Set up a remote connection to your Northpoint Staff Network using a VPN

Connecting to a VPN Server or Router

1. In the Network and Sharing Center (under Control Panel, Network and Internet), there is an option to "Set up a new connection or network." The next option is to click on "Connect to a Workplace" in order to start the connection wizard, and then select "Use my Internet connection (VPN)" option to begin the process. If you have a 3G card installed, you may first see a prompt to use the 3G card instead of creating a "new" connection. In this case, you want the "new" connection so that you can use your existing Internet connection (yes, it's a little confusing).

A far easier way to get to this point is to click on the Start button and type "VPN" in the search box. It will jump straight to the "Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection" window in the wizard.

2. In the Internet address field, enter the IP address of the VPN server or the network's domain name. This information will usually be provided by the network administrator. If you are connecting to the home router, then you would put in the IP address of that router.

The destination name field displays the name users would see. If you aren't going to connect right away, select the "Don't connect now; just set it up so I can connect later" checkbox.

Leaving it unchecked means the client will try to make a connection at the end of the wizard. If there are multiple users on the Windows 7 box, you can either check off "Allow other people to use this connection" to make the VPN connection available to others, or leave it unchecked to ensure no one else has the option.

3. This screen asks for a username and password. If you leave it blank, you will be prompted to enter the information when making the actual connection.

4. The final window, if you selected "Don't connect now," will display a "Connect now" option. You can close the window now, or connect.

When you are ready to connect, just click on the network icon in systray (the icon could be for the wireless network or for the wired one) and the connection that was created earlier would show up in the list under "Dial-up and VPN." You can also get here by clicking on "Connect to a network" under Network and Sharing Center.

5. In the VPN connection box, enter the username and password to the VPN network, if it isn't already pre-populated, along with the domain provided by the administrator. This connection should work for a majority of VPN networks.

6. If the connection fails, click on Properties. The most common issue has to do with the server configuration. Select the "Security" tab in the Properties window. Type of VPN" should be set to Automatic. Check with the administrator if it should be set to PPTP, L2TP/IpSec, SSTP, or IKEv2. If it still doesn't work, it's possible you should uncheck "Include Windows logon domain" under the Options tab.

7. After saving the properties, select Connect to launch the connection. You are now connected to a VPN server and your connection is safe.

If unable to connect, please contact IT for authorization.  Thanks!