Forum Moderators: open
I work as a graphic designer in Massachussetts. Within 3 months I will be going on vacation for a period of 2 months. At work we have macs and pc's but our server is Windows Server 2003. I was thinking of a remote connection with the server so I can work on a few jobs while I'm away. I did a few research on the subject and it seems that Mac os x Tiger comes with VPN built-in. My question is: Do I have to enable VPN on the server and how? Any help is appreciated! Thank you!
A VPN in this scanareo is a security risk, but allowing RDC you are creating an even bigger risk. Potentially anyone scanning the server can see its open ports and initiate a remote desktop session, and crack the admin password easily. If you do need RDC, you probably also need some very specific server hardening done first.
If you go for the Tunnel Option, you probably have to go with whatever protocols your Mac client supports, first try IPSec Tunnel Mode, then L2TP, finally PPTP as last resort. Each gets less secure and easier to make work. Disable any client firewall and login with a restricted account. Cross-vendor VPN can be problematic to set up and keep up - though I have never used any Mac VPNs - also the connectivity can be slow behind DSL links, especially with the encryption overhead.
Think carefully about doing it first, whenever possible my advice would be use email/ftp instead.
