University of Melbourne VPN Service

Welcome to the University of Melbourne Virtual Private Network (VPN) service site. The VPN service is designed to allow University Staff and Students to securely "tunnel" into campus over commodity networks, such as the Internet, and access services as if they were on campus. It is also ideal for use over campus wireless networks as well. There are three separate services available namely a general purpose staff service, a student service and a more restrictive administrative systems access service. The only two things you need to begin are the software, which is available on this site, and a valid central email account.

When to use VPN

1. The connection: - you are:

   • using a wireless connection on campus
   • connecting to the University from an ISP (Internet Service Provider) or with a cable modem or ADSL
     
2. The data/information: you will, or might, transmit sensitive data such as passwords or any confidential information by any means while connected to the Internet; you need access to restricted University resources.

Free of charge

This service is provided free of charge to eligible students and staff. The Cisco VPN client software is also available free of charge.

Currently there are no limits on your use of this VPN service. However, when you no longer need the access or security VPN provides, we encourage you to disconnect from the VPN server. Similar to the central dialin service the VPN service does not allow direct access to the internet.