ECE Computer and Technology Services

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

The ECE Department maintains its own VPN in order to secure network traffic. If you are a faculty or staff member, or member of a supported research group in ECE or Bioengineering, you may connect to the VPN. Here are the main reasons you would want to do so:

On-Campus Resources

Because of the U of I campus firewall, many resources, such as Windows network shares, are inaccessible from off-campus. Connecting to the VPN will allow you inside the firewall. You will need to use the VPN to run Matlab from off-campus, and also to use Remote Desktop to connect to an on-campus computer. (Please note that Remote Desktop to instructional lab machines is not permitted.)

Additional Security

If you have a wireless network at home, you can use the VPN even if you are not accessing campus resources. Connecting to the VPN provides an additional layer of security for any data you send and receive over your home network.

Connecting to the VPN from a Windows machine

  1. On a Windows machine, click Start > Settings > Control Panel
  2. Network and Internet Connections
  3. Create a connection to the internet at your workplace
  4. Virtual Private Network connection
  5. In the Company Name field, enter a name for your connection, i.e. ece-vpn
  6. Do not dial the initial connection
  7. Host name: vpn.ece.uiuc.edu
  8. Complete the connection according to your preferences. We recommend adding a shortcut to the desktop.
  9. When connecting to the VPN server, use your NetID and Active Directory password.

Connecting to the VPN from a Mac

  1. Set wireless network card to dhcp (automatically configure IP address)
  2. Go to "Internet Connect Applet" from the Applications folder
  3. Click "File" menu and choose the New VPN Connection
  4. Type vpn.ece.uiuc.edu as the server
  5. When connecting to the VPN server, use your NetID and Active Directory password.

**If using any other operating system, any PPTP compliant VPN client will work.**