Are you searching for a VPN Software for establishing a secured connection to access a remote computer to transfer your valuable data or files? There are lots of VPN Software and clients available, some are paid and others are free, which can easily provide you the benefits of secured connectivity and anonymous browsing. Not only they provide you security, but they also ensure privacy. This blog has already done a series of posts on some of the best VPN Software Clients.
But Windows 7 has a new feature with the name DirectAccess, which may prove to be a death bell for the VPN software.
What is Windows 7 DirectAccess
DirectAccess is a new feature in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 that provides seamless intranet connectivity to DirectAccess client computers when they are connected to the Internet. Unlike traditional VPN connections, which must be initiated and terminated by explicit user action, DirectAccess connections are automatically made by the user’s computer on their behalf.
Windows 7 DirectAccess enhances the productivity of mobile workers by connecting them seamlessly and more securely to their corporate network any time they have Internet access—without the need to VPN. With DirectAccess, you can easily access the corporate network’s file shares, intranet websites, and line-of-business applications remain accessible wherever you have an Internet connection.
With DirectAccess, IT administrators can manage mobile computers by updating Group Policy settings and distributing software updates any time the mobile computer has Internet connectivity, even if the user is not logged on.
DirectAccess uses IPv6-over-IPsec to encrypt communications transmitted across the Internet, which provides maximum security while avoiding the need of using a VPN Software.
Here is a nice YouTube video about Windows 7 DirectAccess.
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Good review of the W7 Direct Access. It’s good to see a major vendor like Microsoft supporting IPSec since Cisco is stepping away to favor SSL.
During your testing, did you try to establish a VPN policy and NAC profile? How did it do? Were you able to do everything you wanted or were you limited by the technology?
I’d be interested to see what you think about the NCP Engineering W7 client and if it allows more flexibility for you. Here’s some info and a few user comments on my blog:
http://vpnhaus.wordpress.com/windows_7_beta/
Great demonstration!