you must also raise an RFS for a new VPN Profile Group. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit an RFS to apply for a VPN Account can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

Delete VPN Account

  • Business Justification: To remove VPN access to a user who no longer require having VPN account, a UAM request must be submitted. Users who no longer are government employee, VPN access is revoked automatically once the Persona Package is deleted. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit an RFS to revoke a VPN Account can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

 

VPN Profile Group

  • Business Justification: VPN profile groups dictated what accesses are allowed via VPN.  For example, each ministry has its own access to systems that are specific for the respective ministry.  More information about this can be found in the CIO portal.  Client's suppliers using VPN often have their own VPN profile group to limit access to the systems that they support. If changes to VPN profiles / groups (e.g. VPN access to a new system) is required, a request must be raised. Such service can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit an RFS to Create/ Modify or Delete VPN Profile can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-HowDoIApplyForAdditionalOptions

 

Change Multi-Factor Authentication Method

  • Business Justification: In most cases the multi factor authentication method can be changed by the user as indicated here​.  In some cases, such as when the registered phone / mobile number are not accessible, then the user must send an email from his personal government email to the generic SCC mailbox.  Alternatively, an RFS approver from the user's organisation can send an email on the user's behalf to callcentre.mita@gov.mt​.

Consideration should be given to all cases before non-standard request are made, ensuring that a valid business need for every request.  Such requests are submitted against a deviation from one or more policies or best practices. Additional charges might also be incurred to fulfil these requests.  In some instances, there might be additional risks and liabilities that will be carried by the respective user and/or department.

 

Approval from your department’s management as well as your CIO / IT Manager is required before proceeding with the request.

 

Remote Desktop Connection

  • Business Justification:Although it is not recommendable due to the risk it carries, there might be business and technical requirement to allow the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) over the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service.

 

Method: The normal RFS has to be used (refer to the section VPN - How do I apply for the Service) but further security vetting for such a request will have to be conducted.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#VPN-RecommendationsOfUse

 

Below are some considerations for the correct use of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service.

 

Security Considerations

  • The VPN service is coupled with the multi-factor authentication to provide a more secure service.  It is important to keep this in mind when selecting the multi-factor authentication method.  For example, selecting a phone number that is also accessible by other persons is not good practice. Similarly, if your mobile is used for one of the methods, ensure that you always keep it in sight and that it is kept locked.

 

Service Archive Space

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#ArchiveSpace-ServiceInformation

 

The Archive Space service allows users to temporary store / copy work related data on a networked drive that is NOT BACKED UP.

 

This service is provided to users on workstations connected to the CORP domains only.  To be able to apply for this service, users must already have an existing CORP account. The following is a list of features provided by this service:

  • Access to a specific named user to archive space that is not backed up
  • Default 2GB of space with various optional increments
  • Network drive R: automatically mapped on workstations connected to government network (including when connected via VPN)
  • No restrictions on file types

 

This Service targets a Service Level of 99.5% availability on a 24x7 basis.  Note that this target Service Level excludes unavailability of other services, such as network and workstation, on which this service depends.

 

SLAs for requests are specific to the type of request as below.  Note that these SLAs are applicable during MITA Office Hours only.

 
​​Request Description ​SLA
​Create / Modify / Delete Archive Space access ​1 working day
​Operational issues ​1 working day​
 
 
Who is entitled for the Service?
 
  • This service is available upon request to users who have a valid CORP / EMBASSIES account and whose workstation is connected to the CORP / EMBASSIES domain.
 
Network Drive Mapping
 
  • When this service is provided, users have to log off and on again to see the new network drive R: mapped along with the other network drives.  This mapping is similarly removed when the service is revoked.
 
Use of Archive Space
 
  • There is no restriction on what type of data is stored in the Archive Space, so for example it can be used to keep copies of offline mail or media files. Each Archive Space is for use by a named personal account, and cannot be shared with other users.

    It is important to keep in mind that this space is NOT BACKED UP and so one should not depend on this space as the sole repository of data.  This is very similar to storing data on a pen drive or on an external hard disk – hardware can fail or data can get accidentally erased, and if the only copy of your data is on such devices the data is lost.

 
Archive Space Size
 
  • The following packages for space sizes are available for this service. Similar to other networked and physical drives, when the size limit is reached it will not be possible to store more data until some older data is removed or the size is increased.

    2GB, 5GB, 10GB, 15GB, 20GB, 25GB, 50GB

 
Users Moving Across Organisations
 
  • Once a person is entitled for this service, it is retained until a specific request for deletion is raised.  This means that the data is retained even when users move from one organisation to another, providing that they meet the entitlement criteria.
 
Limitations
 
  • Since the data stored on Archive Spaces is not backed up, there is no possibility to request file restore should data be accidentally erased or corrupted.​

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#ArchiveSpace-HowDoIApplyForTheService

 

Archive Space

  • Business Justification: Require online space to store data files of any type on an environment that is not backed up. Service to Create/ Modify or Delete Archive Space account can be applied for through the RFS Portal, https://rfs.gov.mt.

 

NOTE: Instructions of how to submit a new Persona Package can be found in the RFS Service Classification.

Currently there are no additional options available for this service.

Currently there are no non-standard options available for this service.

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#ArchiveSpace-RecommendationsOfUse

 

Below are some considerations for the use of the Archive Spaces service.

 

Offline PST Files

  • Although a backup of the PST files can be stored on the Archive Space R: drive, the PST file should be a copy and NOT the actual one being used.  Microsoft neither supports nor recommends the use of PST files on a network drive.

 

This warning can be found within a Microsoft web page here​.

 

Keep Copies of Data

  • Since this service is not backed up, it is imperative that you do not keep the sole copy of your data in the Archive Space.  If for any reason your data on the Archive Space becomes corrupted, lost, or unavailable MITA will not be in a position to provide any assistance or recovery solution.

 

Legal Matters

  • Although the Archive Space is for use by a single personal account, one must ensure that the data stored is work related and no illegal files (such as unlicensed copyrighted material) are stored. ​
Microsoft Office 365

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#AIP-HowToUseAzureInformationProtectionAIP

Secure Mail has been migrated to the Azure platform and has been expanded to cater its security features on other MS Office applications, such as Word documents.

Click here for instructions on how to make use of the Azure Information Protection(AIP).

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#MSTeams-HowDoIShareMyScreenInAChat

When you're chatting with one or more people in Teams, you can instantly share your screen. Click here to find out how.

In order to make use of an Office 365 package your CORP Account or Workstation must be assigned a license.

To check whether your account has a license, and if so, which type of Office 365 license, kindly follow the below steps:

  1. Kindly navigate to the link https://rfs.gov.mt/MyAccount
  2. Click on Proceed to My Account

3. If prompted, please sign in with your CORP credentials.

4. Once the page loads, kindly scroll down till you reach the Core Services Section, where in the Other Services box you will have the Microsoft Office 365 license listed (eg: Microsoft 365 E1, Microsoft 365 E3 or Microsoft 365 E5)

 

To confirm whether your Shared Workstation has an Office 365 license assigned to it, kindly click here

In order to make use of an Office 365 package your CORP Account or Workstation must be assigned a license.

To confirm whether your Shared Workstation has an Office 365 license assigned to it, kindly follow the below steps:

  1. From the Windows Taskbar, search for Word

2. From the left side menu, click on Account

3. If beneath the Product information Section, you have written Belongs to: This device as shown in the screenshot, then the license being used is of the Workstation.

 

To check whether your account has a license, and if so, which type of Office 365 license, kindly click here

 

To install Microsoft Office 365 on Mac OS using the E3/E5 license provided with your CORP account, kindly follow the steps found in this link
 
 

https://mita.gov.mt/call-centre/#OneDrive-HowDoIBackupMyFilesUsingOneDrive

 

1. Data Backup with Office 365 E1 License

NB - With an Office 365 E1 license a user will access Office 365 apps online only and will have the OneDrive sync option enabled.

a. Navigate to www.office.com, and sign in with your CORP credentials (e.g. name.surname@gov.mt)
b. Once you are in, you can create, access and work on documents with the Office online web version.
c. By default, the below folders are automatically included in your OneDrive.

Desktop
Documents
Pictures

d. If you are working on a word document, select File and choose Save As.
e. Select one of the above folders from location. To list all these folders select ‘more save locations’.
f. Enter name of the file and the extension the file is to be saved in.
g. Click on Save Here.
h. Any folders/files placed in the above folders will be automatically backed up on OneDrive

If you want to upload files which you would have saved locally on your workstation (C: Drive) follow these steps:
a. Access www.office.com
b. Click on the App Launcher at the top-left and select the OneDrive icon

c. Select the OneDrive file directory where you want to upload your files.
d. Click on Upload and locate your files saved locally on your workstation (C: Drive).
e. The selected files will be uploaded on OneDrive and saved under the selected file directory.

 

2. Data Backup with an Office 365 E3 / E5 License on the primary Government device

NB - With an E3 license a user will have Office 365 desktop apps installed on their primary Government device and will have the OneDrive sync option enabled.

a. Check that OneDrive app is installed by confirming a blue cloud is present in the tray as shown.

b. Click on the workstation start button. In the search box enter OneDrive


c. Double click on OneDrive app.

d. Confirm that the below three folders are created on your workstation.

e. Locate the path which you would have used to save your files locally on your workstation (C: Drive).
f. Copy the files that you want to backup in one of the above three folders.
g. Any folders/files placed in the above folders will be automatically backed up on OneDrive

Alternatively, you can save a document or file, by following the below steps.
a. If you are working on a Word document, select File and choose Save As.
b. Select OneDrive – Malta Information Technology Agency
c. Enter the name of the file and the extension the file is to be saved in.
d. Click the Save button.

 

3. Data Backup with any Office 365 license on a shared device with Office 365 apps per device installed

NB: A user having any Office 365 license (E1, E3 or E5) using a common Government shared device, will have the Office 365 desktop apps installed on the workstation BUT the OneDrive sync option is disabled.

a. In such case, you may follow the method used in the Office 365 E1 License (above) since the OneDrive app is not available on the shared device, only the online version is available. This means that the backup and saving of files will not occur automatically, hence it needs to be performed manually.

 

To know what type of license has been assigned to your CORP account or to the workstation you are using click on the respective link hereunder:

License associated with my CORP Account

License assigned to my workstation

A full list of OneDrive icons and their meaning can be accessed from here

Kindly follow the below instructions to install the Microsoft Office Maltese Language Pack.

  1. Click the Start Button and type Software Center  
  2. Click on the Software Center App 
  3. Through the Software Center, click on the Applications
  4. Click on the MS Office Language Pack x86
  5. Click on Install

Where can I access MITA – Microsoft 365 online training material for OneDrive and Sharepoint Online?

For Mita – Microsoft 365 online training material and courses follow this link:

https://govmt.sharepoint.com/sites/mstraining/

 

Where can I attend further training on OneDrive or other Microsoft 365 products and tools?

For Mita – Microsoft 365 learning pathways follow this link:

https://govmt.sharepoint.com/sites/mstraining/SitePages/MS-Training.aspx?source=https%3a//govmt.sharepoint.com/sites/mstraining

Networks Services
  1. Make sure that you have FortiClient VPN installed - if not go to https://vpn.mita.gov.mt, download and install the software.
  2. Next Identify what MFA authentication method you are using by navigating to https://mfa.mita.gov.mt.
  3. Enter your CORP credentials - username and password
  4. Halfway through the authentication process, you will be prompted to confirm authentication by any one of the following controls:
    • If using the Authenticator App - press "Approve" or "Deny" accordingly on your mobile phone
    • If using the mobile App but using the One Time Pass Code - enter the 6-digit passcode in the space provided on the FortiClient VPN software
    • If using the SMS authentication service - enter the 6-digit passcode sent to your mobile device. In case you do not receive an SMS, ensure that the correct number is configured at https://mfa.mita.gov.mt.

When using MITA VPN, everyone has access to generic MITA services. When connecting to VPN but you do not have access to any MITA services, try to re-install the FortiClient.

When connecting to MITA VPN and a specific service is not available, contact your respective IMU to raise a network access configuration RFS to provide access from your VPN to the specific service.

A VPN is basically emulating your work network whilst not at the office allowing you to access work related files as though you are in the office. If you attempt to login into VPN when connected to the office network, a VPN connection will not be established.

Make sure that you have a MITA managed WiFi access point nearby. If there is a WiFi access point available in the vicinity, make sure that it is powered on.

When connected to any of the government WIFI services, there is a chance that you won’t have internet access. In this case, check your phone’s notification to see if the selected WiFi network requires sign-in. If so, sign-in through the portal to have time limited access until the following day.


If you don’t have internet through WIFI, check the signal and check with other colleagues if they are experiencing the same issue.

Currently MITA manage the below wireless SSIDs

SSID Name Description
GovMT Provides resident users network access to CORP services just like wired network access
GovMT-Guest Provides Guest internet mainly for mobile phones

It is important to note that devices which are not CORP-joined (such as mobile phones) will be able to connect to GovCorp, however, these will be placed in a Guest network with limited functionality/access. Only CORP-joined devices will be placed in a CORP network and able to access CORP services.

This could be the result of multiple issues. The most common one being power outage. To this effect, check that network equipment is switched on. If any of the below devices is switched on or issue persists after power is restored, call MITA Service Call Center on 25992777 to log an incident.

Connect to a network wallport (network outlet/plug) of a colleague who is accessing the system to confirm whether issue is specific to your network outlet / plug only.


Should you be able to access all systems when connected to the colleague's wallport, contact your IT personnel stating the steps performed. Further troubleshooting steps can then be carried out with the assistance of MITA.

You can check with your respective IMU that the workstation has adequate resources and that are not being exhausted. Performance issues can also be experienced due to an application, in which case, it may be ideal to contact the application owner.

On the other hand, should performance issues be noticed on the entire site network, it could be that the bandwidth available to site is being fully utilized. Use speed test available at https://speedtest.gov.mt to measure your network performance and liaise with your IMU accordingly to raise incidents required to initiate troubleshooting by MITA.

This can happen when you are connected to the network, but not authorized to browse the internet (not authenticated with Single Sign On or SSO). You may authenticate to the internet by authenticating on https://logon.gov.mt.

Should the issue persist, make sure you are connected to the network ideally by cable (not wireless) and restart your laptop / PC. This will make your Windows authorization to take effect on your internet access.

Kindly follow diagrams below to connect a firewall to MAGNET. Ensure that the correct diagram is consulted based on the network connection type installed.

Raise an RFS for the configuration of LAN equipment (wired and wireless). Once this RFS is at MITA’s end, MITA Network Engineering Services team will contact you to schedule a timeslot for configuration and setup. It is important that no prior work is carried out by the IMU or any other 3rd parties so that the instructions given by MITA can be followed in full and effectively.

To carry out network equipment configuration, only a console cable is required with configuration carried out through a remote session. To this effect, no devices shall be sent to MITA for configuration.

From time-to-time, MAGNET network connections might no longer be required. To stop billing and reporting on sites which are no longer in use, it is important to:

 

  1. Raise an RFS for the decommission of the connection - include the site name and connection ID found within the network contacts section of the CIO portal
  2. Return Firewall to MITA Data Centre St Venera - important to include its power supply. Failure to do so can lead MITA to charge for equipment.

The LAN Procurement Framework has been set to provide clients the opportunity to procure LAN equipment approved by MITA at reduced prices. Wired and wireless LAN equipment can be procured by accessing the online web portal and selecting the required LAN equipment. Portal is found at: https://workflow.gov.mt/Runtime/Runtime/Form.aspx?_Name=LAN%20Procurement%20Framework

This portal can be used to calculate the expenses of procurement or to submit an order. In both cases, select the required LAN equipment from the available menus. When ready to place an order, make sure to upload separate LPOs (an LPO for wired devices and a separate LPO for wireless devices) and click submit. This will automatically send emails to supplier who will then contact you for logistics purposes.

To secure the network infrastructure and the systems residing across government, access to systems is restricted according to use. To this effect, network access to systems (if not already available according to categorization and past network access requests) shall be requested through Network Access Configuration Request (from https://rfs.gov.mt), endorsed with the multi-access sheet. Following approval by internal stakeholders, network access configuration can then be carried out

MITA offers different types of MAGNET connections, ranging from broadband to fibre technologies. Broadband connections can be either ADSL at a bandwidth of 50Mbps/10Mbps or Cable at a bandwidth of 100Mbps/20Mbps. On the other hand, fibre connections are categorised into two types – Type A (single fibre with no backup) or Type C (dual fibre one acting as a backup). Bandwidths available on fibre connections are 50Mbps, 100Mbps and 200Mbps. Selection of any one of these services is carried out via the RFS system.

In order to figure out to which network you are connected to, the IP Address of your workstation is required. This can be obtained by opening a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and browse to address https://myip.gov.mt. This website will display your workstation's IP Address. You are only connected to the Government Network if this IP address starts with 10 or 172, otherwise you might be connected to a third party network which will not give you access to MAGNET services.

SSL Certificates

Kindly follow the user manual within this link to order new certificates using the CertCentral guest portal.

Kindly follow the user manual within this link to order to manage certificates using the CertCentral guest portal.

subscribe

Receive the 

latest updates

on open positions.

You have Successfully Subscribed!