And keep in mind that while the VPN tunnel is encrypted, once the data leaves the tunnel it's back to what it was before. So something like email over http is now back to being unencrypted cleartext once it hits your home machine, leaves the tunnel and goes out onto the internet, while https connections are still encrypted to their endpoint even when they leave the tunnel.
I use a service called SwissVPN which goes one step further for a few bucks a month. It gives me a VPN from my computer back to their network in Switzerland and from there the packets are dumped onto the internet and you appear to be surfing from Switzerland. Works great when I'm travelling. And as the previous poster mentioned, just because you have a VPN up and running it does not mean you can't be hacked. All it means is that your data is encrypted. Anyone can still try and get into your machine, so the standard rules of having either a NAT router and/or a firewall up and running apply. --------------------------- Brian Weeden Technical Advisor Secure World Foundation <http://www.secureworldfoundation.org> +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada +1 (202) 683-8534 US On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 2:05 AM, Jamie Furtner <ja...@furtner.ca> wrote: > Winterlight wrote: > > Using a VPN to protect yourself when using public WAP involves logging > > into the public WAP, and then using a VPN from your PC to your home or > > work PC and then using that safe internet connection. Everything in > > between your laptop and your home PC is encrypted so nobody can snoop. > > Do I have it right? > > > > Is there good VPN freeware available? If not what is good VPN > > software? Thanks. > > > Generally, yes, you're right. Your traffic between your laptop and home > network is encrypted, so nobody can snoop on that traffic. Your laptop > is still vulnerable to hacks from people on the same WAP, but depending > on your network and VPN configuration all of your traffic can go through > your home PC and then out onto the Internet. > > I use OpenVPN (www.openvpn.net) as my VPN software (Windows clients, > Linux server). I've found it to be solid, though setting it up initially > wasn't easy. There are howtos and a good amount of help on configuring > it on the site. > > Jamie > > -- > Jamie Furtner ja...@furtner.ca > "I aim to misbehave" > - Malcom Reynolds (Serenity movie) > "It's not safe... > "For them." > - River Tam (Serenity movie) > >
