You can do the following when off-campus:
- You can read and respond to your Williams email, as well as download, view and send attachments.
- You can transfer files like Word and Excel documents from the Netware servers (your F: or G: drives for PCs, Hector and Helen for Macs) to your home computer or from home to college. You can also transfer files to and from the Unix servers.
- You can access the restricted databases of the college libraries, like Lexis/Nexis, using the college proxy server.
- You can connect to the unix cluster (unix.williams.edu) and use normal UNIX commands, like "mailforward" which forwards your email to another email account.
- You can view and modify your Meeting Maker calendar.
- You can change your UNIX and NetWare passwords.
- Run keyserved applications like Photoshop or Dreamweaver from a Williams owned laptop using VPN
You can't connect directly to your office computer.
Choose a method for connecting to the Internet.
From home you will need either a high speed (broadband) connection, or a dial-up (slow) modem connection. Broadband options in this area are Time Warner cable or Verizon DSL. Time Warner is a cable modem connection, so your house needs to be wired for cable to get it. Verizon DSL is a high speed connection that runs over your phone lines. It is not available everywhere as the distance from telephone junction is a limiting factor. ATT Global is a dial-up connection with local numbers all over the world. The college gets a special rate of $13/month.
Checking Email
You can use our webmail system (imp.williams.edu), or the email client of your choice (Outlook, Outlook Express, OSX Mail, etc.).
From any web browser, such as Internet Explorer, connect to http://webmail.williams.edu (or http://imp.williams.edu) and log in with your username and email.
Eudora, Outlook and Outlook Express will work fine. See the email faq for help on selecting and setting up an email client. When off-campus, either change the SMTP server to your ISP's outgoing server (smtp1.attglobal.net, smtp.sover.net, etc) or use mail.williams.edu with authentication.
ATT Global
If you have an ATT Global dial-up account, there are some settings which are not obvious. Primary DNS should be 165.87.13.129 and the Secondary DNS should be 165.87.201.244. For more details, go to http://www.attbusiness.net.
Transfering Files (FTP)
Any FTP client can connect to lanfiles.williams.edu (which gets you to Hector or Helen). From there you can move files back and forth. As with email, there are too many FTP clients to mention. On the Mac, Fetch is a common choice; on the PC, WS_FTP LE is popular. Both Fetch and WS_FTP LE can be downloaded from CNET.
Proxy Server
The proxy server filters your connection through the Williams network, allowing you to access a Williams-only resource from off campus. The Williams Libraries provide the best instructions.
Meeting Maker
If you have a laptop that was set up by OIT with Meeting Maker, your client should work while off-campus.
For a home computer, we recommend using the web-based client. Follow the links to the Meeting Maker login. The browser may ask you to install a piece of java code from Meeting Maker; you should allow it to do so.
At the login screen you may need to make two adjustments. First, change the server in the pulldown menu to Williams 1, then set the time zone to USA Eastern. For some reason you can't log in until the timezone is set.
Support
The OIT Help Desk is available to help with any of the functions described above. We are not able to diagnose problems due to ISPs or the hardware and software on a home computer. We would like to help, but the variations in home computers and ISP connections make diagnosis of these problems almost impossible over the phone.
There are highly qualified students available who can make house calls (for a consulting fee) and are capable of setting up the ISPs, email clients, FTP clients, and the proxy server.
