Zscaler Without a Laptop

Overview

The use of Zscaler will require a college-issued computer while working remotely. This usually means a college-issued laptop. Not all remote workers currently have college-issued laptops. To resolve this, a remote desktop service (RDS) was setup to temporarily allow remote workers without laptops to continue working remotely until a laptop has been provisioned to them.

Note: laptops will need to be purchased no later than fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026).

Use the instructions below to access this RDS system.

Steps

1. Visit the PC Remote Access Portal.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account. Note: you may be automatically signed in if you have already authenticated your account in that browser.
3. Click on the link for rds-1.providence.col.
4. When presented with a sign in box, use the following:
   Domain: providence.col
   Username: your NetID (first part of your email address before the @)
   Password: your password
5. Click Login.
6. You will then be presented with a Windows computer that will give you access to campus resources.