The VPN is a secure network connection that is layered on top of a public network, such as the Internet. This type of connection makes use of the Internet's infrastructure to move secure data to and from the campus network. This service uses the PPTP protocol, which is supported by Microsoft's modern operating systems as well as other PPTP compliant clients for Macintosh and Linux.
A VPN has some advantages and disadvantages are:
Advantages :
* Allows you to be at home and access your company's computers in the same way as if you were sitting at work.
* Almost impossible for someone to tap or interfer with data in the VPN tunnel.
* If you have VPN client software on a laptop, you can connect to your company from anywhere in the world.
Disadvantages :
* Setup is more complicated than less secure methods. VPN works across different manufacturers' equipment, but connecting to a non-NETGEAR product will add to difficulty, since there may not documentation specific to your situation.
* The company whose network you connect to may require you to follow the company's own policies on your home computers ( ! )
If you want to setup your VPN Connection you should have to follow these steps :
To set up a connection to a VPN, do the following:
1. On the computer that is running Windows XP, confirm that the connection to the Internet is correctly configured.
* You can try to browse the internet
* Ping a known host on the Internet, like yahoo.com, something that isn’t blocking ICMP
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, double click Network Connections
4. Click Create a new connection in the Network Tasks task pad
5. In the Network Connection Wizard, click Next.
6. Click Connect to the network at my workplace, and then click Next.
7. Click Virtual Private Network connection, and then click Next.
8. If you are prompted, you need to select whether you will use a dialup connection or if you have a dedicated connection to the Internet either via Cable, DSL, T1, Satellite, etc. Click Next.
9. Type a host name, IP or any other description you would like to appear in the Network Connections area. You can change this later if you want. Click Next.
10. Type the host name or the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that you want to connect to, and then click Next.
11. You may be asked if you want to use a Smart Card or not.
12. You are just about done, the rest of the screens just verify your connection, click Next.
13. Click to select the Add a shortcut to this connection to my desktop check box if you want one, if not, then leave it unchecked and click finish.
14. You are now done making your connection, but by default, it may try to connect. You can either try the connection now if you know its valid, if not, then just close it down for now.
15. In the Network Connections window, right-click the new connection and select properties. Let’s take a look at how you can customize this connection before it’s used.
16. The first tab you will see if the General Tab. This only covers the name of the connection, which you can also rename from the Network Connection dialog box by right clicking the connection and selecting to rename it. You can also configure a First connect, which means that Windows can connect the public network (like the Internet) before starting to attempt the ‘VPN’ connection. This is a perfect example as to when you would have configured the dialup connection; this would have been the first thing that you would have to do. It's simple, you have to be connected to the Internet first before you can encrypt and send data over it. This setting makes sure that this is a reality for you.
17. The next tab is the Options Tab. It is The Options tab has a lot you can configure in it. For one, you have the option to connect to a Windows Domain, if you
Answered by
Rupesh
, an ibibo Citizen,
at
12:24 PM on June 03, 2008