In theory, VPN provides the security and privacy of a closed environment,
without the astronomical cost of a private wide-area network.
Need privacy on a public wireless network? Set up a VPN to
transfer data between PCs securely. For another way to get
privacy on a public network, see ???Connect to a Public Wireless
Network,??? earlier in this chapter.
The technology used in VPN??”either the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
(PPTP) or the Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)??”allows you to create
a private ???tunnel??? across the Internet connection. With a VPN, you can
accomplish tasks previously available only over a LAN, such as file and
printer sharing, user authentication, and even networked games. Figure 7-24
illustrates a typical scenario with a tunnel connecting a single computer to a
remote workgroup.
Figure 7-23. Download Express can speed up downloads without forcing you to fill out a
page of options every time
400 | Chapter 7: Networking and Internet
Before you can set up VPN, you need a tunnel server. If you??™re connecting to
a large company, the VPN administrator will provide the necessary settings
(and software, if necessary) to establish a connection. Otherwise, you can
use a Vista PC as a tunnel server by following these instructions.
Part 1: Set up the tunnel server
Although there??™s no mention of it in Vista??™s Help and Support, Windows
Vista can indeed serve as a VPN server; you don??™t need any extra software.
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