Pest Management Professional, March 2014

mobile matters Dean Stanbridge Contributor VPNs and your mobile business V irtual private networks VPNs which have been used for decades by the government were introduced to private industry in the early 1990s Original VPN systems were expensive and required an extensive IT department to help administer potential connection issues Nowadays these networks are relatively inexpensive and are a critical part of mobile security The term VPN is greatly misused There are a number of complicated layers to creating a VPN but for our purposes lets define it as a communication network that permits peers to work through a controlled environment on a public system such as the Internet The importance of VPNs to our company is the ability to communicate information to our mobile devices more safely greatly reducing the risks of a cyber related attack When setting up a VPN for a business consider the following to ensure your network performs to the level you anticipated If your goal is to send emails a simple free online OpenVPN might be sufficient But experts will advise small business applications need to consider building a network that supports all current mobile needs If you have laptops tablets and other mobile devices a more robust VPN might be of significant value from a security and reliability perspective If your VPN is going to be used only to connect computers and devices in your office installing a simple VPN system on your local area network LAN is sufficient This can be achieved with the least secure system called a Point to Point Tunneling Protocol PPTP which is inexpensive and easy to set up but lacks a number of critical security functions most small businesses require and they suffer from numerous connection restrictions Slightly more robust systems might be required to operate on public Wi Fis and internal LANs Two of these systems are a Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol L2TP or an Internet Protocol Security IPsec Both systems are still widely used and compatible with almost as many operating systems as the PPTPs On the other hand these systems still arent as versatile and are susceptible to some of the same connection problems as the PPTPs One of the best VPN protocols is called a Secure Sockets Layer SSL Many business owners probably have had experience with this term through email Most online email servers are set up as SSL protocols because theyre Web based These systems are more secure versatile and reliable than PPTP L2TP and IPsec protocols Most businesses use a dedicated VPN router to run their VPN protocols but if youre just looking to be able to surf the Web while in the dangerous waters of public Wi Fi then a subscriber based third party hosted VPN provider is sufficient Even Windows has a built in VPN that permits Windows based users to connect to other Windows based users by enabling the system and using your IP address as your identifier Small business owners need to decipher the overused term of VPN to make good choices and be assured theyve made a sound protocol choice Hire a qualified IT security consultant to ensure you get the functionality you require and the level of security you demand to protect your valuable company information PMP You can reach Stanbridge a PMP and longtime technology columnist at dean@ directlinesales com 130 March 2014 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net