Cheap n'cheerful VPN router recommendations?

meglome

Need to set up an VPN for my brother. He has standard BT broadband so what VPN router should I get him?

Thanks

allybhoy

Can you be more specific? Like is this a company or just home use etc. What he needs the vpn for, whether you require a box to box vpn or if its just for his company does he need to be able to dial in remotely from various locations etc.

meglome

Sorry he wants to be able to log in to his PC in work (self employed) from whatever remote location he happens to be working at.

allybhoy

If its just one pc and one user why not try and keep it as simple as possible and use something like logmein. It takes about 5minutes to setup, its secure and very user friendly, it also doesnt require a static IP, oh and its free!

The paid version is $70 and that gives you remote sound, direct file transfer and remote printing if he requires those features

meglome

I'll try that but it might not be just one PC in his office so I'd still need some recommendations on a VPN router. He'll usually have his laptop with him on the road.

allybhoy

Hmm well if its just VPN functionality your looking for then maybe a cheap solution would be a dlink DI-804HV which just provides VPN functionality. Or if your looking to maybe install a decent entry level firewall with added security and functions like content filtering,vpn etc etc then a Sonicwall TZ-150 or a Zyxel ZyWALL 2WG

ntlbell

sonicwall should be fine...for what he wants it doesn't really matter on a tight budget they're all much of a muchness

allybhoy

Yep, only problem with the sonicwall is that you have to pay for each Global VPN Client license you need and as far as Im aware the TZ150 doesnt come with any. I think they are about 50euro each or something.

meglome

I'll check them out thanks.

meglome

So if I buy this SonicWALL TZ 150 Wireless 10 Node do I need to buy a licence for every client or is there any included? Not very clear at all.

Or should I just go for this ZyXEL ZyWALL 2 WG Firewall VPN Does it come with client software?

axer

meglome wrote: »

Sorry he wants to be able to log in to his PC in work (self employed) from whatever remote location he happens to be working at.

and what does he need to be able to do with this pc?

I cannot see how logmein would not be sufficient. He can install it on all the machines he wants the access.

You cannot get any cheaper than free plus a VPN would use more bandwidth than the likes of logmein thus if he is on a slow connection he will feel it.

allybhoy

As far as I know they dont come with any VPN Client licenses and they are roughly 50euro each. But the Sonicwall would be a much better product than the Zyxel, like you pay for what you get. Has intrusion detection, content filtering etc all built in. In relation to the Zywall I believe you download the software from here

axer wrote: »

and what does he need to be able to do with this pc?
I cannot see how logmein would not be sufficient. He can install it on all the machines he wants the access.
You cannot get any cheaper than free plus a VPN would use more bandwidth than the likes of logmein thus if he is on a slow connection he will feel it.

I would completely agree with Axer here, I mean if all you are probably going to do with a client VPN is use RDP. Well why not just use logmein, its faster, free, just as secure and is more user friendly as its just a one click process. Also if your brother travels around like from hotel\airport etc and uses free WiFi, some hotspots will have IPSEC and other VPN ports blocked which will render his VPN useless anyways. Whereas logmein (on the client side) uses port 80 which of course will always be open.

meglome

Thanks for all the advice guys.

abakan

Would having a linksys 54G and running Tomato or DD-WRT not give you VPN capability on the router!!
very cheap and chearful

axer

abakan wrote: »

Would having a linksys 54G and running Tomato or DD-WRT not give you VPN capability on the router!!
very cheap and chearful

Yes, you could flash the WRT54GL router with the VPN DD-WRT firmware to give full VPN functionality but I honestly cannot see the point of a VPN if he only needs to access his computer and not print direct from the road to an office printer or access files on a network share or an intranet.

waz2304

if it is just file access he needs, and not so much remote control, you could try this : https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp
I have used it in a number of small or home offices, great if you havent a static ip and you can expand to have a good few pc's connected. I just use it to connect once and map a network drive.