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Manually installing a VPN certificate

Manually installing a VPN certificate

It might be necessary to have to manually install a certificate to successfully use the VPN. Currently we’re unsure why this is the case, only that when the VPN instructions are followed, the result is a connection error stating “IKe authentication credentials are unacceptable”.

Note: You will need administrative privileges on your device to be able to install the certificate.

If that happens, follow the instructions below to manually download and install the certificate:

  1. Head to the UIS website listing managed VPNs: List of managed VPNs | IT Help and Support

  2. Find the VPN applicable VPN and click the link in the Certificate Authority column to download the certificate.

For Physics, you will either need the UIS VPN (vpn.uis.cam.ac.uk) or the Physics/RA VPN (vpn.ra.phy.cam.ac.uk):

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  1. The certificate will download, by default, to your Downloads folder, but wherever it’s downloaded we will need the path. The easiest way to get this would be to open the folder the certificate was downloaded to using the icon:

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Once File Explorer has opened, right click the address bar and select Copy Address:

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  1. Next, you will need to open an administrator command prompt, and entering your administrative credentials:

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  1. Copy and paste the following command into the command prompt window, substituting the <path-to-cert-file> with the address copied from step three:

certutil –addstore -enterprise –f "Root" <path-to-cert-file>\isrgrootx1.pem

Ensure the filename is the same as the one downloaded, isrgrootx1.pem, and then hit enter to run the command. The output should say the certificate has been installed succesfully:

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Once this is successfully installed the VPN should now connect, provided the token credentials are correct. Refer back to the VPN instructions on either the UIS website here or for the Physics VPN here.