University VPN

The only way to reach your office computer from outside Israel. The trade-off — one machine only, fixed in advance.

  • Approx. 20 min + handling time
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux

Register in advance — a TMR request

Nothing works without this step. Access is opened for one specific machine.

  1. Do this while you are still on campus

    It is a closed loop — TMR is reachable only from the wired university network. You cannot register for the VPN after you have already left the country — set it up before you travel.

  2. Find the IP address

    From the office computer open whatsmyip.com and write the address down.

  3. Open the request

    Open a TMR request asking for university VPN access. State:

    • Your Bar-Ilan username.
    • The IP address of the computer you want to reach.
    • If you need SSH rather than a remote desktop, say so explicitly and ask for access through access.biu.ac.il.

Connecting — remote desktop

Everything happens in the browser. Nothing to install in advance, and it is identical on every operating system.

  1. Sign in to the VPN gateway

    Go to vpn.biu.ac.il and enter your Bar-Ilan username and password.

  2. Two-factor authentication

    Approve the second factor in whichever way you set up:

    • A code from Microsoft Authenticator
    • A phone call
    • A WhatsApp message

  3. Open the connection

    The site downloads a remote desktop connection file. Open it and enter your username and password again — this time in the remote desktop window itself.

    Why the password twice? — The first sign-in is to the VPN gateway, the second to the computer you are reaching. They are two separate systems.

Connecting — SSH

For command line only, usually to a Linux machine. The address is access.biu.ac.il, and it acts as a jump host.

  1. Connect to the jump host

    ssh YOURUSER@access.biu.ac.il

    And from there continue to your machine:

    ssh YOURUSER@YOUR_COMPUTER_IP

  2. Or in a single command

    ssh -J YOURUSER@access.biu.ac.il YOURUSER@YOUR_COMPUTER_IP
    You must request this in advance — SSH access through access.biu.ac.il is not opened automatically — ask for it explicitly in the TMR request.

Changing the registered computer

  1. A new TMR request

    Access is tied to one IP address. If you switched machines, or the IP changed, you need a new TMR request with the updated address.

Didn't work? Write to me.
·

Updated July 2026