Using VPN in Windows

The VPN client cannot be installed on a computer connected to the Hamilton network.  These instructions should only be followed on an OFF-CAMPUS computer.

Installation Instructions

1. Open a web browser.
2. In the location box, type the URL https://outside.hamilton.edu.
3. In the login dialog box:
   1. Select the appropriate group option: For Hamilton employees, select Hamilton College.
   2. Enter your Hamilton username (e.g. do not include @hamilton.edu).
   3. Enter your password and Duo will automatically send a push notification to your phone. Alternatively, you can use the 6 digit pin from a Duo hardware token or generated by the Duo mobile app with your password (e.g. mypassword,555555 - omit spaces before or after the comma).
   4. Click Login.
4. In the Network Access Warning window, click Continue to proceed.
5. Click Start AnyConnect to proceed to the VPN client download.
6. Click the blue Download button to start the download.
7. Run the downloaded file to install the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client on your PC.

Connecting and Disconnecting

1. To start a VPN connection, search for the Cisco Secure client in the Start menu and launch it (The helpdesk recommends pinning it to your taskbar or Start menu for ease of access).

2. The Cisco Secure Client will open. Enter outside.hamilton.edu and click Connect.

3. Enter your Hamilton username.

4. Enter your password and Duo will automatically send a push notification to your phone. Alternatively, you can use the 6 digit pin from a Duo hardware token or generated by the Duo mobile app with your password (e.g. mypassword,555555 - omit spaces before or after the comma).

5. Click OK to continue.

6. A dialog window with a warning against unauthorized use will appear. Click Accept on this window.

7. At this point, you will be connected to all of your normal Hamilton College network resources via VPN. You can confirm this by hovering over the VPN icon in your taskbar notifications area, and viewing the message indicating that the VPN client is connected.