University of Southern California

ITS Information Technology Services

A division of the Office of the Chief Information Officer

Virtual Private Network (VPN) Overview

VPN, also called IP tunneling, is a secure method of remotely accessing USC computer resources. The VPN encrypts all traffic to and from a computer in order to prevent others from viewing the information. VPN also provides the user with a virtual USC IP address that allows access to restricted USC resources.

Accessing VPN

You may access VPN directly by pointing your browser to vpn.usc.edu. You may also use the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client.

The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows and Mac

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility is a VPN client that does not require user configuration. This client will work with the following versions of the Windows and Mac operating systems:

Windows Mac
Windows XP (32- and 64-bit versions) Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit versions) Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit versions) Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit versions) Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
- Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)

You will need to install the Java Runtime Environment before you will be able to successfully install the AnyConnect client. You can download this Java program at www.java.com.

The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for iOS

The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility client is a VPN client for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices running iOS 4, iOS 5, and iOS 6. You can download the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility client from the App Store on your iOS device.

Getting Help

For questions, please contact the Customer Support Center at 213-740-5555 or send an email to consult@usc.edu.

Last updated:
December 17, 2012

VPN Documentation

The use of all USC computing resources is governed by the USC Computing Policies.