VPN at Colorado State University
VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a networking technology that uses encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that data cannot be intercepted.
Download VPN Clients
- Cisco VPN Client 4.8.02 for Windows — For Computers in Residence Halls [new 8/16/07]
- Cisco VPN Client 4.8.02 for Windows -- For all other Windows computers [new 8/16/07]
- Cisco VPN Client 4.9.01 for Macintosh OS X Tiger and higher ["Universal Binary" (Intel or Power PC Processors) for OS X 10.4 ("tiger") and higher - new 10/29/07]
- Cisco VPN Client 4.7 for Macintosh OS X [For Power PC Macs running OS X 10.3.9 and lower]
- Cisco VPN Client 4.8 for Linux (32-bit or 64-bit machines) download
- Cisco VPN Client 4.6 for Linux download
- While Cisco's VPN for Linux is supported and documented by ACNS, linux users may also choose to download and configure their own vpnc client from
www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~massar/vpnc with an optional addition of the KDE frontend from home.gna.org/kvpnc/en/index.html. Note that you will need to import the appropriate client profile (linked below; the .pcf files are cross-compatible), and that for assistance you may contact Anthony DeNardo at ad3@colostate.edu. - Cisco VPN Client 5.0.01.600 for Windows Vista download [new 8/16/07]
- Please note the following for Cisco VPN support of Windows Vista (this is preliminary information, very much subject to change!):
- The 5.0.01.0600 version of the Cisco VPN client may be used for both Windows Vista and Windows XP
- This version of the VPN client will not work if you upgrade your computer to Windows Vista from another Windows operating system (such as Windows XP); a clean install of Windows Vista is a mandatory requirement for this version to work on Windows Vista
- It is imperative that you follow the "VPN Client Configuration Hints" to set up the proper profiles for the VPN client.
- You may also be able to save and import the profiles (download and save the profiles linked below, then import them via the VPN client)
- Once the VPN is installed, the Vista profiles can be imported from the links below. To do this, download and save the profiles located below, then import them via the VPN client.
VPN Clients may also be obtained from the Computing Help Desk.
Download CSU VPN Client Profiles
Vista, Mac OS X and Linux
If you are already running Cisco VPN Client on Vista, Mac OS X or Linux, you may download and use the following profiles. Follow these instructions to update your profiles:
- Download the files:
- Open the Cisco VPN Client.
- Delete any existing CSU VPN profiles.
- For each file:
- Click the 'Import' button.
- Select a newly downloaded profile (.pcf) file.
- Click 'Ok' to confirm the successful import.
Alternatively, you may place the downloaded profile files directly in the '/etc/CiscoSystemsVPNClient/Profiles/' folder on both Mac OS X and Linux. It is recommended that you remove any old VPN Client Profiles installed by default with past client downloads at the same time.
Documentation (Self-Help Guides)
- Connecting to CSU's Wireless Network (Windows)
- Connecting to CSU's Wireless Network (Mac OS X)
- Installing the Cisco VPN Client (Windows)
- Installing the Cisco VPN Client (Mac OS X)
- Using the Cisco VPN Client to Connect to CSU's VPN (Windows)
- Using the Cisco VPN Client to Connect to CSU's VPN (Mac OS X)
Documentation (Generic Instructions from Cisco)
- VPN User Guide for Windows, Release 4.0
- VPN User Guide for Mac OS X, Release 4.0
- VPN User Guide for Linux and Solaris, Release 4.0
Attention DSL Users
If you are using DSL as your high-speed Internet service and connecting into CSU via the Cisco VPN client we provide, you may experience unexpected disconnects of the VPN client every 15-30 minutes. One solution for this problem is to change the profile you are using from IPSec over TCP to IPSec over UDP. You can do this by highlighting the profile you are using, such as, "CSU VPN at Home" and selecting modify from the buttons along the top of the client window. In this "Modify" window, select the "Transport" tab. Now, select "IPSec over UDP (NAT/PAT)" instead of "IPSec over TCP". Click "Save". If you continue to experience problems, please contact the Computing Help Desk.