Re: Do I need a VPN?

On Mon, 24 May 2010 00:05:18 +0100, Sam wrote:
pete writes:
I'd appreciate your experiences and recommendations in using a VPN
across a 3G connection.
[...]
However, following a change in 3G provider, although the remote still
successfully connects to my local system, it appears the new provider
is preventing inbound connections to the remote.

Run an SSH server on your local PC - OpenSSH in your case, presumably.
Perhaps put it on port 443 in case the provider blocks SSH etc.

Schedule an outbound connect to your SSH server on the remote PC.
Configure each end appropriately to tunnel traffic from one listening
port to a particular remote port (either local>remote or vice versa).
Then you can connect to localhost port N and have it routed to the
remote 127.0.0.1:5900

Tunnelier is free for personal use:
http://www.bitvise.com/tunnelier

THAT'S WHAT I WANT!!!!!

Yup, couple of clicks, job done. Sam, that's brilliant.

For the record:
1.) download WinSSHD (Bitvise's SSH daemon), install on XP client
2.) Start it, configure, create a "Virtual account" named "virt"
give it a password
3.) download tunnelier, install. Set up an S2C entry, receiving
port 5900 and forwarding to 5901 (the VNC ports)
4.) configure XP's VNC server to listen on #5901, enable local loopback
5.) click tunnelier's "login" button (or logout/login) to start it all
6.) on the Linux box: enable local port forwarding, as:
ssh -L 5900:localhost:5900 virt@xp_box_name_or_IP_address
7.) start Linux's VNC viewer, connecting to localhost:5900

8.) supply VNC password, sit back, watch the remote's screen unfold on
your Linux desktop.
9.) Reflect on the hours wasted, hacking through OpenVPN's carelessly
mistake-ridden documentation, jargon, tacit assumptions and over-
configurability. It's (probably) a fine product, but WAY over the top
for my simple requirements. I realise that there are "productised"
versions available, but since it took so long to munge the basic
applications into shape I much prefer the simplicity of WinSSHD/Tunnelier.
Interestingly, the windows side of OpenVPN was a cinch - it was all the
goofing around on Linux: "open this", "edit that" ooops, that file
doesn't exist - spend time finding it, "copy something else" - d'oh,
that's not where they said it was. What does that arcane error actually
_mean_ ? which of the various conflicting and non-specific instructions
is right? .... and so on, all yesterday afternoon. Grrrr.
.

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