What's with the weird Pathfinder ID?
We at RHRZ wish that nobody at RPTU would click on a link in an e-mail anymore. At least not without inspecting it thoroughly. Because clicking on a malicious link in an email is one of the biggest threats to IT security at RPTU.
So, if possible, we don't want to send any more links. Instead, we send Pathfinder IDs. If you enter these in the search of an RPTU website, you will automatically be redirected to the correct website.
And then we hope that habit will kick in: anyone who is not used to clicking on a link in an email will do so less and less often. And anyone who has ever been given a Pathfinder ID will hopefully start to only send this.
That's our small contribution to security at RPTU. Quite nice, isn't it?
And now our FAQ about the Pathfinder ID:
FAQ
The aim is for us all to send only a Pathfinder ID in our emails instead of an entire link to one of the RPTU websites.
This is because a hack, a virus attack or a phishing attempt usually begins unnoticed with a click on a link in an email.
You will find the Pathfinder ID in the page footer of all centrally managed RPTU websites and possibly a few more.
Quite simply. Like this, for example:
... You can find all the information on the page with the Pathfinder ID abc-1234
It will take some time until all RPTU members are familiar with the term. It may help to start with: "PS: the Pathfinder is linked at the bottom of all RPTU pages. Please enter the Pathfinder ID there."
Theoretically yes. Practically, no.
Especially e-mail recipients outside the RPTU will not be able to understand the term pathfinder. You can continue to send URLs from the RPTU here.
If you have frequent e-mail contact with the people concerned, then it is worth telling them about our Pathfinder and then you can also send them Pathfinder IDs.
If you land on an error page after being redirected, the Pathfinder ID was incorrect. The Pathfinder only redirects, but does not check whether the corresponding page exists.
If the Pathfinder displays an error message, the abbreviation in the Pathfinder ID is incorrect. If you are sure that this ID is on the desired target page, please send an error message to rz-support(at)rptu.de
If it is urgent: use a common search engine with the Pathfinder ID and "rPTU". In most cases, you will get the correct search hit.
Yes, under the following conditions:
- You operate a larger web presence at RPTU
- You can display an automatically generated Pathfinder ID at the bottom of the page.
- From the Pathfinder ID generated by you, the URL of the corresponding page can be inferred algorithmically.
Please contact rz-support(at)rptu.de for a consultation.