SSL VPN: a better way of working remotely

April 2007

VPNs (‘Virtual Private Networks’) are the most widely used way of providing remote staff or home-workers with access to files, databases and systems stored on their internal office networks. Setting up VPNs can be tricky and often requires a visit to the remote site or to the employee’s home.

We’d like to make you aware of a recent development that provides all the benefits of VPN but is much simpler to use.

'SSL VPN' is easier to set up and easier to administer, and allows users to connect to their office networks from any kind of web-enabled device, from anywhere they can get a web connection.

So what is SSL VPN?

This mouthful of an acronym refers to a VPN that is set up, administered and used through a web browser. The benefits of being browser based are enormous:

•    All administration can be done remotely, so users can be added, edited and deleted very quickly and from anywhere.

•    Nothing needs to be set up on the user’s PC: it’s just a matter of directing them to a web address and providing them with a user-name and password.

•    Users can access their corporate networks from anywhere: just plug your laptop into a internet connection at a client’s site or from a hotel room to access documents held on a corporate server.

•    Users can access their corporate networks from any machine: you can get into the network from a web-enabled PDA or from a PC in an internet café.

Setting up an SSL VPN requires the installation of a single piece of hardware and for up to 25 users, we’d recommend the Netgear ‘SSL 312 Prosafe™ VPN Concentrator’.

So how secure is it? I’d be worried about accessing my office server from an internet cafe

The ‘SSL’ in the name refers to ‘Secure Sockets Layer’, a protocol used for sending data securely over the internet. SSL is used for internet banking so you can be confident that your sensitive documents will not be compromised.

Additionally, when you’ve finished your session and closed the browser, the browser automatically erases all cache and temporary files created during the session. No data is left behind that can be read by anyone else.

To find out more about the benefits of SSL VPN, contact us.