Some have noticed that their device’s network speed seems sluggish and unable to connect with their home printer while on the VPN. This is understandable, considering how a VPN keeps data secure —a VPN creates an encrypted “tunnel” for all the data you send and receive to pass through an encryption protocol. But you actually have two “tunnel” choices that can help.

If you are not in a department that requires the maximum security of the full tunnel VPN, you can opt to use the half tunnel. The half tunnel, also knows as a split tunnel, sends part of your traffic through the VPN and part of it through an open network, depending on the application you are using. When on the half tunnel, you can still access a home printer and your browsing speed will be faster.

How to select the half-tunnel VPN

1. Select Cisco AnyConnect from your taskbar. 

2. Click Connect in the pop-up window.

3. A second popup window will appear. Above the field for your username, note the dropdown menu under Group.

4. Click the dropdown arrow and select System-VPN-MFA for the half-tunnel.

5. Continue to authenticate your identity by entering your username, password and Duo option.

6. Click OK.

The VPN menu will default to the last option you selected, so when you’re working with confidential data, be sure to check the “group” setting and select System-FullTunnel-MFA when logging in to the VPN.