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.That's plenty secure, butit bypasses the Internet, and therefore winds up being expensive.(Want proof? Try this simple test: Make a callfrom the Tokyo Hilton to the Poughkeepsie Sheet Metal home office.Have a look at your hotel bill when youcheck out.)Fortunately, there's a third solution that's both secure and cheap: the Virtual Private Network, or VPN.Running aVPN allows you to create a super-secure "tunnel" from your Mac, across the Internet, and straight into yourcorporate network.All data passing through this tunnel is heavily encrypted; to the Internet eavesdropper, itlooks like so much undecipherable gobbledygook.And it's cheap whether you're accessing the Internet via your home DSL, via a local ISP number from a hotel, orwirelessly from your stool at Starbucks.Remember, though, that VPN is a corporate tool, run by corporate nerds.You can't use this new Mac OS X 10.2feature without these pieces in place:A VPN server.This is a big deal.If your tech department tells you they don't have one, then that's thatno tunneling for you.Furthermore, Mac OS X's VPN software can speak only to VPN servers that speak PPTP (Point to PointTunneling Protocol), a relative of the PPP language spoken by modems when connecting to the Internet.You'll also need to know the Internet address of your VPN server (for example, vpn.ferrets-r-us.com).TIPMac OS X's built-in VPN software can also speak IPSec, a Unix VPN protocol.However, thisone doesn't have any graphic "front end," meaning that you can use it only by typingcommands into the Terminal program.If your corporate server happens to use IPSec, youmay find it simpler to use a program like VPN Tracker, available from www.equinux.com/vpntracker. An account on the VPN server or NT domain.PPTP servers are typically part of Microsoft Windows NTnetworks.Ask your network administrator to help you set up the correct type of account.You'll need toknow your account's user name, password and domain name (if any).21.5.1 Making the VPN ConnectionOnce you know everything's in place, you connect to the corporate network as follows:1.Connect to the Internet.Connect the way you normally do via cable modem, DSL, office network, modem, AirPort, or whatever.2.Open Internet Connect.It's in your Applications folder.3.Choose File New VPN Connection Window (Figure 21-5).The first time you do this, a dialog box tells you, "Your computer needs to be set up for VPN (PPTP)connections." Click Continue, and provide an Administrator's name and password, if necessary.4.Enter the VPN server address, your VPN account username, and your password.Click Connect.If all goes well, several status messages go by.The last one says, "Connected."At this point, you're connected to the corporate network.You can perform the same network-relatedtasks you could if you were actually in that office: check your email, view internal corporate Web pages,access internal FTP servers, make printouts on laser printers thousands of miles away, and so on.You generally can't browse things, though.That is, you can't choose Go Connect to Server to view alist of the other computers on the office network, or open Print Center to see a list of networked printers.To access these services, you must know their IP addresses.For example, to connect to a shared folderon another computer, choose Go Connect to Server, type its network address, and press Enter.TIPTo connect to a shared folder on a Windows machine, the address looks like this:smb://111.222.33.4/sales-docs.Of course, you'd substitute the correct IP address for thedummy one shown here, and insert the actual name of the shared folder.(You can also use itsDNS name instead of the IP address, if you know it, like this: smb://big-blue-server.ferret-lan.com/sales-docs.)Classic programs can use your VPN connection, too. 5.When you're finished accessing the remote network, return to Internet Connect.In the VPN Connectionwindow, click Disconnect.It's a good idea to close the tunnel when you're not using it, since it can slow down your Web browser inthe meantime.21.5.2 The Fine Points of VPNFor all the wonders of VPN, here are some possible complications:If you're using a router at home (a little box that shares one cable modem or DSL box with severalcomputers), it might not be able to handle the PPTP protocol, or it might not have that feature turned on.Check the router's manual, or ask its manufacturer for more information.For example, the first-generation (silver) AirPort base stations don't support PPTP at all.Neither do thenewer, white models unless you've upgraded to version 2.4 or later of the AirPort software.If the corporate network doesn't seem to like your name and password, you might need to add your NTdomain name and a backward slash to the beginning of your account name (like this: dom01\msmith)before trying again.If you're able to make the connection, but experiencing trouble reaching services by their DNS names (forexample, big-blue-server.com), your Mac could be having difficulty finding the right DNS server.Workingwith your network administrator, open the Network pane of System Preferences [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]