[pbmcauliffe]

More specifically file sharing over the internet. I have a network with dsl and a router/firewall at home, and the same thing at work. Is there a way to securely share files between the two networks over the internet. Basically a file sharing like Kazaa, Limewire, etc, but private and secure.

 

[Tippy]

Good question. We are networked here at work and I can pull files off of other computers, (wich can be good and bad!) but I don't know about over the internet. What are you wanting to share, Programs like autocad or files such as MP3's?

 

[pbmcauliffe]

Yes, mainly Autocad files, I would like to be able to access them from home, work on them and save them so then someone from the office could then open them and plot.

 

[LEVE]

1. With [*]Win2000 [*]NT [*]XP
2. You can set permissions for access,
3. That are fairly secure.
4. The security for your work files is the responsibility,
5. Of your MIS/IT group,
6. That's the first place to take this discussion,
7. So they know you're requirements,
8. And can say Yea, or Nay -
9. To your request because,
10. In this computerized world...
11. Nothing is secure ,
12. There's usually always a way in...
13. You just gotta find it.
14. Back doors are always left open...

 

[040]

Sounds like a job for a VPN or Novell's iFolder. Talk to your IT department...you ain't doing diddly without their consent/help other than getting on their sh*t list.

If this is a small outfit and you have no IT group and can pretty much do as you please, drop me a line and I'll give you some help. I've done VPN setups for a handful of small companies for home and branch offices...finishing up one right now.

 

[ricochet]

Another thing you could do is see if your work has an FTP server set up. That way you can just ftp from home into the server and share the files that way. It can work both ways if you set one up on your home pc also.

 

[pbmcauliffe]

Very small office, no IT department to get mad. Is VPN and iFolder software to do this?

 

[Tippy]

How do you determine if you have a FTP server? I'm in the same boat as PB. Only one guy in our IT department and he is very liberal!

 

[040]

iFolder is software, VPN can be hardware or software (I prefer an all hardware solution whenever possible as it's easier to setup and virtually transparent to the user). For a quick, dirty & cheap setup, you can get yourself a couple of Linksys BEFVP41's or similar. Set one up at home in place of your current broadband router and the other one up at the office using one of the leftover static public IP addresses from the bank of addresses that your ISP would've given you (if you don't have a T1 or business class DSL or cable at the office giving you a static address, then you'll need to use DDNS and do some port mapping on the existing firewall). Depending upon what firewall you have at the office, it may even already have VPN capability.

FTP is an option, but a little less convenient and a little less secure. You want to poke as few holes in your firewall as possible...it's kinda like poking pinholes in a condom

 

[thorjeep]

Jeepskate: Thanks for the info on the Linksys BEFVP41, never heard of it before. After reading it I still like the Netgear FVS318, which I have installed at a few dozen locations including my home and office. 70 Tunnels vs 8 is a pretty big difference, though!
PB: I would *guess* you work at a small engineering shop and one of the engineers set up a DSL. Is that engineer still there? Ask him/her if he/she bought a additional router for security and/or internet connections. That would be your best place to start as far as a VPN is concerned.

Another option: Remote computing.
1. Do you have a server, if so, windows 2000 server?
2. If you have no server, just share files between each other's machines (and) leave the machines on all night?
You could run software which allows you to remotely control your machine from home. The files stay there, you can print to the printers in the office, and it *can* be easier to set up.

If #1, then Microsoft Terminal Services is an option. It (sort of) comes with windows 2000. More complex to set up, but more secure.

If #2 Then try Go to my Pc though it is a subscription-basis. Stop groaning Jeepskate-it is the easiest to set-up.

 

[Guest]

If it was me doing it with a Windows setup (and I cared about my works security), I would set up an FTP server on my home computer (with a dynamic IP pointer like http://www.no-ip.com/) and do it that way.

That way, you don't have to deal with IT and you don't expose your companies network with *another* MS security hole. All you have to do is get in the habit of sending the files you want to your home box before leaving work, download them when you get there... if you made a change.

If your company doesn't care about security, just have them setup whatever you want on an open the port. I am not really sure how sensitive the info is that you deal with.

Good luck.

 

[pbmcauliffe]

Thanks for all the info, it will give me some options to look into.

 

[040]

Hey, I'm not groaning about GoToMyPC. It's a decent option if you want to remote control your PC at work without opening additional holes in the firewall. I allowed a consultant who did some software developemnt & support for us at my last job to do that. For most connections I used a Cisco PIX configured with a generic tunnel for connecting via their client software and a handful of tunnels to other company's firewalls. For my side business I use a Linksys BEFVP41 at home and the same for new setups at my customers' sites (latest customer already has a Watchguard Firebox) to allow connections for employees at home or on the road, interconnect branch offices, and so that I can do remote administration (usually via Terminal Services on their servers or VNC on their desktops). Everything is secured and I don't have a bunch of holes in the firewalls. Saves me time and saves the customers money over paying me to drive out to their site for everything. Another VPN option is to take an old PC that you've got laying around and load up the freeware version of Smoothwall. It's a Linux firewall that will allow you to make two tunnels and has a nice web interface.

 

[thorjeep]

Smoothwall eh? Have to check that one out.

Most IT professionals (Myself included) *hate* go to my PC. It is fine if we do it, though when the users are remotely-controlling their PCs from home without IT knowledge and using their first name as a password, it is very scary. Especially in a mid to large company. It is just extra work to look for the traffic on the border.

 

[Hooch]

The easiest way (and possibly the cheapest way) is to use Remote Admin ( http://www.famatech.com/ ). This little aplication is quite secure (you can use 128 bit encrypted passwords or NT based encryption, restrict acces to a single IP address etc.) and has a build in file transfer client. You can remotely administer your pc as if you are sitting behind it.

I use it to access my home computer from work and vice versa. I also use it to help a mate of mine who now lives in The Netherlands as he is not too computer literate and whenever he gets himself into trouble I log in on his PC and help him out. You can use the file transfer client to up or download files....

Have a look on the above website and downoad the trial. The only requirement is that you have static IP adresses on both machines and you only need to allow access through the firewall to one port.