[Macpartners] VPN 4.6 Release announcement

[Deb Bowser]

Date: Tuesday, 4 January 2005
To: MIT Community: itpartners at mit.edu, winpartners at mit.edu, 
macpartners at mit.edu, linux-help at mit.edu, sw-release-announce at mit.edu
From: VPN Client Release Team <vpn-release at mit.edu>
Subject: VPN 4.6 Release announcement
Cc: is&t at mit.edu, vpn-release at mit.edu
------------------------------------------------

Good day:

IS&T is happy to announce a new release of the Virtual Private Network 
(VPN).  VPN version 4.6 is supported on the Macintosh, Windows and Linux 
platforms and is available to assist MIT clients with connectivity from off 
campus.

About the VPN
-----------------------
The VPN provides a solution to work through various port blocks and other 
things that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do to protect their clients 
and attempts to prevent spam, virus outbreaks, and other network abuse. 
These preventative measures often interrupt or prevent legitimate work from 
happening. The MIT VPN can help resolve a number of problems associated 
with e-mail, Windows file sharing, and other network-based applications 
without needing to determine the particular preventative measures your ISP 
has implemented.

Notable features:
---------------------------
MIT Profile included (for connecting to MIT's VPN) within the installer 
allowing for a smooth installation.
Solves various e-mail, file sharing and other network problems for clients 
connecting from off campus
Utilizes Kerberos principle for authentication, so no separate VPN password 
needed

Known Issues
----------------------
If you have not changed your Kerberos password in more than three years, 
you will need to change it before you will be able to connect to MITnet via 
the VPN.  For help with determining the age of your current password or 
with changing it, contact the Computing Help Desk at <computing-help at mit.edu>.

When connecting to the VPN, all network connections will become severed for 
a few seconds. This means that programs which rely on a persistent network 
connection (e.g., instant messaging programs, MIT TechTime) may lose their 
connection and you may need to manually reconnect some programs. Therefore, 
it is recommended that you close any open applications prior to launching VPN.

For a complete list of platform specific known issues, please visit the VPN 
4.6 known issues page:
         http://itinfo.mit.edu/article?id=7432

How to obtain VPN
----------------------------------
You can download the VPN client for your platform from the MIT Software 
Download site: http://web.mit.edu/software/
Please note that you need a current personal certificate to download this 
software. If you do not have a current personal certificate, then you can 
obtain one from https://ca.mit.edu/ .

Where to get Help
----------------------------
The Virtual Private Network page is located 
at:  http://itinfo.mit.edu/product?name=vpn.
If you need assistance with installing or using the VPN, please contact the 
Computing Help Desk at computing-help at mit.edu or (617) 253-1101.

All the Best,
Deb & the rest of the VPN Release Team:

Tim Brennan
Bill Brids
Jon Hunt
Chris Logan
Jon Reed

-----------------------------
Deb Bowser
IS&T Customer Support Services
Software Release Team
W92-176
617-253-3879 
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