This list will continue to change as new questions are asked.
VPN Connection Fails
Firewall: If you are using a hardware and/or software firewall, make sure your firewalls are set up to allow PPTP tunnels (or PPTP Pass-through).
- If you use a router on your home network to manage your internet connection most likely your router includes a built-in hardware firewall.
- By default most hardware firewalls allow PPTP tunnels, but if you are unsure consult your firewall manual for help verifying that PPTP is allowed.
Public Internet Hotspots and Hotel Networks: Many public internet hotspots and hotel networks block VPN traffic. As a result VPN access may not be possible based upon the ISP service that you are using.
Username/Password: Make sure you are entering your username and password correctly. For your username you should use your email address (tjohnson@cocc.edu) and for your password use the same password used when accessing your COCC email. (more user/password info)
VPN not available on COCC's wired network: COCC's VPN is not available while using a standard Campus computer, but is available from off-campus or while connected to COCC's wireless network.
Firefox:
Mozilla's Firefox (version 1.5+) is required to download files from an FTP server.
To upload files using Firefox you will need to add an extension. One good extension to consider is FireFTP.
Internet Explorer 7:
- Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 substantially changed how FTP sites are navigated in IE 7. As a result the original IE instructions will not work please click here for IE 7 specific instructions.
Web Page Error Using Internet Explorer 6.x (VERY COMMON): When using IE as your browser a web page error message may appear after clicking this link.
- The details of this message may indicate that the cause was "DNS Error".
- If this occurs try refreshing your browser (View / Refresh) to try again. For some reason this appears to be common with IE.
- This problem is caused by a problem with Internet Explorer and it's handling for how it shows "friendly error messages". For a workaround and more information go to http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=328785.
More details about using FTP to access your COCC My Documents is available at http://its.cocc.edu/services/VPN/MyDocs.
Username/Password: Make sure you are entering your username and password correctly. For your username you should use your email address (tjohnson@cocc.edu) and for your password use the same password used when accessing your COCC email. (more user/password info)
Entering the wrong username or password can cause an error similar to the following:
Firefox: "Alert... 530 User cjones cannot login"
IE: "Could not login to the FTP server with the user name and password specified"
Browser Errors
Error opening browser: Since general internet access is not available within COCC's VPN service, opening your browser to your normal home page will likely display an error. To access COCC's VPN services simply type http://www.cocc.edu/login in your browser's address bar once opened.
Error accessing student/staff My Documents: See previous My Documents help section.
Support
Since COCC's ITS department is not capable of supporting home computers we will try to keep the information on this troubleshooting page up-to-date with the most common issues.
Students: If your are unable to connect to COCC's VPN or have other problems please review the troubleshooting tips referenced above and then contact a COCC Lab Attendant if you still have questions.
Faculty and Staff: If you are still unable to connect to the COCC VPN after reviewing the above troubleshooting tips, please post a message to the "Questions and Tips" public folder and review any existing discussions in case they may help.