Hello
I am a complete newbie to Linux. I can follow very detailed instructions but beyond that, am pretty hopeless sometimes

I am trying to install this vpn thing for school (i need to access some of my info)

I seem to get to the installation part somehow but i keep getting this message

Making module
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.31-17-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.31-17-generic'
CC [M] /home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.o
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:12:26: error: linux/config.h: No such file or directory
In file included from /home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/Cniapi.h:15,
from /home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:27:
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/GenDefs.h:113: error: conflicting types for ‘uintptr_t’
include/linux/types.h:41: note: previous declaration of ‘uintptr_t’ was here
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c: In function ‘CniInjectReceive’:
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:297: error: implicit declaration of function ‘skb_set_timestamp’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:331: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘nh’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:332: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘mac’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c: In function ‘CniInjectSend’:
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:454: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘mac’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:455: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘nh’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:458: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘h’
/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.c:458: error: ‘struct sk_buff’ has no member named ‘nh’
make[2]: *** [/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient/linuxcniapi.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/mblack3/Desktop/vpnclient] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.31-17-generic'
make: *** [default] Error 2
Failed to make module "cisco_ipsec.ko".


let me know what I can do and please keep your instructions as a simple and detailed as possible

thank you so much for you help and time

also, these are the instructions from the school

To install the client on a Linux system, you must have root access.
1.Download the Cisco VPN Client for Linux. Please also download a copy of the Linux VPN Client User Guide for your reference. Your use of the client is subject to the terms of the license contained within this guide. If a kernel module is unavailable for your Linux kernel, the installation script will attempt to build one suitable for your kernel version; therefore you will need to install the kernel source RPM package before continuing with the vpnclient installation.

2.Use gunzip and tar to uncompress and expand the archive.

3.Run the vpn_install script to install the VPN client. If the precompiled Cisco VPN kernel module does not install in the running kernel perfectly, the kernel may panic and may result in a reboot. Please remember to disable the VPN client startup script at reboot by pressing "I" and answering "N" when prompted to start that service. Otherwise the script will start, and the kerne may panic again during startup.

4.When the installation completes, execute '/etc/init.d/vpnclient_init start' to initialize the client for the first time.

5.Connect to the Notre Dame VPN by issuing the command 'vpnclient connect ndvpn'.