[Discussion] VPN - why?

[Brad Montroy]

Gosh Esther, don't sugar coat it.<G>

Another piece of advice I've heard about this - Don't ever use a VPN from a 
public access point, like Starbucks or a hotel, because anyone in the area 
can capture your data stream - It is not secure.

Brad
==============================
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Esther Schindler" <esther at bitranch.com>
To: "POSSI Discussion List" <discussion at lists.possi.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: [Discussion] VPN - why?


> On May 16, 2007, at 3:00 AM, Phil Parker wrote:
>> My university now offers a VPN connection, if I want to use it, for
>> off-campus
>> machines.
>>
>> Should I be interested? If so, why, or where can I read about why?
>> (I tried
>> searching VOICE newsletters, but didn't find anything relevant.)
>
> I can't tell whether you SHOULD be interested, but I can offer a bit
> of explanation about what a VPN does.
>
> A VPN lets you gain access into an organization's network. When
> you're signed into the VPN, you are inside the firewall. Thus, you
> can access network drives and run applications that cannot be reached
> from outside. (And, obviously, those resources *shouldn't* be reached
> from outside.) In my case, that means that I can run the CIO.com
> content management system, and I can get to the shared drive where we
> store the "articles in progress" database.
>
> But when you log into the VPN, you really _are_ in the remote
> network. In my case, that means that once I'm connected to the CXO
> Media network, I can no longer see the other computers on the
> network, and I can no longer use my remote network printers. (The
> latter is sometimes a pain.)
>
> Are there computing resources available only from University systems
> that you need to access? Which currently make you sigh and say,
> "Darn, I'll have to wait until I get to the office tomorrow"? If so,
> you could use a VPN.
>
> I'll warn you, though. VPNs are strange and arcane things. Getting
> them working requires eyes of newt, the dark of the moon, and
> sometimes, I suspect, human sacrifices. Even when they "work" they
> can be problematical. It makes sense to use a VPN when you need it,
> but it's not a task for the faint of heart. (Do you have the strength
> of ten because your heart is pure? Okay, then. Go right ahead.)
>
> Esther
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