|
|
Patrick Chinn
Distributed Network Computing Consultant
pchinn@uoregon.edu
WebVPN allows you to create a VPN connection to UOnet, the university's network, using a standard web browser. It does not require the installation of any additional software. Since it does not require any extra software, WebVPN will simplify the process required to connect from off-campus to restricted resources on the web.
When do you need it? WebVPN is best suited for situations when you need to access websites that are restricted to UOnet users only. Since WebVPN creates a connection for only one web browser window, it is not appropriate for use with other programs that connect to the Internet (such as email programs like Thunderbird).
How do you use it? To use WebVPN, open a web browser to https://uo-vpn1-gw.uoregon.edu To connect, enter your uoregon.edu email address and password, and click the Login button. If the connection is successful, you will see a "Welcome to the University of Oregon Virtual Private Network" message. Click the OK button to continue.
Your WebVPN connection to UOnet consists of this single web browser window. How can you tell that you're connected using WebVPN? Look for the white-on-teal toolbar in the upper right corner of the browser window (see Fig. 1 below). This toolbar is a key element in WebVPN. It indicates that you are connecting using VPN and it provides access to frequently-used features.
 |
Fig. 1: The WebVPN connection page, which opens after you successfully log in. The VPN toolbar is highlighted in yellow in this illustration for easy viewing. When you open the actual WebVPN connection page, you will not see a yellow highlight around the toolbar.
The buttons on the VPN toolbar are (from left to right): double arrow, Go, Computer, Home and X:
 |
The double arrow button moves the toolbar from the right side of the web page to the left, or vice versa. Use this button if the toolbar obscures part of the web page you wish to view.
Use the Go button when you wish to enter the address of a web page you'd like to visit.
Opening the advanced toolbar. The Computer button (shown circled in red below) opens the WebVPN advanced toolbar:
 |
Fig. 2: The WebVPN toolbar functons,with the Computer button circled. Clicking the Computer button opens the advanced toolbar.
The functions of the advanced toolbar are beyond the scope of this article, but you may learn more about how to use them by going to http://micro.uoregon.edu/getconnected/webvpn.html
Accessing specific websites. There are two preferred ways to access specific websites. Suppose you want to view the Image Reserves on the Library's website (http://libweb.uoregon.edu/). The first way to get there is to click the Libraries link on the main UO web page, which loads when you log in. The second method is to click the Go button in the WebVPN toolbar and then type the address of the page you wish to visit.
Accessing the main UO web page. Clicking the Home button will take you to the main UO web page.
Logging out. The X button is used to end your WebVPN session. To log out of WebVPN, click the X button.
One word of caution: it is easy to inadvertently close your WebVPN session without meaning to. Two common ways of unintentionally terminating your WebVPN connection are:
If you prefer, you may use the original, "classic" way of making a VPN connection to UOnet (see VPN links at http://micro.uoregon.edu/getconnected/ )
For more general information on VPN, see http://micro.uoregon.edu/getconnected/vpn_overview.html