Connecting to the Internet through Virginia Tech's #REDIRECT [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Virtual Private Network] (VPN) is the only officially advertised and supported method of accessing certain resources such as [http://network.software.vt.edu/ VT Network Software] from off-campus. Alternatively, you can use SSH tunnels or [[proxies]] to obtain a Virginia Tech IP address. '''Important:''' You must first create a [http://answers.vt.edu/kb/entry/3765 Remote Access ID] to be able to log into the Proxies_and_VPN#VPN. This is different from your normal VT PID password. This is the Network Account information on your [https://my.vt.edu/accounts/myaccounts Accounts page]. == pptpclient ==Tested on [[Arch Linux]] with pptpclient 1.7.2 (updated on 2011-08-28). * Ensure that you have both '''ppp''' and '''pptpclient''' installed. Otherwise, you may receive strange errors or otherwise be unable to connect.* Create the file '''/etc/ppp/peers/{{{peername}}}''' with the following: remotename {{{peername}}} pty "pptp {{{host}}} --nolaunchpppd" name username file /etc/ppp/options.pptp require-mppe-128 ipparam {{{peername}}}Make sure to replace '''username''' with your username.* Edit the file '''/etc/ppp/chap-secrets''' and add the following line to the bottom, replacing '''username''' with your username and '''password''' with your password: username {{{peername}}} password ** To connect, use the pon script: sudo pon {{{peername}}}* To disconnect, use poff: sudo poff {{{peername}}} == Network Manager ==Tested on [[Fedora]] 15 (updated on 2011-08-28).Tested on [[Ubuntu]] 12.04 LTS (2012-05-22) * Install the '''networkmanager-pptp''' package. (Ubuntu users can skip this step.)* Right click on the Network Manager applet and select Edit Connections...* Select the VPN tab and click Add.* Select '''Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)''' and click Create...* Enter '''{{{peername_full|{{{peername}}}}}}''' for the connection name.* Enter '''{{{host}}}''' for the gateway.* Enter your username and remote access passphrase (in the password field), leaving NT domain blank.* Click Save...* Left click on the Network Manager applet, and select '''{{{peername_full|{{{peername}}}}}}''' under VPN Connections. [[Category:Howtos]] [[Category:Campus computing resources]]