What is a VPN?
January 2008
A VPN or “Virtual Private Network” is a private network that uses a public network (usually the Internet) to provide students, faculty, and staff with a secure connection to campus resources from home. Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as Ethernet connection, a VPN uses secure, encrypted, "virtual" connections routed through the Internet from the University of Michigan-Flint private network to the remote computer. The VPN is available to students, faculty, and staff who use Windows 2000/XP or Mac OS X. (Please note: The VPN is not supported on Windows 98/ME.)
There are many advantages to using the VPN from home to connect to the UM-Flint campus network.
- Outlook-Client (off-campus)
When connected to the VPN, you may take advantage of using the Microsoft Outlook client from home to check your email (high-speed Internet users). - Map Network Drives
You will have the ability to map your personal home drive (h:\) and your departmental drive (i:\) from home. You will also be able to FTP into your Home drive, Departmental drive, or Progdata directory from home. - Remote
You will have the ability to use remote desktop integrated into the Windows platform to remotely control your office computer from home (this feature is available to faculty/staff only).
There are two different options to setup the VPN – manual and an automatic configuration client:
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Manually configure the VPN for Windows 2000/XP or Mac OS X.
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Use the automatic configuration client, located on the DeptDrive server at \\deptdrive\pcpub\Secure Software\VPN, is available for Windows users (this option is available only for faculty/staff who are on-campus)
For instructions on how to setup and use the VPN, please consult Quicknote #80 - How to Setup a VPN from Home (http://www.umflint.edu/its/helpdesk/quicknotes/QN80.htm).
This documentation is maintained by the ITS HelpDesk - UM-Flint - Information Technology Services
207 MSB - ITSHelpDesk@umflint.edu - (810) 766-6804