Remote access to a Windows PC

How to remotely access a departmental Windows PC

Setup

First you will need support staff to check that your PC has been configured to allow you to access it remotely.

You can contact support at: support@ee.ucl.ac.uk

Getting Connected

In order to access your departmental PC through the UCL and departmental firewall you will need to use the UCL VPN (Virtual Private Network).

If you are connecting from a Mac, with OS X Catalina (10.15.x), then F-Secure will not work with the UCL VPN service. In this case you should download and install Sophos Home Edition if this is your own personal device. It this device is owned by UCL then contact support staff to have the full version of Sophos installed.

F-Secure

Before you can use the VPN you will need to make sure that your PC has a regularly updated anti virus product installed. UCL's licence for F-Secure allows you to install on your own personal PC. You can download this for free at:

http://swdb.ucl.ac.uk/package/view/id/166

You will need this installed whether you are using Windows, OS X or Linux.

F-Secure should automatically update itself periodically, but you cannot access the VPN until you have updated, so you may want to manually update immediately after installing. On Windows, right click on the F-Secure taskbar icon, open the F-secure product and in the Window that appears you should see an "Update" option.

Once F-Secure has been fully updated you can install the VPN software.

UCL VPN

You can download the UCL VPN client software at:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/services/get-connected/remote-working/vpn

Click on the link for your operating system and download/install the relevant software. All the instructions you need are on the site above, but essentially it is:

Run the VPN client
Enter the host address as "vpn.ucl.ac.uk"
Login with your UCL userid (do NOT add @ucl.ac.uk) and your UCL password

Once you are connected you can disconnect/connect by clicking on the CISCO AnyConnect icon on the Windows taskbar, or the apple menubar.

The UCL VPN service is managed by the Information Services Division, so we can only offer limited help with this service. To contact the Information Services Division about UCL VPN issues, please contact: servicedesk@ucl.ac.uk

Warning When you are connected to the UCL VPN all network traffic to/from your local PC goes via UCL

Connecting to your departmental PC

Once you are connected to UCL VPN. You can use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client to connect to your PC.

Available Clients:

Windows: The remote desktop client is called "Remote Desktop Connection" and it should be located in "All Programs" >> "Accessories"
OS X: You can download Microsoft's free Remote Desktop Connection at:: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id715768417?mt=12
Linux: You can use any RDP client that supports network level authentication. We recommend freerdp

To connect:

Start the remote desktop client and enter the address as "hostname.ee.ucl.ac.uk" where hostname is replaced with the hostname of your PC (printed on a sticker on the front of your PC)
Enter your userid as "ee\userid" (where userid is replaced with your usual UCL userid - do NOT include @ucl.ac.uk)
Enter your usual UCL password when prompted