Using The GW VPN

Hello and welcome to this short tutorial  about how to install and use the GW VPN.  

Many of Himmelfarb Library's resources  are only available to current GW students,  

faculty, and staff. These resources include  databases full text journal articles and  

e-books. In order to use these resources from off campus you need to authenticate meaning, that you  

need to prove your affiliation with the university. Using the GW VPN is the preferred way to do this.  

The GW virtual private network or VPN allows remote access to university systems and resources  

from anywhere by creating an encrypted channel from your location directly to GW's network  

when you connect to the VPN you are connecting to the GW network let's talk about why using  

the VPN is a good idea when you're off campus websites might not necessarily know that you are  

affiliated with GW and that you should have access to Himmelfarb's resources through this affiliation.  

If you go to a website and try to  access an e-book or journal article  

you may get an error message a login  page or may even be asked to pay a fee  

if Himmelfarb Library subscribes to that  resource there is no need to pay that fee.  

You just need to authenticate and show that you are affiliated with GW when you connect to the GW  VPN

you are establishing a secure connection between your computer and the GW network. 

Once you've logged in through the VPN you will have access to all of the resources that Himmelfarb Library 

has purchased and subscribed to for your  use. This means that you should not be prompted  

with additional logins while accessing or using Himmlefarb's resources from our website.   

To get started visit the off-campus access VPN guide available through Himmelfarb Library.  

Instructions are available for downloading and connecting to the VPN on this site. The first step is to download  

the VPN client from Cisco AnyConnect. Once you've downloaded the VPN client locate and start the  

Cisco AnyConnect program on your computer.

If this is your first time connecting to the VPN enter go.vpn.gwu.edu into the box.

If you have connected to the VPN before make sure that the GW address is selected then click connect.

A login screen will appear, log in to the VPN using your GW NetID and password

This is the same login and password that you use to access your GW email account.

You may be prompted for additional information if you have two-factor authentication set up on your account.  

After a successful installation you can connect from any off-campus location with your computer  

using your GW NetID and password and you  are ready to start accessing Himmelfarb's  resources from anywhere.

For technical assistance please contact the GW Help Desk at 202-994-4948 or ithelp@gwu.edu.

For questions about access to Himmelfarb's resources. Please contact the Library at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or visit our website https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu and look for the ask us button.

Thank you for watching