Book Image

Mastering OpenVPN

By : Eric F Crist
Book Image

Mastering OpenVPN

By: Eric F Crist

Overview of this book

Security on the internet is increasingly vital to both businesses and individuals. Encrypting network traffic using Virtual Private Networks is one method to enhance security. The internet, corporate, and “free internet” networks grow more hostile every day. OpenVPN, the most widely used open source VPN package, allows you to create a secure network across these systems, keeping your private data secure. The main advantage of using OpenVPN is its portability, which allows it to be embedded into several systems. This book is an advanced guide that will help you build secure Virtual Private Networks using OpenVPN. You will begin your journey with an exploration of OpenVPN, while discussing its modes of operation, its clients, its secret keys, and their format types. You will explore PKI: its setting up and working, PAM authentication, and MTU troubleshooting. Next, client-server mode is discussed, the most commonly used deployment model, and you will learn about the two modes of operation using "tun" and "tap" devices. The book then progresses to more advanced concepts, such as deployment scenarios in tun devices which will include integration with back-end authentication, and securing your OpenVPN server using iptables, scripting, plugins, and using OpenVPN on mobile devices and networks. Finally, you will discover the strengths and weaknesses of the current OpenVPN implementation, understand the future directions of OpenVPN, and delve into the troubleshooting techniques for OpenVPN. By the end of the book, you will be able to build secure private networks across the internet and hostile networks with confidence.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Mastering OpenVPN
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Windows network locations – public versus private


A recurring question on the OpenVPN mailing lists is how to change the network location of OpenVPN's TAP-Win virtual network adapter from public to private. This question started popping up with the introduction of Windows Vista. The answer to this question is unfortunately quite lengthy. In this section, we will explore different methods that allow us to change the network location of the TAP-Win adapter on Windows clients.

Background

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced the concept of network locations. In Windows 7, there are three network locations: Home, Work, and Public. These network locations apply to all network adapters: wired network adapters, wireless adapters, and also OpenVPN's virtual TAP-Win network adapter.

The Home network location is intended for a home network and provides a high level of trust. It also includes the Home group feature, where a computer can easily connect to all other devices at home. Similarly...