Connect to an office network with VPN - Mac OS X

There is advice on this subject for Windows users here. Right, so you are an employee of a small practice, and you want to connect to the office network. Before you begin, you should know:

• IP or DNS address of the office (server address) - eg. 50.50.43.21 or mycompany.com
• VPN type - eg IPSec, PPTP
• a user name - eg tomkaneko
• password or other authentication method

Now, go to system preferences and select 'Network'

You now need to add a new connection. The below picture is OS 10.5. OS 10.4 and below look a little different, but have the same options. Click '+', and choose to set up a VPN as your interface. Select the appropriate connection type (IPSec, PPTP etc), then name your connection. Click 'Create'.

Now you need to fill in your details. The server address is the IP or DNS address of your office. The user name would have been set up by the administrator of the office. Keep the encryption automatic unless you have been told otherwise.

Now click on the 'Authentication Settings...' button. If your connection is PPTP, it should look like the picture below. In most cases you should simply be able to use the password given to you by your administrator. If you have other methods of authentication, your administrator should let this be known to you.

If your connection is L2TP over IPSec, then you have a second layer of authentication. The 'Shared Secret' is another way of saying 'Pre-Shared Key', or PSK - you need this from your administrator. Using the certificate is a more complex procedure; again, ask your administrator.

Finally, click connect, and you should be ready to go. Your Mac should let you know of any errors, and hopefully clues on how to solve them. Your Mac will save the VPN settings for next time too. You can check the box 'Show VPN status in menu bar' to have speedy access to your connections in future. Choosing a VPN router IP address explained - static/dynamic IP and dynamic DNS Setting up VPN Configure a VPN connection on Windows XP - External Link