University of Southern California

ITS Information Technology Services

A division of the Office of the Chief Information Officer

Connecting with the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client (Mac)

This page provides instructions for how to install and connect to Cisco AnyConnect client for Macintosh OS 10.4 (Tiger) and later.

The Cisco AnyConnect VPN client is a web-based VPN client that does not require user configuration. VPN, also called IP tunneling, is a secure method of accessing USC computer resources.

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 http://www.java.com.

Installing and Connecting with the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client

  1. Point your browser to http://sslvpn.usc.edu.

  2. Enter your USC username and password.
  3. Choose the appropriate VPN Group Authentication Profile for your location from the GROUP pull-down menu. For information describing each of these authentication profiles, please see the VPN Frequently Asked Questions page.
  4. Click Login.

    5. grouplogin.png

  5. Click the Start AnyConnect link in your browser window to begin installation the AnyConnect program. If you receive a certificate warning such as the one below, click Trust to accept the certificate and continue with the installation.

    6. anyconnectmacceert.png

    NOTE: On Apple's Power Mac computers, you may be asked to manually install the AnyConnect client (see example below). To manually install the AnyConnect client, click the link under Install using the link below.

    anyconnect_mac104hl.png

  6. Once the installation is complete, you will be automatically connected to USC's VPN. You should now see the icon, located in the system dock, that indicates connection. This icon, represented by two green dots and a gold lock, is circled in the image below.

    anyconnectmacfinal.png

Disconnecting from the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client


To disconnect from the AnyConnect VPN connection on a Macintosh:

  1. Click the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client in your system dock.
  2. From the Cisco AnyConnect Client screen, click the Disconnect button.

ac_macdisconnect.png

NOTE: The icon that indicates disconnection is represented by two green dots, as shown below.

anyconnectdisconnectmac.png

Reconnecting to the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client

You can reconnect to the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client using two different methods:

VPN Documentation

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