VPN

Setup VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Most of times we need to connect to organization where they work, to do some extra work, or some users in their job descriptions have instance that they can work from home. for that reason Network administrators can set up VPN infrastructure ( with Radius Authentication ) and Active directory authentication to control remote VPN access, and users need to create at their home computers VPN connection to connect remotely on their work computers to do what they need to do.
Pr-requirement are: You need Internet connection already established and all firewalls between your PC and Internet should allow establishing PPTP-VPN with user name and password ( or L2TP if corporate network administrators set up VPN connections with Certificate authentication ). This includes personal firewall on your local computer, corporate firewalls, internet gateways if you use some.
Here are steps to create VPN connection on Windows 7 and Windows 8:
1) For Windows 7 you go in Control Panel->Network and Sharing Center – select: “Set up a new connection or network”
For Windows 8 - Navigate to the Desktop - Right click the Network symbol in the task-bar - Click Open Network and Sharing Center-select “Set up a new connection or network”
2) Select connect to a workplace: for look 2nd image.
3) Select “Use my Internet connection (VPN): look 3rd image.
4) Enter internet address ( IP address or DNS name ) that previously your corporate network administrators create along with published VPN connection name ( this is DNS host A record created on public DNS server that represent VPN connection name ).
look 4th image.
5) Enter previously provided username and password by your network administrators and click on “Connect” button: look 5th image.
On first connection it is normal that Authentication server ( IAS ) needs some time to authenticate your connection (5-20 seconds)
You may change some connection properties for establishing connection much quicker. For that, on following screenshots are presented optional parameters that you may set.
- In Network and Sharing Center select “Change adapter settings”:look 6th image.
Select already created connection (named as “Your VPN in example”), right-click and select properties from “Context menu”. In security tab set “Type of VPN” to “Point to point tunneling protocol (PPTP)” if you use user name and password for authentication or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol ( L2TP ) – if you use Certificate for authentication and confirm with OK button: look 7th image
Advantages of VPN:
1) Enhanced security. When you connect to the network through a VPN, the data is kept secured and encrypted. In this way the information is away from hackers’ eyes.
2) Remote control. In case of a company, the great advantage of having a VPN is that the information can be accessed remotely even from home or from any other place. That’s why a VPN can increase productivity within a company.
3) Share files. A VPN service can be used if you have a group that needs to share files for a long period of time.
4) Online anonymity. Through a VPN you can browse the web in complete anonymity. Compared to hide IP software or web proxies, the advantage of a VPN service is that it allows you to access both web applications and websites in complete anonymity.
5) Unblock websites & bypass filters. VPNs are great for accessing blocked websites or for bypassing Internet filters. This is why there is an increased number of VPN services used in countries where Internet censorship is applied.
6) Change IP address. If you need an IP address from another country, then a VPN can provide you this.
7) Better performance. Bandwidth and efficiency of the network can be generally increased once a VPN solution is implemented.
Reduce costs. Once a VPN network is created, the maintenance cost is very low. More than that, if you opt for a service provider, the network setup and surveillance is no more a concern.
For Testing VPN use following Server:
Server #1: euro195.vpnbook.com
Server #2: euro213.vpnbook.com
Server #3: uk180.vpnbook.com (UK VPN - optimized for fast web surfing; no p2p downloading)
Server #4: us1.vpnbook.com(US VPN - optimized for fast web surfing; no p2p downloading)
Username: vpnbook
Password: xuW3qeJa