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Information
VPN is an acronym that stands for Virtual Private Network. By accessing a VPN, some portion of your network traffic will appear as if it is on a different network than the one you are currently connected to.
For Bowdoin, if you use Bowdoin's VPN, you authenticate with your Bowdoin username, password and 2-step authentication device which verifies who you are. Once complete, you will then have access to some Bowdoin services that are not normally available from off campus.
The VPN portal name, also known as the Global Protect portal, is "remoteaccess.bowdoin.edu"
VPN Changes
In the spring of 2024, the college stopped using Cisco Anyconnect for VPN and changed to Global Protect by Palo Alto. If a client has Cisco Anyconnect installed, it should be uninstalled and Global Protect should be installed instead. Links with instructions on how to install Global Protect can be found below in the Installation and Use section on this page.
Installation and Use
We have various articles that will walk you through installing and using Bowdoin's VPN software, called GlobalProtect. Click on the corresponding article that represents your situation for detailed instructions.