October 3, 2014

New VPN certificate implemented Oct. 15; some will need to take action

Beginning Oct. 15 at 7 a.m., the Vanderbilt IT Network Security team will implement a change that imports a new certificate and will result in cost savings and improve support.

Beginning Oct. 15 at 7 a.m., the Vanderbilt IT Network Security team will implement a change that imports a new certificate and will result in cost savings and improve support. Certificates allow digital devices to exchange information securely. The new certificate will only support the URL vpn.vanderbilt.edu, affecting VPN and Pulse users in particular.

If your VPN or Pulse client is currently configured for the URLs vpn.mc.vanderbilt.edu or vpn.ea.vanderbilt.edu, you will receive an untrusted certificate warning after the certificate is changed.

In order to correct the untrusted certificate warning pop-up, the user must reconfigure the client to vpn.vanderbilt.edu. The instructions to do so are as follows:

  1. Open the Pulse client and highlight the connection being used to access the Vanderbilt Enterprise SSL VPN. Once highlighted, click “Edit.”
  2. Change the URL line to vpn.vanderbilt.edu.
  3. Click “Save.” This completes the required change. The user may click “Connect” to verify that the connection is working normally.

For issues or problems completing these steps, please submit a ticket to request assistance from a VUIT Network Security representative, or call 343-HELP (4357).