UP SecuRemote Howto (Windows)

The following SecuRemote howto curtesy of Judith Bishop

Checkpoint SecuRemote is a program that IT uses for their firewall. By using the same system on your computer at home or away from Pretoria you can get a VPN (virtual private network) through to servers behind the firewall, such as fornax and oasis. This system works very well on dial-up modems, ADSL, and internet connections at other universities that do not themselves have heavy firewalls.

1. Download the program from ftp://ftp.up.ac.za/pub/firewall/SecuRemote/ choosing desktop_R54_540000132_1_w2k.exe for 2000 or XP
2. Install the program. It will ask you to set up a site. Call this something like "Pretoria" and use the IP address 137.215.99.2 (this is thermopylae at IT)
3. When there is a change to do Settings, select Advanced and make sure that IKE over TCP is clicked.
4. Then you will get a little envelope with a key in it on the taskbar. Each time you start up, it will ask you to authenticate with your usual firewall username and password (e.g. cstaff or techteam).

From that point on, it is as if your computer is inside the firewall, and you can use ftp and ssh to the servers.

Warning: The firewall at IT is not stable. Sometimes having SecuRemote on can cause problems with email or browsing, even if everything was fine a few minutes ago. If you cannot browse www.up.ac.za, but you can browse www.unisa.ac.za, then this is most likely the cause. Turn SecuRemote off by clicking the envelope icon, selecting the site icon and going to Sites-Disable. The site icon will get a red X through it and then you should be able to browse again. When you next need to get through the firewall, it will probably work again.

Printer Friendly Version