How to run a VPN through PuTTY?

I am currently attending a university which allows internet access by opening PuTTY and keeping it open while I surf. If I close PuTTY I no longer have connection to the internet. I am trying to use a VPN and PuTTY at the same time but PuTTY always experiences an error when I open the VPN connection. The issue is not throughput overload. I am running Windows 7 Ultimate x64. If anyone has any experience with this "tunnel within a tunnel" configuration your help would be very appreciated. Thanks!|||Putty sees the local connection drop when the VPN pushes down your new internal address. Since it is a secure SSL connection it drops to prevent interception. There is nothing you can do to change this behavior.|||This is quite confusing, as putty is used for such things like ssh and creating a secure connection to a certain IP. I am guessing that if somehow your internet connectivity is allowed though putty, then a vpn is going to try to use a different port than putty is using..