Open Source VPN for Windows

Virtual Private Network connections are everywhere these days, even in the cloud with services like Hamachi. There is much choice out there for every requirement and budget. However, I will always advocate Open Source, which is why I’d like to talk about OpenVPN. In fact, I’ve been personally using OpenVPN for well over 5 years. It’s a fantastic VPN solution at zero cost. What I love the most about OpenVPN is how easy it is to setup; quite literally you can have a functioning VPN solution ready to go within 30 minutes or less. Secondly I love its security and the fact it uses Public Key Infrastructure. Lastly because it is Open Source it is available on most operating systems (Linux, Windows, OS X) to name just a few. Personally, I’ve used it with all above operating systems. I’ve even used it with a Unix BSD embedded system.

The folks behind OpenVPN have recently devoted much attention to building a commercial enterprise ready edition of OpenVPN offering iron clad support and easy management, which most enterprise organizations require before considering other solutions. However, this does not mean the Open Source release has been neglected, in fact the project is alive, well and thriving. If you’d like more information about OpenVPN visit the community page http://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source.html

Next week I’ll show you how easily and quickly you can configure a rock solid and secure VPN solution with OpenVPN GUI (Windows port of OpenVPN)

Cheers.