setting up vpn

[jhubert74]

I am having trouble finding info about how to vpn into my windows vista pc from my macbook pro OS X. If anyone has some instructions for me on what to setup on the vista pc to allow incoming vpn and also what to setup on the macbook. I would greatly appreciate any info or web links to get me going.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[S.B.G]

You can use LogMeIn, or GoToMyPC.

What I do is VPN into my Cisco ASA 5510 with IPSec (which is built into OS/X) for the connection and then use RDC to connect to any of my servers or my office PC.

 

[GGJstudios]

I use TeamViewer, which works well with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc.

 

[mulo]

I use TeamViewer, which works well with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc.

which is remote desktop, not vpn.

 

[S.B.G]

which is remote desktop, not vpn.

But it accomplishes the same thing as what the OP is looking to do.

 

[GGJstudios]

which is remote desktop, not vpn.

Yes, I know. But it can do anything you can do with a VPN connection. I see lots of threads where people are having trouble setting up VPN. I see none where people have problems setting up TeamViewer. It's an option to consider.

 

[mulo]

But it accomplishes the same thing as what the OP is looking to do.

dont you think he would have asked for remote desktop if that is what he needed?

Yes, I know. But it can do anything you can do with a VPN connection....

no?

 

[GGJstudios]

dont you think he would have asked for remote desktop if that is what he needed?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with offering suggestions that accomplish the OP's purpose. Where's your useful suggestion for the OP? If you don't have anything meaningful to offer, don't waste time criticizing those of us who are offering help.

no?

No. If you have any facts to offer, do so.

 

[mulo]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with offering suggestions that accomplish the OP's purpose.

didn't we just conclude teamviewer does not accomplish the OP's needs, as it does not do what VPN does?

Where's your useful suggestion for the OP? If you don't have anything meaningful to offer, don't waste time criticizing those of us who are offering help.

simple, theres not enough info in his post to help him.
need protocols ports yada yada

No. If you have any facts to offer, do so.

let me know once you have a tunnel running through teamviewer, like uh, download a torrent file to your pc at work through teamviewer, with your pc at home acting as a server. or simply, change your public ip.

 

[GGJstudios]

didn't we just conclude teamviewer does not accomplish the OP's needs?

No, we didn't. In what way does TeamViewer not accomplish the OP's needs?

simple, theres not enough info in his post to help him.
need protocols ports yada yada

Exactly. And lacking that information, TeamViewer is still a viable alternative, unless the OP comes back and states a reason why it isn't.

let me know once you have a tunnel running through teamviewer, like uh, download a torrent file to your pc at work through teamviewer, with your pc at home acting as a server.

If you can do it on the remote machine with you sitting in front of it, you can do it with TeamViewer. And the OP hasn't stated that that's what they want to do.

TeamViewer allows a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection to be established between client and server. And also TeamViewer uses a full encryption, based on RSA private-/public key exchange and AES (256 Bit) session encoding. As the private key never leaves the client or the host computer, the encrypted data stream, if intercepted, cannot be deciphered.

Look, you may not like the TeamViewer suggestion, but you haven't offered any yourself. Until the OP provides more information, it's a viable option, whether you like it or not.

 

[mulo]

No, we didn't. In what way does TeamViewer not accomplish the OP's needs?

it does not hide all traffic, it does not change his public IP, in short, it is not a vpn tunnel, nor does it have the properties of a vpn tunnel.

Exactly. And lacking that information, TeamViewer is still a viable alternative, unless the OP comes back and states a reason why it isn't.

as above.

If you can do it on the remote machine with you sitting in front of it, you can do it with TeamViewer. And the OP hasn't stated that that's what they want to do.

Look, you may not like the TeamViewer suggestion, but you haven't offered any yourself. Until the OP provides more information, it's a viable option, whether you like it or not.

no..

 

[jhubert74]

Thanks for the Team Viewer suggestion. I tried it out very briefly and think it will do the job. I just need to find out how to keep the ID and Password that is randomly generated from changing so I can always connect remotley. Other than that I like it very much.. That said, I am still looking how to set up a VPN from my Mac to my Vista PC. I am a curious creature and will still want to figure that out but will use the Team Viewer for now. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[GGJstudios]

Thanks for the Team Viewer suggestion. I tried it out very briefly and think it will do the job. I just need to find out how to keep the ID and Password that is randomly generated from changing so I can always connect remotley. Other than that I like it very much.. That said, I am still looking how to set up a VPN from my Mac to my Vista PC. I am a curious creature and will still want to figure that out but will use the Team Viewer for now. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

On the remote machine, go to TeamViewer > Preferences > General and enter a password of your choice there. When TV launches on the remote (which can automatically happen when the system boots), you can connect with either the randomly generated password, or the password you set in Preferences. With TeamViewer you can control the desktop, reboot the remote computer, use file transfer, chat, etc. It's a great, secure tool and very simple to use.

 

[S.B.G]

Thanks for the Team Viewer suggestion. I tried it out very briefly and think it will do the job. I just need to find out how to keep the ID and Password that is randomly generated from changing so I can always connect remotley. Other than that I like it very much.. That said, I am still looking how to set up a VPN from my Mac to my Vista PC. I am a curious creature and will still want to figure that out but will use the Team Viewer for now. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

If you need a true VPN, you will need a VPN router. I assume your WinVista and OS/X are on two separate networks not physically near each other, is that right?

A VPN router is all you need. Then you configure it with OS/X in the Network settings. You'll likely need a Group Name, the server address (public IP address of the VPN router which you can get from your ISP), account name and a strong password. Then you're all set to connect using a VPN. What you do with it from there is up to you. I mentioned that I use a VPN to connect from home to my office using an Adaptive Security Appliance 5510 Cisco router and then use the Microsoft RDC app for OS/X to connect to any of my servers or desktop PC.

What is your goal for a VPN, or are you just curious to do one?

Edit: Additionally, if you want to learn everything there is to know about VPN's go to Steve Gibson's website and check out the Security Now podcast. You'll want to listen to episodes 14-19 which are all about VPN's. You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom. If you end up liking the show, you can also get the show in video and audio via iTunes. But these VPN episodes are older (still relevant as this technology hasn't changed) and are not in iTunes. So you'll have to download these from the GRC website.

 

[jhubert74]

If you need a true VPN, you will need a VPN router. I assume your WinVista and OS/X are on two separate networks not physically near each other, is that right?

A VPN router is all you need. Then you configure it with OS/X in the Network settings. You'll likely need a Group Name, the server address (public IP address of the VPN router which you can get from your ISP), account name and a strong password. Then you're all set to connect using a VPN. What you do with it from there is up to you. I mentioned that I use a VPN to connect from home to my office using an Adaptive Security Appliance 5510 Cisco router and then use the Microsoft RDC app for OS/X to connect to any of my servers or desktop PC.

What is your goal for a VPN, or are you just curious to do one?

Edit: Additionally, if you want to learn everything there is to know about VPN's go to Steve Gibson's website and check out the Security Now podcast. You'll want to listen to episodes 14-19 which are all about VPN's. You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom. If you end up liking the show, you can also get the show in video and audio via iTunes. but these VPN episodes are older (still relevant as this technology hasn't changed) and are not in iTunes. So you'll have to download these from the GRC website.

Yeah, my goal of getting the VPN setup is two part. I want to know how and actually play with it and make it work so I know how, also I thought it would be the most efficient way to get to my PC at home and to get to my files on the PC and the external drives attached to it. I currently have the Cisco (linksys) WRT54G2 router and am planning on getting the Airport Extreme to play with. I would imagine either one of those routers would be fine for playing with a VPN, no?

 

[S.B.G]

Yeah, my goal of getting the VPN setup is two part. I want to know how and actually play with it and make it work so I know how, also I thought it would be the most efficient way to get to my PC at home and to get to my files on the PC and the external drives attached to it. I currently have the Cisco (linksys) WRT54G2 router and am planning on getting the Airport Extreme to play with. I would imagine either one of those routers would be fine for playing with a VPN, no?

Sorry, but neither the AEBS nor that particular model Linksys you listed will do VPN. They have VPN pass-through which allows a VPN connection to be created by other means and get though the router without being NAT'd.

Check the link in my other post for VPN routers or just Google VPN router for a list of supported devices.

You should really check out those podcasts too. You will learn everything about VPN and enjoy learning it too.

 

[mulo]

no need for dedicated hardware, just run the server off your machine at home.
I have an OpenVPN server, amongst other things, running on my powermac G5 at my house. works flawlessly with my 30/30 2-10ms connection.