VPN not only helps you to access your work machine back in the office, but it can also provide consumers more secure Internet browsing or virtual LANs. Best of all, there are some good free choices available, too. When you think of VPN, if you think of anything, it’s probably not free VPN clients for consumers. But setting up and using a VPN (Virtual Private Networking) has become much less of a hassle recently. What was formerly a technology used mostly by businesses to allow employees to access the company network remotely has turned into a multi-purpose technology. Now VPN means everything from enterprise VPN hardware to on-the-fly software solutions simple enough for use by consumers who want to provide remote access to their home networks. And it’s not just the technology that has become more accessible—the price, too, is right for everyone, with several good free VPN clients now available.
Traditional VPN
VPN traditionally has been a locally-deployed client/server solution. You would build a VPN server to manage and negotiate the connections and install clients to the machines that needed remote access. This is still the way many businesses set up VPNs. Organizations often have strict security and log in requirements. They need to know who is accessing the company network and when. Sometimes this information is used for billing consultants or employees who work off site. Cisco’s VPN client software is one of the most widely-used in business. Some businesses use turnkey VPN appliances. Cisco, Juniper, and Barracuda are a few companies that provide such products. These appliances are often easier for a business to deploy than building a VPN server, and they often feature very sophisticated and granular security and management options. Of the many open source traditional VPN solutions available, OpenVPN is one of the most widely used. With features like blowfish or AES encryption, certificate-based SSL connectivity, free clients for Windows, Linux, UNIX and Mac, site-to-site and host-to-site configuration options, it is not difficult to see why is has become a favourite among open-source enthusiasts.
Non-Traditional VPN
Of course, not everyone needs traditional VPN. Some people just want to be able to connect to their work machine without a lot of hassle, albeit that this usually implies without much in the way of security. Others may just want to set up VPN to collaborate or host PC game-playing sessions with friends. There are solutions out there for quick and easy VPN, but not all of them are true VPN solutions, providing a secure, encrypted data connection between two clients via the internet. True VPN is different to remote control solutions like Team Viewer or GoToMy PC . These remote access solutions are designed more for accessing a single machine’s files, or for desktop sharing. They are usually cloud-based and require client software, but are ofter not the choice of the security conscious.
VPN solutions can allow you to create virtual LANs. LogMeIn’s Hamachi allows for this. It’s a free solution for a small business that may not have a physical LAN established but wants to create one with users and shared resources virtually. Some VPNs are used more to create a secure data connection for browsing the Internet. OpenVNS’s Shield Exchange acts more as an anonymizer, blocking your IP address when you access websites and guarding against online threats. It’s good additional security to have in place when connecting to the Internet at public hotspots. Other free VPN solutions are for more casual users. Wippien is embraced by gamers because it makes hosting games easy and has built-in chat functionality.
Author: www.pcmag.com