VPN

[biogenic]

Can someone school me more on VPN ? Are they as secure as they claim to be ? Which one do you use ?

[NYT]

I use a Cisco anyconnect vpn client right now for my users. they connect through Cisco asa firewalls and I have juniper firewalls. active directory authentication.

check out wiki articles for broad stroke info.

yes they are very secure in even a simple configuration. you can go nuts if the engineer wants but all we care about is passing security audits and i pass mine twice a year.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[biogenic]

I use a Cisco anyconnect vpn client right now for my users. they connect through Cisco asa firewalls and I have juniper firewalls. active directory authentication.

check out wiki articles for broad stroke info.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I hear some services offer servers outside the US no logs etc etc. Any advantages to that ?

[socalblue]

I hear some services offer servers outside the US no logs etc etc. Any advantages to that ?

What exactly are you trying to do?

1. If connecting remote users to a business network, extensive logging is your friend.

2. If using a VPN like connection to a proxy service to hide your client identity on the Internet, logging can eliminate the ability to remain anonymous.

Many companies utilize legitimate services like anonymizer.com so that folks such as financial/stock analysts, legal or HR departments can conduct research anonymously.

Hint - the greatest majority of the "free" proxy services are fronts for criminals. They hijack your session & steal logins, bank info, etc.

[ocabj]

The primary reason why I use a VPN is when I am on an untrusted network that I deem hostile (e.g. public wifi) and need secure the inbound/outbound traffic to/from my computer on that network.

My VPN is a Cisco ASA located at work on what I deem to be trusted. So if I'm somewhere, say Starbucks, using the open WiFi, I will create the VPN connection (tunnel) to the Cisco ASA at my work. So the traffic between my computer over the public wifi to the Cisco ASA is in a secure encrypted tunnel, which then gets rerouted appropriately from the ASA.

The other reason I use a VPN is when I need to access services at work that are restricted to specific subnets/vlans and am working remotely. For example, I might be out of town in Vegas and I need to access a restricted application that can't be accessed from off-campus. I will VPN to work and then access that application because my traffic is essentially coming from that VPN issued IP.

VPN servers/appliances can actually log quite a bit. If a user starts a VPN session, I basically see their source IP address, their MAC, username (obviously) and the start of the session. During the session, I see every single traffic flow (tcp, udp, icmp) that occurs up until their logout.

A VPN service is about as secure as any other SSL/TLS service. There's always the possibility of a man-in-the-middle attack.

[sholling]

A home to business VPN can be very secure if done right. The hole in the security is if the user is connected to the business via VPN and to the internet via an unsecured connection at the same time. If the PC is a zombie the zombie operator has access across the VPN. That's why banks etc will often block internet access while home-workers are connected to the VPN.

The other two popular uses for a VPN are anonymous surfing/downloading and to access services not available in their country. A third less common use is added security when using a public hotspot.

There are free services (some legit) but the speed can be really slow. And there are pay serves like Golden Frog's VyprVPN with plans that run $15-20/mo for uncapped service. They can make you appear to be in any of 3 US cities or Asia, or Europe. It's also available as a discounted add-on to Giganews' Usenet service.

Now here is the ugly side. By using a VPN to access the internet you are bypassing the router's firewall feature and it becomes critical that that you maintain top notch antivirus software that includes a software firewall on your computer.

I should also note that some services route all internet traffic through the VPN (when you have it on) while some others may only be sending web surfing through the VPN and allow everything else to go out in the clear.

[Laythor]

OP.. give this a try. One of the easiest VPN's to use for a newbie

https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/

[NYT]

I hear some services offer servers outside the US no logs etc etc. Any advantages to that ?

i wouldn't recommend any vpn service that you don't admin or know who does ie work with.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Coded-Dude]

Buffalo routers are plug and play VPN machines, they run the dd-wrt software out of the box and make perfect little PPTP networks. Simple to setup, easy to maintain.