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Wired Networking in Windows 7 and Vista

What you need to use BC Visitor Network Access to connect to the Internet

BC Faculty, Students, Staff and Affiliates:

Visitors:

  • You must be on campus in an area with access to an Ethernet network wall jack. All residence hall rooms have an Ethernet network jack. Most conference rooms and classrooms have an Ethernet network jack. Confirm with your host that a network jack will be available for use.
  • Ethernet network cable.

Step 1: Physical Set-up

Plug your computer into the BC network using an Ethernet cable:

  1. Plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the Ethernet jack on your computer (see Figure 1):
    • An Ethernet cable looks similar to a phone cable, but the ends are wider. If you do not have an Ethernet cable they are available for purchase at the BC Bookstore.
    • The Ethernet jack looks like a large phone jack and is usually on the back or side of your computer.

      Figure 1
      Figure 1.
  2. Find the wall jack in the office, lab, or residence hall room.
  3. Plug the other end of the Ethernet cable into the network jack, which usually has a gold label (see Figure 2).

    Figure 2
    Figure 2.

Step 2: Configure and enable the wired network connection

  1. Click Start and select Control Panel.
    Note: Click the Classic View link if displayed in the left pane of the Control panel (see Figure 3).
  2. Double-click the Network and Sharing Center icon.
    Figure 3
    Figure 3
    Figure 3.
  3. Under Tasks in the left view pane, select Manage network connections (see Figure 4).

    Figure 4
    Figure 4.
  4. If there is a Wireless Network Connection icon, right-click it and select Disable (see Figure 5).

    Figure 5
    Figure 5.

Step 3: Activate your computer for wired access

  1. Open your web browser and go to: activate.bc.edu (see Figure 6)

    Figure 6                                                     Figure 6.     
  2. For BC faculty, students, staff and affiliates (visitors skip to step 4):
    Click the button for BC faculty, students, staff, and affiliates and follow the instructions. Note the following:
    1. Windows computer users are required to download & install ePO, a required piece of Anti-Virus protection.
    2. If you get a message prompting you to change the name of your computer, another computer on the network already has the name you chose. There cannot be more than one computer on the network with the same computer name. Follow the instructions provided on the Activation web page to change your computer name.
  3. Restart your computer after activating. There may be a short time delay after you activate before you can access your BC email and the web.
  4. For Visitors:
    Click Visitors (see Figure 6) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete activation.
    All visitor access ends at 6:00 AM daily. To regain access to the Internet, you must repeat the activation process by going to activate.bc.edu using a web browser. Visitor Network Access provides access to the following services:
    1. Web browsing (including secure sites)
    2. Web email
    3. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
    4. VPN (Virtual Private Network)
    5. SSH (Secure Shell)
    6. NTP (Network Time Protocol)

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