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How to Set up VPN on Smartphones

July 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
For use on the English Wikipedia page LG Ally

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A virtual private network (VPN) can be an excellent way for a business to operate. As it grows, it will need to connect locations in an efficient manner. Of course, this is where the VPN comes into play.

If your business uses a VPN to connect users, you can easily integrate it with your smartphone. As you likely use your smartphone for business purposes, this can be a great way to streamline matters. From your new LG Android phone to other devices, you can connect via your smartphone.

Set up your profile by accessing networking settings, and create a new VPN profile on your device. You will then enter a name, description, and the VPN credentials needed to access the network. Check with the system administrator if you need help connecting to the network.

Depending on the device and network, you may need to enter other information. For instance, be ready to enter the IP address of the server, appropriate account/password values, and other elements. Again, your administrator can help you in regard to your smartphone. After you have set up the VPN profile, you can log off and on at will – make sure you save the profile.

While there will be many differences for devices and VPN-specific settings, you should be able to set it up without too many problems. Contact your administrator or the manufacturer or the smartphone for more information and if you need troubleshooting. Once the VPN is set up, you will be able to realize the convenience of accessing it on your mobile device.

Filed Under: Computer, Internet, Security Tagged With: , ,

Ways to Work Effectively at Home

July 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Working from home is a dream come true if you know how to do it effectively. In order to be a successful work-from-home businessperson there are few tips you’ll need to follow.

Have the Right Tools for Your Home Office

In order to have an effective home office, you have to invest in the right office tools. Chances are you’ll be telecommuting, so you’ll need a reliable internet connection. You’ll also need the best computer you can get, as well as the right kinds of software to do the job. Canada 411 is a good place to start if you need to do some office preparation. Here’s what to look for.

  • Reliable and affordable internet service
  • A computer with a large amount of memory and fast processors
  • An external hard drive to back up and save your work
  • The proper software and office suite for your kind of work
  • An all-in-one printer/fax/scanner

Working From Home Requires Discipline

  • Turn off Facebook. It will distract you!
  • Set a schedule for work and stick to it.
  • Make sure your family respects that schedule.
  • Don’t become a reclusive workaholic.
  • Make sure you get up and exercise, spend time with friends and family, and simply relax.
  • Leave your house every day.
  • Be fast, accurate and responsive with your clients.

One of the benefits of working in an office setting is we automatically jump into the work mode and actually do what we’re supposed to do. When working from home, the lines blur, and we can be come very ineffective. Therefore, it’s important to prepare our offices and our minds for work at home success.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: , ,

Running Your Business Made Easier

July 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Picture of Samsung Moment cell phone with scre...

Image via Wikipedia

As your business expands and you move your customer communication out of the office and into the mobile world, you’ll need to make sure you have the right mobile device to conduct transactions and communication in a safe and secure environment. Virtual Private Networks are a must to insure that the information you exchange from your mobile devices stays safe and secure.  Actually, VPNs are not new to mobile technology. As soon as people were able to send and receive email via their cell phones, mobile networks had to be secure.

Is Your Cell Phone Compatible?

Before you invest in a new smartphone, there are a few things you should consider.

  • Will the VPN Client you’re using install and run properly on the mobile phone you’re considering?
  • Does your cell phone have enough memory to download large files?
  • What type of information will you need to transmit over a private network?
  • How secure is your cell phone’s operating system?
  • What anti-virus programs work best?

Should You Choose the Phone or the VPN?

One way to experiment with various VPNs and cell phone compatibilities is to purchase prepaid plans for the phone. Certain hardware and technology may reveal itself to be the best fit for your business.

The other thing to consider is whether you need to choose the right phone or the right virtual private network. Many experts would suggest testing the VPN with the cell phone and not the other way around.  This is likely good advice, so if it seems a little foreign, find the cell phone that feels best for you, and then seek expert advice on the best way to make the networks secure.

Filed Under: Internet, Local Networks Tagged With: , ,

Benefits of Using Virtual Private Networks for Your Business

June 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Deploying Virtual Private Networks With Micros... 

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Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, can equip your business with the technology it needs to get ahead. VPNs provide long-distance, secured network connections for your organization and allow your business to provide secured networks for your client base. For businesses, Virtual Private Networks help out by creating savings on cost and network scalability. Clients also benefit, as VPNs are easy to use.

Savings on Cost

Implementing this new technology reduces cost in a few ways. First, VPNs reduce long-distance telephone charges. They replace long-distance dialup networks and remote access servers used by business travelers to access their company on the road by intranet. VPNs also eliminate the need for expensive leased lines. Before this technology, businesses had to rent network capacity. Now, VPNs use public infrastructure like the internet to make connections and access virtual networks by using less expensive local leased lines or broadband connections. Finally, using VPN technology lowers support costs as your business can outsource needed support from third-party service providers.

Network Scalability

Without using Virtual Private Networks, the cost of building private networks for an organization increases exponentially as the business expands. VPNs solve this problem. Internet-based VPNs use public lines and network capability that is already out there. This can be especially beneficial for use with remote or international locations.

VPNs also work well with WiFi local area networking. Of course, you must have the appropriate networking hardware or software support to make VPNs work with your business. It’s a step you’ll want to take, though, as the benefits of Virtual Private Networks certainly make your business stronger.

Filed Under: Networks, Security Tagged With: , ,

Virtual Private Network and the Office

May 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Virtual private networking has been publicized in the media a great deal lately, and not all of the publicity has been good. Many people feel that virtual networks are the cause of deterioration of communication between people within the work place. However, many people in the professional world swear by the new technology. No matter what the opinion of virtual networking, the technology seems be here to stay so a look at what the networking is doing for business is important.

Virtual networking is a fancy name for sharing secure information quickly and efficiently over computer networks. For many companies who have multiple business locations or positions where traveling is involved they rely on the virtual networks to spread information safely. The virtual private network is a private network that uses the internet to connect users together so that anywhere where the internet is used information can be sent.

The professional world is incredibly pleased with this technology because of the way that documents can be sent. Rather than have to specialty mail documents or have a trusted carrier relay the documents, documents can be transferred almost immediately and with complete security. This is very important when dealing with proposals, bank documents or other secure information.

While many people feel that using the technology will cause a breakdown in communication between the sender and recipient of the information being sent, many other people feel that because the technology is able to send information quicker any problems or misunderstands between companies can be resolved quickly as well.

Filed Under: Computer, Internet, Networks, Private Networks, Security Tagged With: , ,

Minimum Requirements to Use Linksys VPN

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

One of the most common tools and modems that are used to connect computers and employees to the virtual private network is a router known as the Linksys VPN. This is a router that will do the encrypting and secure the connection so that those that wish to connect to the system through a VPN can do so securely.

If you are considering using a Linksys VPN to connect to the internet then there will be certain minimum requirements that you will need to have to make sure that you can connect to the VPN.

Internet Connection. You will need to have either a broadband connection or a Wi-Fi Connection to connect to this modem. Anything that uses a landline will not work.

TCP/IP Protocol. You will need to have an IP address that is assigned by your ISP. This is an address that every computer has and makes it special. It is made up of numbers and dots. The Linksys VPN will work regardless of if you have a static IP or a dynamic IP address. As long as you know the IP you will be able to hook up to the virtual private network.

Web Browser. The routers that are with Linksys VPN require the use of a web browser to connect it to the virtual private network. You will need to have at least Internet Explorer 5.0 or any type of Netscape 6 browser such as Opera or Firefox.  Newer web browsers such as Chrome have not been tested as often. They will work but they are not directly offered by Linksys and therefore could be unstable.

Filed Under: Networks, Software Tagged With: , ,

How to Turn the VPN on Your iPhone On and Off

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Once the iPhone has been set with all the configurations and information for a virtual private network, you will be able to use it as you would a regular desktop or laptop computer. You will be able to connect to the system, check email, access files and use the software on the computer that is located in your office or in the company. Here is a look at how to turn your virtual private network on and off using your iPhone and the numerous things that you can do once you are on a virtual private network.

There is a switch in the virtual private networking section. This switch will have an option of either on or off. When you want to connect to the virtual private network switch it on, when you want to disconnect switch to off. Sometimes switching the connection on the first time will not work. Try to switch it on and off a few times before you start to take a look at the information and account info that you have in the iPhone.

Once the phone is connected to a virtual private network there will be a tiny little blue screen at the top of your iPhone. This will say VPN and indicate that you are connected to the VPN. It will also have a tiny little timer that will show you how long you have been connected to the VPN.  If you are connected to the VPN you can check emails, remote access the other computers and even enter the website of the company that is attached to the servers.

Filed Under: Networks, Software Tagged With: , ,

Setting Up a VPN on an iPhone Part 2

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The iPhone is a smartphone that can do a number of things and almost act as if it were a computer. One of the amazing things that it can do is connect to a company’s virtual private network to allow employees access to their emails, files and the company server. Once the virtual private networking setting has been set onto an iPhone there will be a number of things that you will need to input into your iPhone to allow it to connect to a VPN. Here is a look at those things that need to be inputted into the phone’s setting.

Encryption Style. You will need to choose the type of encryption that will go with your iPhone. This will depend on the type of VPN that you are setting up. The options will include L2TP, PPTP and IPSec. If you are unsure which one you need contact the system administrator of the VPN.

Description. You will need to name your network. You can name it whatever you like and will remember.

IP Address. You will need to enter the IP address that is associated with the VPN server. This goes into the server section of the prompt. In most cases the IP address is the public IP address assigned to the computer.

Username and Password. Everyone is assigned a username and password to a VNP. You will need to enter these into the accounting field. However, if you want to sign in every time leave the password part blank.

Filed Under: Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,

Setting Up a VPN on an iPhone

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many telecommuting employees are able to use their iPhones in order to access their company’s computer server. This is because many iPhones allow employees to connect to a company computer via a virtual private networking software program. While most employees will use their desktop or laptop many employees will use their iPhones in order to connect to their computer via a secure connection.

Here is a look at how to connect to a virtual private networking system through the use of your iPhone.

Step 1. You must have an Internet connection to do this part of the project. Most iPhones have 3G but a Wifi connection is recommended for speed and connection stability. The 3G connection is almost too slow to allow people to connect to a VPN.

Step 2. Select from your iPhone the section titled Settings, then General and then Network. There will be a list of networks available to you. There will be a section titled VPN and it will say not configured, select that. This will set the VPN connection up on your phone and allow you to start setting up the network.

Step 3. Select Add VPN configuration which will automatically set the VPN to the default section on your iPhone.

Step 4. You will need to enter all the information for the VPN into the screen. It is a good idea to double check with the system administrator to make sure that you have all the information correct. One little wrong detail and you could prevent yourself from connecting to the VPN.

Filed Under: Networks, Private Networks Tagged With: , ,

A Look at Hardware Virtual Private Networks

March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When setting up a virtual private network system so that you can access a computer on a company server via a secure connection there are two ways to choose from. There is the ability to create a virtual private network through a hardware system or a software system. Here is a look at the virtual private network that is set up via a hardware system.

The virtual private network system that is set up via a hardware system is one that uses the modem and serves directly to connect to the system server. There are specific situations that arise when one chooses to use a hardware virtual private networking system. Here is a look at what these include.

Cost. The hardware virtual private networking system will usually cost more than other virtual private network systems. This is because you will have to purchase the hardware and there is usually training involved with training employees and technical support.

Performance. The limitations of a hardware virtual private network include those that are limited to the type of hardware that was purchased. However, many hardware virtual private networks can be easier to use because there is a load balancing system that will share the load and the system will not be overloaded.

Security. Hardware virtual private networks are more secure than other styles of networking. This is because the hardware comes specifically designed to filter and handle any outsider interference from hackers or others.

Maintenance. The maintenance of a virtual private network will involve training of all those involved to make sure that the system stays at the top of its game. There will also be additional maintenance that can be performed via the vendor only and will require the them to come out to the hardware.

Filed Under: Networks, Private Networks Tagged With: , ,
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