VPN software lets you join private networks as though you're sitting at a local computer on that network, giving you access to shared folders and tons more handy stuff. Here's a look at five of the most popular VPN tools.
Viscosity is an OpenVPN client for Mac and Windows, providing a rich user interface for creating, editing, and controlling VPN connections. Sparklabs: blog: about: support| The ultimate OpenVPN client. “ If you need a VPN client for OS X, Viscosity is the way to go. Reasons to use VPN with Mac OS. Mac OS users around the world are blinded by the misconception of privacy, so much so that most users do not tend to use any sort of privacy or antivirus tools with their Apple machines.
Best vpn client for mac os If you’re looking for a fast and safe vpn service, check us out! VPN explained in this manner is a network technology that gives the owner the. The OpenVPN clone function supports legacy OpenVPN clients. IPv4 / IPv6 dual-stack. The VPN server runs on Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris and Mac OS X. Configure All settings on GUI. Multi-languages (English, Japanese and Simplified-Chinese). No memory leaks. High quality stable codes, intended for long-term runs. One of the largest problems with Macs is that software (including VPN clients) is more commonly written for Windows systems. We have listed the 5 best VPNs for Mac below. All of these services have fantastic Mac clients so you can set up in minutes.
Photo by Noah Sussman.
VPN software brings the security of a private network to an insecure network, and allows you to access private local networks from anywhere. As we've explained in the past, you can do things between computers on your local network you can't from out on the internet: like listen to a shared iTunes library or access files in shared folders. Virtual private network applications give you access to your computer from anywhere on the internet as if you were home on your local network. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite software for establishing and maintaining virtual private networks. We rounded up the votes, and now we're back with the five most popular VPN applications.
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Which VPN Tool is Best?
There's no place like home when it comes to security, and VPNs allow you to connect into a…
Read more ReadIf you're new to the idea of virtual private networks, you can read up on the technical nitty-gritty at the Wikipedia entry for VPNs. Note: This Hive Five contains both VPN server applications (the apps that create virtual private networks on your local network so it's accessible from the outside world) and VPN client applications (the apps that connect to virtual private networks from the outside world). In many instances companies produce VPN servers, VPN clients, VPN servers with accompanying clients, or VPN clients that are designed to work with a variety of servers.
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OpenVPN (Windows/Mac/Linux, Free)
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OpenVPN is an open source VPN server that's easy to set up for use with open source VPN clients. You can easily export configuration files from OpenVPN to import into a variety of open source and commercial clients. OpenVPN is also integrated into several router firmware packages including popular DD-WRT, OpenWRT, and Tomato. The OpenVPN system isn't compatible with popular commercial VPN providers, but it provides an open source and free alternative for setting up VPNs to expensive and closed commercial models.
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Cisco VPN (Windows/Mac/Linux, Variable Cost)
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Cisco has a high market saturation in corporate and educational environments, and for many of you, any experience you've had with virtual private networks is through such exposure. The price to run a Cisco VPN is highly variable—and you can't even get a concrete number without a quote from the company—but you can, as an end user, download the free Cisco VPN client for Windows and Mac—though many readers complained about the lack of 64-bit support in the free Cisco client.
LogMeIn Hamachi (Windows/Mac/Linux, Free)
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Hamachi's strongest attribute is its ease of use. If you've read some of the other entries in the Hive Five and realized that you don't want a contract for a corporate VPN or the hassle of configuring a bunch of routers with open-source firmware packages, and you just want to set up a simple virtual network between you and your friend, your phone, or your office, Hamachi offers nearly instant deployment. Install the Hamachi client on all the machines and devices you want to connect into your network and add them to your Hamachi VPN and you're done. It's dead simple. The downside, if you're concerned about it, is that your VPN isn't locally managed—it's centrally managed by Hamachi through their servers.
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Shrew Soft (Windows/Linux, Free)
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Openvpn Client Mac Os
Shrew Soft offers a VPN that, while popular in its own right, received quite a boost when people started adopting Windows 7 64-bit in droves and found that Cisco wasn't in any hurry to release a 64-bit client to accommodate them. Shrew Soft works with a variety of VPN server protocols including IPsec, OpenSWAN, freeSWAN, and strongSWAN.
Windows Built-In VPN (Windows, Free)
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Windows has a built-in VPN client. Surprised? Many people are. It's not a heavily advertised feature, but it covers many people's needs. Before exploring other client solutions, it's worth pulling up the quick launch box in the Windows start menu and typing 'VPN' to start the configuration process. In Windows versions prior to Windows Vista, the built-in VPN client received a fair amount of criticism for lacking features and supported protocols. Since Vista and especially in the Windows 7 implementation, it's grown significantly and unless you need a feature or standard that isn't implemented you may not need to install anything at all.
Now that you've had a chance to look at the five most popular VPN solutions, it's time to cast your vote in the poll below:
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Which VPN Tool is Best?survey software
Best Openvpn Client For Mac Os X
An honorable mention goes out to the Mac OS X built-in VPN client. Have a VPN tip, trick, or application to share? Let's hear about it in the comments.
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Download.com offers no downloadable file for this product and presents data on the last available version for informational purposes only. To download OpenVPN, please go to the main OpenVPN website.
From OpenVPN: OpenVPN is a full-featured SSL VPN solution which can accomodate a wide range of configurations, including remote access, site-to-site VPNs, WiFi security, and enterprise-scale remote access solutions with load balancing, failover, and fine-grained access-controls (articles) (examples) (security overview) (non-english languages). OpenVPN implements OSI layer 2 or 3 secure network extension using the industry standard SSL/TLS protocol, supports flexible client authentication methods based on certificates, smart cards, and/or 2-factor authentication, and allows user or group-specific access control policies using firewall rules applied to the VPN virtual interface. OpenVPN is not a web application proxy and does not operate through a Web browser.