On Tue, 21 Mar 2000, Jerry Callen wrote:
> Teraterm ... is also very good (though it has its quirks), *and* there is
> an ssh extension available for it ...
While we're on the subject of good client software for MS-Windoze, I'd like
to float this to the list and see if anyone has any ideas.
What I'm looking for is a way to provide secure FTP access to a Linux server
from a Windoze client, across the open Internet. The link would want to be
authenticated and encrypted in both directions, to protect against sniffing,
spoofing, and the like. Additionally, a reasonably drool-proof GUI is really
a must. (Myself, I'd just use an SSH tunnel and the command-line FTP program,
but that is not exactly what most MS-Windoze users expect.)
I've had a couple ideas come across my mind, which I'll list here in order
of decreasing desirability:
(A) Find a low-cost FTP client for Windows that supports easy integration
with SSH and includes a decent GUI. PRO: Ideal solution. CON: Probably
doesn't exist.
(B) Find a low-cost/free IPsec client that works with FreeSWAN [1]. PRO:
Nearly ideal solution. CON: Minor server firewall issues; likely doesn't
exist yet.
(C) Use PoPToP [2] as a server for Microsoft's built-in VPN client. PRO:
Relatively easy to setup and maintain; seamless access to all server
resources. CON: Makes server firewall setup trickier; Microsoft's VPN client
has known security issues (surprise!).
(D) Use an SSH client to forward the FTP port on the client machine to the
Linux server. PRO: Very secure; works with any FTP client. CON: Limited to
one FTP server at a time; some setup headaches; UI is going to be kludgey.
(E) Buy an expensive, third-party VPN solution. PRO: They do the work for
us. CON: Outrageously expensive (!!!); closed-source/proprietary.
At this point, I'm pretty much leaning towards (C), but if anyone knows of
an (A) or (B) that actually exists, or another solution/idea that I haven't
thought of, I'd love to hear about it.
Footnotes
---------
[1] FreeSWAN is a free IPsec implementation for Linux
http://www.freeswan.org
[2] PoPToP is a free PPTP server for Linux, compatible with Microsoft's client
http://www.moretonbay.com/vpn/pptp.html
--
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Net Technologies, Inc. <http://www.ntisys.com>
Voice: (800)905-3049 x18 Fax: (978)499-7839
**********************************************************
To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following text in the
*body* (*not* the subject line) of the letter:
unsubscribe gnhlug
**********************************************************
