OK, I’m going to do this as slowly as possible, so that no one gets lost.

 

First, locate the “Settings” Button on your iPod Touch or iPhone.  It should look like any other application, with three gray gears appearing in the icon.  Tap it in order to open the “Settings” menu.

 

Next, find the “General” option, and tap it once in order to go to the “General Options” menu.

 

This menu presents a list of options.  Find the one that says “Network” and tap it.

 

Inside the “Network” menu, tap the option labeled “VPN.”

 

Next, tap “Add VPN Configuration…”

 

Alright, now it’s time to configure your VPN.  This is a lot simpler than it sounds; just take it step-by-step.

 

On the top of the screen, you will see three buttons labeled “L2TP,” “PPTP,” and “IPSec.”

 

Tap the “IPSec” button and ensure that it has been selected.

 

Next, tap the “Description” button.

 

A keyboard will show up.  Type in “Mobility at PSU-UP” (without the quotes).  The description that you enter into this box does not affect how the VPN operates.  Instead, it simply helps you distinguish one VPN from another.

 

When you have finished typing your description, press the return key, located on the bottom right hand side of the keyboard.  This will bring you to the “Server” field.  You may also select this option manually.

 

In the “Server” field, type “mobility.up.psu.edu” (without the quotes), and then hit the enter key.

 

In the “Account” field, type your PSU account ID (i.e. abc456).  Your Penn State account ID number is the first part of your email address.  You should not include the “@psu.edu” portion of your email address.  Once you have entered this information, hit the return key.

 

In the “Password” field, type in your password.  This is the same password you use in order to access your email.

 

Hit the return key, and make sure that “Use Certificate” is turned off.

 

Select the “Group Name” field, and type in “pennstate” (without the quotes).  Then hit the return key.

 

In the “Secret” field, type “pennstate” again (without the quotes).

 

You’re almost done!

 

Hit the “Save” button, located in the top right corner of the screen.  This will save your configuration settings and toss you back to the “VPN” Menu.

 

Now, in order to connect to Penn State’s Wireless Network, you need to go to an area on campus that has wireless service.  Here, you should connect to the “pennstate” network.

 

Once you have connected to “pennstate,” you need to turn on the VPN in order to access to the Internet.  To do this, simply press the “Settings” button (the same one from the first step).

 

There should be a new button in this menu labeled “VPN” and containing an on/off switch.  Simply turn it on and…

 

Ta-dah!  You can now access the internet on your iPod Touch or iPhone.  Feel free to pass your newfound knowledge on to your friends!

 

Note:  Don’t get too worked up about that fact that you can’t access Apple’s App Store while using the VPN.  No one else can either.