Macos – Connect to VPN without Cisco AnyConnect

That greatly depends on the configuration of the server. Cisco Concentrators can speak PPTP which works on nearly every version of Windows, but it's costly in terms of performance. The number of possible connections drops to about a tenth for the server so this is rarely activated.

Furthermore there seems to be an option to enable L2TP. The documentation states that but at least for our university here no one figured out how to enable it and set it up.

You would have to ask the person maintaining the server whether one of the above options apply.

For the "usual" Cisco IPSec over UDP there is no native option in Windows, unfortunately.

1. Cisco VPN with pre-shared key

Assume you have been given connection information for a Cisco VPN server:

Host: 64.34.199.12

Group ID: SUPERVENDOR
Password: *318#($@

User ID: ian@superuser.com
Password: ianvendor1234

These are the steps to use ShrewSoft VPN to connect to the Cisco VPN server, rather than the Cisco client:

1. Create a new connection, and under Host name or IP Address enter the Host address (64.34.199.12):
   

2. On the Authentication tab, select Authentication Method of Mutual PSK + XAuth:
   

3. On the Authentication -> Local Authentication tab select Identification Type of Key Identifier:
   

4. Still on the Authentication -> Local Authentication tab, enter Key ID String of SUPERVENDOR:
   

5. On the Authentication -> Credentials tab, enter your Pre Shared Key of *318#($@:
   

6. Save the newly created connection, and click Connect

7. When prompted for a username and password, enter your supplied User ID and Password, and click Connect: