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Remote Computing

Remote Computing Responsibilities

Remote Desktop Connection is a technology that allows you to connect to your work computer from another computer (on or off-campus) and have access to all of your programs, files, and network resources as though you were in front of your computer at work.

Staff and Faculty who connect to Penn GSE servers or access data remotely have special responsibilities. Anyone who uses a remote system to access sensitive data or to access their office computer via Remote Desktop must certify their system (see below links). We recommend all home computers that connect to GSE servers be certified and have encrypted hard drives.

    Please contact us if you wish to use Remote Desktop to connect to your work computer.

    Windows Access

    Follow these instructions to remotely access your work computer from another computer (the “client”).

    1. Open Remote Desktop Connection by clicking the Start button > All Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.
    2. In Computer, type the IP address of your work computer (The GSE IT Team will provide the IP address of your work computer, the “host”, when we assist you with setup).
    3. Click on the Options button and in the Username field type GSESP2\username (where “username” is the PennKey username you use to login to your work computer).
    4. Click Connect and enter your computer password when prompted.

    Mac Access

    1. Finder menu > Go menu > Connect to Server…
    2. In Server address field, enter vnc:// followed by your office computer’s IP number, which will be provided by the IT team.
    3. Click Connect.
    4. You will be prompted to log in.  In this case, your username must be entered as your full name, not your normal username, followed by the password you log into your office computer with.
    5. If your login was successful, the Screen Sharing app will run and you will see your office computer’s desktop. You can turn scaling on or off from the View menu. Scaling on will show you the entire screen of your office computer. Scaling off will show you a portion of the office computer’s screen in actual size. Moving the mouse to the corners of the screen will pan around.
    6. Make sure to quit Screen Sharing when done.