Remote Access Troubleshooting

System Requirements

Currently, remote access will only work providing your computer matches the following specifications:

Windows 2000 or XP
Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6 (download here) or Firefox 1.5+ (download here)
Sun's Java Runtime (download here)

In addition:

You must also have administrator rights on your computer. With Windows XP Home, this is not likely to be an issue.
Any firewall software (such as Norton Internet Security or ZoneAlarm) must be configured correctly to allow access to the school's network - consult your manual on how to do this.
Internet Explorer must be configured to allow ActiveX controls and Java to run. See the Internet Explorer help for how to do this.
The remote access software requires "popups" to be accessible. Disable any popup-blocking software, at least for the school website.
Your network password must have at least 6 alphanumeric (that is, only letters and numbers and no symbols or spaces) characters. You must have your password changed at school if this is not the case.

If you wish to use Remote Desktop as well as Remote Access, further configuration of any firewalls may be required. You will also need the Remote Desktop client software installed (by default it is on Windows XP, Windows 2000 users can download it here). You will also need to disable Remote Desktop on your PC. You can usually do this by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Properties, choosing Remote, and unticking "Allow users to connect to this computer".

Known Problems

Using AOL

AOL does not provide a "standard" connection to the internet, and as a result many internet services and protocols are unavailable to people using AOL. Unfortunately, Neatherd's remote access is one of those services that does not work properly with AOL. There is currently no solution to this problem, and unless AOL dramatically alter their service and software, it is unlikely there ever will be. It is suggested you lodge a help request with AOL.

Using Windows XP Service Pack 2 and other Windows Updates

The remote access software provided to Neatherd by Juniper Systems (called Neoteris) uses a technology called VPN Tunnelling. When Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, it broke support for VPN tunnelling. This problem may also affect you with some other Windows Updates, as they contain the same code.

Microsoft have provided a fix, which you can read about and download from this page. Please note that you may already have this fix installed, so only install it if Remote Access does not work for you.