Especially in times of corona, the question arises of how to access electronic media from home.

Shibboleth is a browser-based process that simplifies the secure authentication of people and the assignment of authorizations. Users only need to log in at one point and can then access various databases or full texts. To authenticate yourself with Shibboleth, you need your valid university login. No installation on the end device is necessary. Shibboleth access can usually be found at the database or full text providers under Login and "Institution login". Then select Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and enter your personal university login. The disadvantage is that there are currently only a few publishers that allow Shibboleth.


What is the difference to VPN?

Both are procedures that enable access to licensed databases or full texts from outside the university network. They are two completely different systems:

When accessing via VPN, a client must first be downloaded and installed once on a specific end device. Using VPN, your own end device becomes part of the university network through a secure tunnel, regardless of its location. As VPN use requires the installation of special software (VPN client), use depends on the end device on which the VPN client is installed.

Conclusion: With Shibboleth, you do not have to install anything and is therefore more suitable for "installation grouches" or if you are not allowed to install anything on the computer (e.g. in companies during an internship semester). The database selection is therefore limited.
VPN gives you access to all licensed databases.