MedSecureSend: Sending Large Files Securely
If you're looking for a good way to securely send large files now and then, especially to collaborators outside of Stanford, use MedSecureSend (MSS). Using MSS keeps your High, Moderate, or Low Risk Information secure while it is sent. (The recipient is responsible for keeping the file encrypted in storage on their end.) MSS is easy to use, and helps you avoid attachment size limits: with MedSecureSend you can send files or folders up to 100GB per transfer.
Important: When using MSS, only the files themselves will be encrypted. You should not include any sensitive information (High or Moderate Risk Data) in the accompanying email text.
Read below to learn how to:
- Create your own account
- Invite a colleague to share files with you
- Delete your files from the server
For more assistance using MSS, read the MedSecureSend FAQ, or contact TDS (tdshelp.stanford.edu).
Please Note:
MSS "Send" accounts EXPIRE after 30 days of inactivity.
If you have not logged in recently, if you no longer have a "Send" tab, or if you get no response from the "Forgot Password?" link, your MedSecureSend account has expired.
Simply create a new account, in order to refresh your sending privileges: From the login page (mss.stanford.edu), click on "I don't have an account yet" and follow the given instructions. You should use the same user name (your Stanford email), and can use your existing password, if you wish.
All MedSecureSend accounts are meant to be temporary; if you need a more permanent, ongoing way to securely store and share files, use Stanford Medicine Box.
Creating Your Own Account
1. First, go to mss.stanford.edu.
To the right, below the "Login" button, click on "I don't have an account yet."
2. Type in your email address and click "Register."
Note: You must use an address @stanford.edu in order to create your own account. If you're a Stanford Medicine affiliate but do not have a stanford.edu email address, submit a help request.
3. MSS needs to confirm your email address; check your email for a message from MedSecureSend, and input the included Verification code here.
4. Next, create a password (it must be at least 6 characters long and contain at least 1 number). Type it once and then again to verify. Click "Register."
5. On the next screen, your registration should be confirmed! Click on "OK" to continue. You should now be ready to send files.
(Note: For future log-ins, your user name will be your entire email address, not just your SUNet ID.)
Sending Files
1. Once logged in, you are directly presented with the "Send File" page; to start sending a file, begin here (instead of with the File Manager).
2. To send a file, you can fill out the form just like you would an email.
TO: Enter the recipient's email address. Use commas or semicolons to separate multiple recipients, up to a maximum of 40. Add CC or BCC recipients if you wish.
SUBJECT/BODY TEXT: Give your message a subject line, and enter email text you'd like to accompany your files.
*** NOTE: There should be NO High Risk Data in the body of the email: only the files are encrypted, not the accompanying text. ***
(If an intended recipient doesn't have a MedSecureSend account, they'll still receive your message; they'll also still be able to to download your files.)
3. ATTACHMENTS: You can send files either from your own computer, OR files that you've already sent or received through MSS.
To send a file from your computer:
- Click "Choose File/Folder" to open the dialog box for your local system. (Large-file upload is the default; to send a file less than 2GB in size, you may choose "Use Regular Upload" if you wish.)
- Highlight the file you want.
- Click "Open" to attach the file to the email.
- Repeat the process if you wish to upload more files (up to 10 per message).
- Click on the red 'X' next to an attached file if you wish to remove it from the list.
- If you'd like to send an entire folder, you will need to zip/compress it first. (For help, see the MSS FAQ.)
To send a file you've already sent/received through MSS:
- Click "Choose from File Manager" to open a dialog box.
- With the popup menu, choose "My Files" for a list of files you've sent, or "Inbox" for a list of files you've received.
- Check the boxes of the file(s) you wish, and click "Add."
- Repeat the process if you wish to upload more files (up to 10 per message).
- Click on the red 'X' next to an attached file if you wish to remove it from the list.
4. A progress bar will appear while your files are uploading.
When all files are completely uploaded and the message is sent, a "Sent Mail" confirmation window will appear, letting you know you're done.
When you are sure your file has been received and downloaded by the recipient(s), you can delete it from the server.
Inactive Accounts
Inactive accounts will expire after 30 days. If your account has expired and you need to use MedSecureSend again, you can re-register. Just go to http://mss.stanford.edu, click on "I don't have an account yet," and start the process over. You should use your Stanford email address as your username. You can use the same password you used for MSS before, if you remember it, or you can create a new one. (Remember: NONE of your passwords should be the same as your SUNetID webauth password!)
Inviting a Colleague
If you send a MedSecureSend message to someone who doesn't yet have an MSS account, that person will still receive your message, and be able to download the file. If that message is sent to a Stanford email address, that newly-created account will be a standard user account, and they can continue to send and receive files. BUT, if you need to receive files from someone without a SUNet ID, here's how.
To allow a colleague without a SUNet ID to send their files to you, you can invite them to create an MSS account.
From your "Send File" screen, click the "Invite User" button in the top right corner, and enter the email address of your invitee. He or she will receive an email with an invitation link, leading them through the process of creating their own account.
(The invitation will expire in 5 days; if time runs out, you can just resend it.)
Your invitee can now send files to anyone already registered with an MSS account—but if they try to send files to someone without an account, they will receive an error message.
This ensures that access to MSS remains restricted, while still allowing you to share with your colleagues outside Stanford.
Deleting Files
Once you send a file, it remains on the server for 30 days; however, once the recipient has successfully received and downloaded the file, you can remove it from the server yourself.
1. Log in at mss.stanford.edu.
Click on the "File Manager" tab at the top left. In the left-hand sidebar of the File Manger, you can choose to view MSS messages you've sent and received, as well as a list of just the files attached to those messages.
2. To delete a file from the MSS server, go to the "Files" section, where you can view all the files you've sent and received. You can delete files one of two ways:
- Click the checkbox to the left of the file name, and then click the "Delete" button above.
- Click the red 'X' to the right of the filename.
3. When you've chosen to delete a file, a confirmation dialog box appears. Make sure you've got the right file name, and then click "delete" to finish removing your file.
4. Once you've clicked "delete," you will be returned to your list of files, and the deleted filename should no longer appear. It is now removed from the MSS server, and recipients can no longer re-download it, unless you send it again.