SUBJECT:

Enhanced VPN Services

We are pleased to announce that enhanced Virtual Private Network (VPN) services are now available to help you access protected campus resources and conduct your work securely from home and other remote locations. These services are likely to be of special value during the upcoming U.S. Open golf tournament when some of you may be telecommuting. If you are planning to do so, we encourage you to try the new service before the week of June 9.

The new VPN service can support a much larger user population and, in addition to a downloadable VPN client connection, it offers an easy-to-use Web interface to access campus services such as the UCSD Libraries, WebCT, and remote desktop computing.

For information on these options and instructions on how to connect to the new VPN, see: http://blink.ucsd.edu/go/vpn

Please note that the "old" VPN service is still operational and will continue until further notice.

Background: The VPN offers a protected connection over public networks via encryption and other security checks to help protect computer data transmissions from being intercepted. It also helps ensure that only authorized users have access to campus networks.

We recommend that you use the VPN when accessing campus resources from a remote location, not just during the U.S. Open. If you're already using the old VPN client, there's no need to make any changes at this time, but we encourage you to review the new interface.

If you have questions, please contact your system administrator or the ACT Help Desk at acthelp@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-1853.

Elazar Harel Assistant Vice Chancellor - Administrative Computing & Telecommunications