New VPN

Over the past new months we have deployed new firewalls in the firm's seven largest offices offices.  Just to reiterate, we are now tracking everyone's internet usage and preparing a report for Mr. McKenna.  If you have not been following the firm's Internet Use Policy, now would be a good time to start.

Another important feature of the new system is that it offers a new method to connect to the network via VPN.  This new method will eventually replace our existing VPN Concentrator, which has outlived its useful life.  For now, both will work. There will come a time when the old one will be retired, so you may want to familiarize yourself with the new VPN before the old one goes away. 

The new VPN will also work with Windows 10, Macs, Android, and IOS.  Keep in mind though that even if you can access our network, your device still needs to be able to read the files you wish to access.  In other words, you can access the MDIR from your iPad, but if you do not have a WordPerfect Reader app on that device, you won't be reading WordPerfect documents.

You can access and download the new VPN client directly through any web browser and install it on your computer.  All you will need is a login.  Your login name and password is the same as you use to connect to your computer in the office.  It is NOT necessarily the same as the old VPN name and password that you used with the old system.

There is a separate VPN connection for each office.  This should help to improve performance for VPN users in the satellite offices.  While connecting to any of the VPNs should work, connecting to the one in your office should give you the best performance.

Because this is a public blog, and I don't want to provide instructions to hackers on how to access our network, I have created a Google Drive Document that provides the details you need to connect.  This document is only accessible to Firm employees using your Gmail name and password.

For now, both the old and new VPN connections will continue to work.  At some point down the road, we will retire the old VPN server.  However, we have not set any retirement date yet.

VPN from Phone or Tablet

I have been asked by several people whether it is possible to make a VPN connection to our network from an iPhone or Android device.  My short answer is that while it is technically possible, it is difficult and you will likely still have problems accessing your files.  Therefore don't bother.  But for those who want a longer answer, today's post is for you.

VPN is Possible

I was able to make VPN connections through both an Android and iPhone and connect with our system.  I am not going to post the details on our public blog since doing so would give hackers most of the information they need to access our system.  But I'm happy to explain the details to anyone in the firm who is interested.

Making a VPN Connection Accomplishes Little

Before we go into VPN details, my first question would be why you wanted to do this?  Making a VPN connection to our network does not get you access to much of anything.  You might be able to get access to our network, but you would still need a program to access the servers and yet another program to access your files.  And that is assuming you have an app that can open files at all.  Most documents are in WordPerfect format.  Unless you have purchased a WordPerfect reader for your phone, you will not be able to read these files.  There is no known app to edit them. Directly accessing files via VPN is a difficult cumbersome process, which I do not recommend using.

File Explorer App is Needed on Your Device

Say, despite my warning, you still want to do this.  The next thing you will need is a file explorer App that can access LAN devices.  On my Android, I downloaded a free one called ES File Explorer.  Using that, I can access a file server by it's IP address, then log in using my LAN name and password, and access the files on it.  Once in there, I can open PDF files or MS Office documents using the free WPS Office App.  I don't have the WordPerfect reader app, so I'm out of luck there.

There are similar file explorer apps for the iPhone, I used a free one called Documents (by Readdle) that allowed me to connect.  As with the Android App, I needed to know the IP address of my file server, then had to log in using my network login name and password.  Once connected, I could access my files, but still needed to have a program that could read them.

VPN Access For Things Other Than Files

VPN would also allow me to access the Research Home Page via my browser.  However, time permitting, I hope to move the Research Home Page to a public location on Google Sites, where you will have access to it without VPN.  You will only need to be logged into your Google Account.

I would not be able to enter time in Webview since Webview restricts access to Internet Explorer, which is not available for iPhone or Android devices.  Of course if you want to enter time on your device, you can use iTimeKeep, which is available over the Internet without VPN.

There is no need to use VPN for email since that is available over normal internet by going to gmail.com (or preferably using a Gmail or other Email App on your device).

If you want to access files outside the office, I recommend placing those documents in Google Drive, again no VPN required, so you can access using the free Google Drive App on your smart phone or tablet.  I discussed use of Google drive in this earlier blog if  you care to read it again.

Remote Desktop: 

In an ideal world, we would have a Citrix server that would allow you to connect into our system into a virtual desktop that would show up on any device, giving you full access to all documents and programs that you have when in the office.  But such a system is very expensive and is cost prohibitive under current budget restraints.  As a result, making use of VPN from your mobile device is technically possible, but not really worth the trouble.

If you leave your computer turned on in the office and you make a VPN connection to the firm's network, could could make a remote desktop connection to your computer.  Microsoft makes a Remote Desktop Client for both the Android and iPhone/iPad that will allow such a connection.  To make this work, you will need to know the IP address of your computer at work, as well as the login name and password.  This is usually the same as your network login.  You may also need to authorize Remote Access in Control Panel /.System / Remote Access on your computer.

Even if you get Remote Desktop to work, you may find it very frustrating to use.  I found that dragging around the mouse cursor with my touch screen to be very tedious, and typing anything on my phone to be much more difficult than using a computer directly.

Other Reasons for VPN

VPN offers a level of security by encrypting all data packets that pass between your device and the VPN server. If you are on a public WiFi network you can make a VPN connection to provide an extra level of security for normal internet use.  If you are in another country, certain features on some internet services may not be available.  For example, I had a problem using some parts of Skype while in Europe.  A VPN connection back to the office will fool any Internet service into thinking you are accessing it from a US location.