Easy to use freeware/open Source windows VPN clients?

Hi

I am a volunteer contributing to the write of up the VPN section in the admin document for Ipcop. I am researching easy to use freeware/open Source windows VPN clients which are popular for Road warriors? Can the forum recommend any and why?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

I had lots of fun with setting up a road-warrior VPN recently and was ably helped by Chris. I'd be interested in helping you with this section if you would find that valuable.
I tried the built-in Microsoft VPN support in Win2K and WinXP Pro. It does work, but I found it philosophically biassed towards the use of IPSec because that's what they want to support in their server products. Setting up IPSec you get bogged down in certificates and IPSec rules for inbound and outbound traffic and despite recourse to several 'how to' guides off the 'net I never got it to work properly. This was with 2000 and XP PCs connecting to a Linksys box which I eventually ditched. Then I went to a Draytek box and they provide (free download) a little VPN configuration utility which you load up on each laptop and it sets all the settings for you. So you still use the built-in VPN support but it works first time. This is using L2TP VPN.
Another guy who can help/advise with this is Dalight as I know he's had experience with VPN into IPCop. We've done a separate project together and are sucessfully using SSL VPN into IPCop. This works by using port forwarding in PuTTY (open source, free download). You just open up the SSH session in PuTTY, log in to the server then start your port-forwarded application (e.g. MS Remote Desktop). The IPCop takes care of the rest.
Hope some of that was useful, sorry to be so long-winded!

I volunteered to write this up because there is nothing in the admin document about how to set up VPN. I have had similar experiences in trying to find out how to set up ipsec vpn on windows boxes and find the "microsoft" support tools setup are mumbo jumbo and so I am trying to establish an easier, less time consuming way to set up the vpn client. I am very interested in reading more about your project on using SSL VPN into IPCop and I imagine the 443 views on the subject on IPcops.com would be interested too If you or dalight would like to write your project up on SSL VPN into IPCop as a how-to I could include it. All contributions from volunteers get acknowledged on the admin manual.

I think you might find this useful

sourceforge.net/projects/ivpn/

I'll have a chat with DaLight when I see him next - that's if he isn't skulking around here somewhere instead of doing his work!

Ha ha haaaaa