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What's a Loop-Through VPN and Why Would I Need One?
Standard VPN versus Loop-Through VPN
A standard VPN is an extra connection that you make, after
you've connected to the Internet, which creates an encrypted "tunnel"
over the Internet to a private network, such as your office LAN, so that
your PC behaves just like it was directly connected to this private
network (except slower).
Your PC has an IP address in the range used by
the private network and it can access files stored there without this
data being accessible to anyone able to monitor your connection.
A loop-through VPN can do everything a standard VPN connection can but,
additionally, it allows you to go back out onto the Internet, from the
private network, to access
anything that a PC on the private network can access.
For example, let's say that you're in a remote location and get access to the
Internet from a Hotel's WiFi system and then make a loop-through VPN
connection to a private network.
If you open Internet Explorer and look at the BBC News home page, your web request
travels down the VPN tunnel to the private network, back out onto the Internet through the
Private Network's Internet Router and then finally to the BBC Webserver.
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"Big deal" you say?
You bet it is! |
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The response from the Webserver travels back to the private network and
then out through the VPN tunnel ending up back at your PC. |
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What are the advantages of a loop-through VPN?
Encryption and Privacy |
Perhaps you want to access your on-line banking
from the hotel.
How can you be sure that someone, behind the
scenes, isn't monitoring and capturing your traffic or diverting
you to a bogus website?
The VPN connection is strongly
encrypted including the IP headers which identify the traffic
type.
All that anyone monitoring your connection will see
is a stream of encrypted traffic between your PC and the private
network.
They won't be able to tell what sites on the
Internet you're visiting or even what type of traffic your sending -
whether it be Web Browsing, Email, Instant Messaging, VOIP Phone
traffic etc.
The VPN connection is mutually authenticated -
they check you're who you say you are and you check they're who
they say they are - and, once connected, you use the DNS servers
on the private network so this should stop any bogus website
tricks.
Any emails that you send and receive using standard
unencrypted protocols such as POP3 or SMTP will be encrypted by
the VPN as far as the private network thus making it unreadable
by anyone monitoring your connection.
Any passwords you need to send in
plain text, such as for a POP3 account, also benefit from VPN
encryption.
There's nothing suspicious about you using a VPN
connection as many business people use one for accessing their
company's network.
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Bypassing Firewall Restrictions |
VPN connection traffic must be allowed to pass
through the local firewall you are behind, or else the VPN connection
can't be made but, once the VPN is up, you have effectively
bypassed the firewall.
You can visit websites banned by the
local firewall and use types of traffic blocked by this firewall
such as FTP or VOIP.
Often ISPs block SMTP traffic to any mail-server except their
own but you can access all SMTP servers through the loop-through
VPN.
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Identify Yourself as Being in the UK |
A minor point, but when you use our
loop-through VPN, you pop back out onto the Internet in central
London so that's where webservers etc. think you are.
Some
sites may only allow access from certain countries which often
includes the UK.
Sometimes creditcard payments aren't accepted from certain
countries.
The BBC iPlayer service, which allows you to watch and download
programs broadcast in the last 7 days, is limited to UK IP
addresses but will work from anywhere if you access it through
our loop-through VPN. |
If you've read this far I hope you're convinced how useful a
loop-through VPN connection can be to someone who travels with a laptop.
If you're at a location where certain websites or Internet programs you
use all the time suddenly aren't working, there's a good chance they
will work again once the loop-through VPN connection is up.
The ability to make a Loop-Through VPN connection is included with all
Arrowmail Professional Exchange Mailbox accounts, which cost £14.99/month
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