Smith College Technology And Resource Advisor

USING VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) TO ACCESS INB

Smith's Virtual Private Network (VPN) is reserved for administrative staff who are pre-approved to use VPN from off-campus. If you are not already approved, please send your request to the Director of Administrative Technology & Software Services.

Note: We strongly recommend printing these instructions before you begin.

Students: Please note that Smith's VPN service is not available to students. The service is licensed only for a handful of administrative users who need to access mission-critical information technology services when away from the college's campus. We do not have enough licenses to provide access to students and have no plans to extend the service to students due to the high cost of the licensing.

We have also consulted with the college's general council regarding students using VPN services from foreign countries. We are concerned that a student who may access websites from a country that filters Internet content could place herself in serious jeopardy. A student using Smith's VPN service would have access to websites as if they were at Smith, i.e., located in the United States. Countries that filter Internet content generally do so for philosophical reasons and may aggressively enforce those policies. Someone who might access a forbidden website using a VPN connection would likely be violating local laws and could be arrested, fined or even imprisoned.

ALL USERS: Complete these preliminary steps before accessing VPN.

Macintosh users: Use Safari to complete all the steps below.

Windows users: Use Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 6 or 7 to complete all the steps below. (VPN does not work with Internet Explorer 8.)
If you have used INB from home before, you must turn OFF your Proxy settings:
1. Go to: Tools /Internet Options /Connections /LAN Settings
2. Un-check the box beside Use a proxy server for your LAN, then click OK. (If ever needed, you can re-check the box and use INB from home the “old” way again.)
If you have NEVER used INB from home before, you must install JPI (Java Plug-in) for INB:
1. Go to: http://www.smith.edu/smithsoftware/
2. Log in with your Novell network username and password.
3. Scroll down to the Banner INB section and and click on the JPI link.
4. Follow the instructions to install JPI and turn off automatic updates.

Adjust the pop-up blocker settings for your browser:

Internet Explorer 6	a. Go to Tools /Pop-up Blocker /Pop-up Blocker Settings. b. In the white box below Address of Web site to allow, enter: .smith.edu c. Click Add, then Close*.
Mozillia Firefox	a. Go to Tools/Options/Content. b. Click in the check box beside Block pop-up windows, then click on the Exceptions button. c. Enter: .smith.edu c. Click Allow, then Close*.
Safari	a. Open the Safari menu. b. If there is no check-mark beside Block pop-up windows, click to enable the pop-up blocker. (Note that Safari does not curently allow exceptions.)

Windows users: Make sure that all critical Windows updates and McAfee VirusScan are installed on your home computer:
1. To check for critical Windows updates, open Internet Explorer and go to Tools/ Windows Update.
2. If you don't have McAfee VirusScan, follow the instructions on the Smith software page to download and install it.

Questions or Problems?

Using VPN

Macintosh users: Open a Safari window.
Windows users: Open an Internet Explorer 6 or Mozilla Firefox window.
Go to: https://vpn.smith.edu/
The window below will open. Wait a minute for all the components to load.
Macintosh users: Safari will display 3 security alerts:
1. 1st alert: "Safari can't verify the identity of the website vpn.smith.edu."
  Click Continue.
2. 2nd alert: "Do you want to accept this certificate from the web site *.smith.edu for the purpose of exchanging encrypted information?"
  Click Trust.
3. 3rd alert: "This applet was signed by Juniper Networks, Inc. but Java cannot verify the authenticity of the signature's certificate. Do you trust this certificate?"
  Click Trust.
You may need to install a small plug-in called Juniper. If a message in the top part of your browser window asks you to install Juniper the first time you try to launch VPN, allow the installation to proceed.
In the Secure Access area, enter your Novell username and password, then click Sign In.
The page below will begin loading. Please be patient and DON’T CLICK ANYTHING! Just WAIT for loading to complete.

When loading is completed, the small Network Connect window will minimize automatically.
After the Network Connect window minimizes, you will see an orange padlock icon in the lower right corner of your screen. This indicates you are connected to VPN.
IMPORTANT! Do NOT click on the Start button next to Network Connect, circled below. If you do, it will spawn another VPN connection and cause a “Network Connect session timeout” error.
Minimize the VPN window, but do not close it.
Window users: If you see the following error message: "The network connect session terminated. Do you want to reconnect?", you must download and install Bonjour 1.0.2:
1. Go to the Bonjour download page on the Apple website:
  http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/windows/bonjourforwindows.html
2. Click on the Download buttton.
3. In the File Download window, click Save and save the file to your desktop.
4. Locate the BonjourSetup.exe icon on your desktop and double-click on it to launch the installer.
5. In the Security Warning window, click Run.
6. In the Welcome window, click Next.
7. Click to accept the license agreement, then click Next.
8. In the Information window, click Next.
9. Click Install, then Finish.
10. Return to step 1 and try to connect to VPN again.
Open another browser window (same type as your first one) and click on the Bookmark, Shortcut, or Favorite you use to access INB.

Note: If you don’t have an INB Bookmark, Shortcut, or Favorite saved in your browser, please create one; otherwise, INB may not launch properly. The INB URL is: https://banner.smith.edu:9999/
When you have finished using INB, be sure to click on the Sign Out button, circled below, before navigating away from this page.
To exit VPN, right-click on the orange padlock icon and select Exit, circled below. The orange padlock will go away in a few seconds.

NOTE: If you use Remote Desktop, you can launch your connection after you have successfully logged into VPN. Remember to click Sign Out when you’re done.

Questions or Problems?

If you encounter problems trying to use VPN to access Internet Native Banner on your home computer, please call the User Support Center at 413-585-4487 during our regular open hours (8-5 Monday - Friday.)

If USC staff members are unable to resolve the problem over the phone, they can help you arrange to borrow a Smith laptop for a limited loan period.

Back to top >