[Novices] quick question about vpn firewall recommendations

[Bruce Smith]

> > I don't think you want to use SSH for this.  OpenVPN is a good option,
> > and typically very easy to get working using pre-shared keys.
> 
> I've got OpenVPN sort-of working. It connects, but traffic won't go  
> over the tunnel. Only thing I can maybe think it is, is that it's a  
> client-side configuration problem? I'm using Tunnelblick for OS X,  
> and the configuration file generated by the OpenVPN plugin for IPCop.

I've only configured OpenVPN manually on Linux (created config files
from scratch).  It seems pretty easy, just don't forget to add the route
for the remote network.

> > You also might want to look at TOR (the onion router project),  
> > presented
> > a couple times at KLUG (DVD from another LUG).  This will encrypt your
> > traffic out of your PC, AND let you browse the Internet completely
> > anonymously (they can't even tell you're at Panera Bread, or even  
> > in MI)
> > And no home [or other] network to VPN into is required.
> 
> hrm.. might try this...

I tried it quickly [on Linux] after watching the KLUG presentation.
It's not hard.  It solves your encryption requirement, plus it makes
your browsing anonymous, and you don't need your own remote VPN server.

The performance can vary a lot, depending on what servers it randomly
picks for you to bounce your traffic off.  But I've heard you can
manually select your own servers, if you want to fine tune it.

 - BS