Please note that the facilities and guidelines for remote access have been reviewed during early 2012, and there are new recommendations for staff.
If you have an Internet connection, a number of resources at the College are available from home or work. As always, you will need your ITS username and password. Note that access from a place of work which uses a firewall may not be possible to all services, and students should enquire of their workplace whether access may be permitted.
Summary of Web based services
Viewing College Web Pages
- You can use your Internet Browser to view College web pages, although you may be asked for your username and password before you can access some pages.
- You can configure your Web browser so that the College home page is the default home page when you start the browser.
The Virtual Learning Environment
Dealing with a forgotten password
It is possible for students to manage their ITS computer account from home or work if they have a valid Birkbeck Library number. See the Computer Account Registration System page for more information.
The Birkbeck Gmail service is available for students to read their email or arrange for email forwarding, and for staff, access to Exchange is provided by Outlook Web Access.
Birkbeck Library Catalogue
Databases and Other Electronic resources
The Library maintain a comprehensive list of electronic resources available both within the College and externally at The Birkbeck E-Library. This includes many online resources such as electronic journals and bibliographic databases. For many of the externally held resources, it is necessary to log on using your ITS username and password.
School Intranets and systems
A number of Schools and departments run their own servers and systems for students on related courses. These are often a fundamental part of the course, are often password protected, and may be web-based or require access to specialist servers.
Student Resources
The College Intranet is available to students. Access from the internet (ie outside of the College) is restricted via ITS username/password.
The Virtual Private Network (VPN) service
The Virtual Private Networking (VPN) service at Birkbeck enables users to connect to the Birkbeck College network and utilize network resources as if they were connected directly to it, using their existing connection to the Internet.
Accessing files on ITS managed systems
Files which are stored on your "N:" drive are available from home if you connect to the VPN service. The VPN service places you on the Birkbeck network, which can be useful for remote access to your desktop (for staff), or for accessing electronic resources which restrict access based upon network addresses. The VPN Service also allows you to mount network drives and access centrally managed filestore.
Full access to desktop resources
For staff, full access to desktop resources is available using Remote Desktop Connection, which allows you to take control of your own PC while away from the College.
