Working remotely tends to take on one of two forms: you remotely
access your machine in the office or at home from another machine,
or you connect your machine to the office network using a Virtual
Private Network (VPN) connection over the Internet and use the
office network just like you would when you're in the office,
albeit at a much reduced speed.
Choosing the right option tends to come down to one main factor:
speed. Security is of course important, but how you will connect is
usually defined by how fast you need your access to be. If you only
need to access your emails in Outlook and connect to
the Exchange Server for example, then a VPN connection is
more than sufficient, but if you need to use an application on your
machine which relies heavily on accessing files on the network such
as one of the Sage Accounting applications then a Remote Control
solution would be much better suited as the experience will be much
better than a VPN in the vast majority of cases.
Remote Control
To remotely control one machine from another, we recommend one
of three methods: LogMeIn, GotoMyPC or
Remote Desktop Connection. LogMeIn and GotoMyPC are competing
products which offer similar core features with added extras such
as being able to transfer files between your local and remote
machines as well as the ability to use your machine from iPhones
and other SmartPhones through a web browser.
LogMeIn
LogMeIn is a remote access technology which allows you to access
your computer from any PC with Internet Access and a web browser.
You can remotely control your machine and transfer files. This
provides a very useful function to a great number of small
businesses who don't have resources to run enterprise class remote
access systems.
GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is based upon the Citrix terminal services technology
and provides a very similar service to LogMeIn in that it allows
you to remotely access your machine and files from any other
Internet connected machine with a web browser.
Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop has been built into Windows since Windows XP and
allows remote access of a Windows PC from another, or even a
Mac.
More information
Citrix / Terminal Services
Larger organisations may utilise Citrix or Terminal Services to
provide remote access to line of business applications for remote
as well as local users.
Citrix can be used to provide access to a single application
remotely, or an entire desktop. We have clients which remote
offices where the main line of business application doesn't
function sufficiently quickly over relatively slow inter-site links
and so we employ Citrix to allow remote users to access
applications and files without being subject to the constraints of
a relatively slow connection linking their office to the main
infrastructure.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
VPNs are primarily a remote access tool for you to connect to
one network from another over the Internet. They provide a secure
connection over an insecure connection. This is to say that they
provide a mechanism to connect securely to your network over the
Internet. There are different types of VPN connection and the three
most common are:
- PPTP (Point to Point Tunnelling Protocol)
- IPSEC
- SSL
aFinite recommend the the use of a hardware device to provide
VPN services which can be found in most enterprise
PPTP
PPTP or Point to Point Tunneling Protocol VPNs are quite easy to
setup as both Macs and PCs have builtin support for them with no
additional software being required. One of their biggest
limitations is that you can typically only make a single connection
from one location to your destination. This means that if more than
one person at the same location wants to connect to the same
network, then the first person will be able to and anybody else
will have to wait until they close their connection before they can
access the network remotely.
IPSEC
IPSec or Internet Protocol Security is regarded as a more secure
form of VPN when compared to PPTP, but it is more difficult to
setup and typically needs specific software installing on client
machines in order to make a connection. We are now phasing out the
use of IPSec in favour of SSL VPNs due to their ability to work in
a much wider range of circumstances.
SSL
SSL VPNs are much newer and have the specific advantage of using
the SSL protocol and ports used by secure websites which utilise
HTTPS and so are typically much more reliable when roaming around
the world and trying to connect back to your office from locations
with more esoteric configurations. We have had great success with
SSL VPN connections where PPTP and IPSec proved troublesome, not
because of security, but simply in terms of ability to connect to
the destination.