Many Brown services are available for use as “on-campus”-only. Brown's VPN connects you to Brown's network when you are off-campus. You might use VPN to access campus-only resources like library resources or keyed software, or you might just want to secure your internet traffic when you are on public or untrusted wifi.
VPN is Not Needed from off-campus to:
- Check your Brown e-mail or other G-Suite tools like Google Docs (uses Google authentication)
- Login to Workday
- Go to the Brown home page www.brown.edu and most unrestricted Brown websites
- Connect to most Library resources
- Login to MyAccount Portal.
- Use RemoteApps
- Get to files stored on WebFiles (files can be uploaded or downloaded one at a time from shared folders and Brown home folder).
- Use Banner Self-Service
- Log in to SalesForce
You Do Need VPN from off-campus to:
- Connect to network file shares (Like S:\, H:\ and U:\ Drives, or folders on any University or Department file server.
- Secure your connection in a public place such as a coffee shop, airport, or hotel.
- Install new software from our Software Catalog, or using installation tools on Brown-managed computers such as Self Service (Macs) and Software Center (PCs)
- Use some license restricted Brown software (Like Stata or ArcGIS)
- Use Banner Admin (not needed for Banner Self-Service)
- Use Cognos Analytics reporting
- Use software such as SSH (Secure Shell software typically used to connect to Unix & Linux systems)
- Start a Remote Desktop connection to a Brown server (Stronghold, for example)
- Connect to FileMaker databases
- Connect to some secure Brown University websites (Like MyPrint)
- Send MyPrint print jobs (most other print services at Brown will not work remotely at all)
- Connect to Tableau Server from Tableau Desktop (not needed to log into Tableau Server directly)
*** If you experience connectivity problems when using a program or resource off-campus, connect to the VPN to see if you have better results.
Install the Software:
On a computer:
- Connect To Brown's VPN (Mac or Windows)
- Connect to Brown's VPN on a Chromebook
On a mobile device: