How To Install VPN Software

Information Resources is pleased to offer Virtual Private Network (VPN) access to all students, faculty, and staff at UTD. Our VPN service is based on Cisco products and consists of hardware servers on our network connecting to software clients installed on individual computers. The results are secure, encrypted communications between client computers and the UTD network. Only the IR-provided Cisco VPN clients are supported at this time.

In order to use the VPN service, you must first download an appropriate VPN client from IR's secure website. IR also provides "profiles" which contain all of the necessary information to connect the client to our server. After installing the client and importing the proper profile, the VPN client will be able to connect to the server and you will be prompted to authenticate to the UTD network using your NETID and password. This will allow a secure VPN tunnel to be established after which your connection is secure and you will be effectively a part of the UTD network.

There are two main profiles being provided initially, one for Remote Users coming from off-campus via dialup, cable modem, or DSL, and one for on-campus wireless users. The two profiles are not interchangable and will not work except in the stated respective environments.

Please note: in order to connect to the University Library Database you must not use VPN. A regular connection is all that is needed in order to access the library’s resource.

Step-by-Step Installation Procedure

Connecting

• Using an Internet Browser (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer), go to UTD's VPN Download Site.
• If prompted for certificate acceptance, continue to click "Next" and finally "Finish" until you reach the login page.
• If you receive an error or "Document contains no data" message, click on the link again - you should now get the "VPN Registration and Downloads" page.

Authenticating

• Log in to the system using your NETID (UNIX username/password).
• Read the service agreement, and click "I accept" to continue.
• If you receive an error, click "LOGOUT" and repeat the previous two steps.

Downloading

• Download the appropriate Client for your machine/OS. NB: Windows (XP/2000/98/95) clients proceed to INSTALLING from here.
• Download the appropriate Profile for user usage:
• UTD-ISP for remote user/off-Campus access;
• UTD-Wireless for on-Campus wireless access.
• Download any desired Documentation for installation.
• Click "LOGOUT" after all downloads are completed.

Vista piracy rate is half that of XP

Posted by Ina Fried

Microsoft said Monday that it's seeing piracy rates for Windows Vista that are half those of Windows XP.

Now cynical me wanted to write this up as "even pirates prefer XP two to one over Vista," but that wouldn't be fair. In reality, the decline in piracy rates is largely due to the fact that Vista is much tougher to fake than XP.

"Piracy rates are lower because it's harder," Microsoft Vice President Mike Sievert said in an interview Monday.

There are a variety of reasons for that, including the fact that businesses no longer have volume license keys that can be used to activate an unlimited number of machines. Another is the fact that Vista machines that aren't properly activated pretty quickly become basically unusable once they enter "reduced functionality mode."

For Microsoft, the gains have been significant. In its last earnings call, Microsoft said that five percentage points of Windows growth could be attributed to gains in piracy.

Interestingly, though, Microsoft makes the experience a little less harsh for those running pirated versions of Vista. With Service Pack 1, Microsoft is doing away with reduced functionality mode in favor of putting prominent notifications on systems that are not found to be genuine.

Non-genuine systems with SP1 will display a warning at start-up that the system is not properly activated. Users will have the option to "activate now" or "activate later," though the second option won't show up for a time. Users will also have their desktop background changed to white and a prominent notification placed in the lower right hand corner saying that the machine is not genuine.

Still, in a significant change, those with non-genuine or non-activated copies of Vista will still be able to use their systems. Sievert said the change is designed to minimize the impact on customers who might unwittingly have gotten an illegitimate copy of Vista while still discouraging piracy.

"People won't want this experience," he said. "At the same time it will be broadly interpreted as being more fair."

Still, I wonder if the move won't cause Vista piracy rates to trend back up. I would think there are people who will deal with a copy of Vista they don't pay for but that has a big ugly notification on it. With the current Vista, they don't even have that option.

Also with SP1, Microsoft is closing two key loopholes that pirates have used to evade Microsoft's security measures. One involves mimicking the process used by large computer makers to preactivate their Vista machines, while the other extends the grace period that customers have to activate their machine, in some cases extending it for decades. It's not the first time that Microsoft has moved to close holes in its activation process. A year ago, the company changed Vista to disable a hack known as "Frankenbuild" that merged elements of the final Vista with a prerelease version.