Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Networking > VPN service recommendations

VPN service recommendations
Thread Tools
Cold Warrior
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 28, 2010, 11:24 PM
 
I'm looking for a vpn service, paid or free, that is OS X Snow Leopard-compatible. Main purpose is to route beyond firewalls for a more private, non-firewalled session.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 29, 2010, 05:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cold Warrior View Post
I'm looking for a vpn service, paid or free, that is OS X Snow Leopard-compatible. Main purpose is to route beyond firewalls for a more private, non-firewalled session.
Does that mean he said firewall blocks standard VPN ports, and you need a solution that uses something like port 80 to do the job ?

What ports *ARE* open on that firewall ?

-t
     
besson3c
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 29, 2010, 11:13 AM
 
Check out OpenVPN, it's the simplest firewall I've come across to get going, and has a great reputation. There are multiple OS X clients, the server is platform agnostic.
     
Cold Warrior  (op)
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 29, 2010, 07:20 PM
 
note: service, not server. I can configure an OpenVPN server but am looking for a professional service.

turtle: hotel vpn ports are generally open, so getting out isn't a problem. But a service with the flexibility to use a series of ports would be a plus.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 29, 2010, 08:15 PM
 
Why would Slinkware not work ?

http://forums.macnn.com/92/networkin...play-vpn-macs/

Yes, it's technically NOT a VPN, but what applications do you have that would require a true VPN ?

Maybe the future Slink features is what you are looking for:

Also, we are soon adding SOCK4,SOCKS5 and HTTP proxy capability for Slink client connections to get around firewall and policy issues.
-t
     
Cold Warrior  (op)
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 29, 2010, 09:36 PM
 
Slinkware is meant to get a user back to his home network, and unfortunately my home network has standard residential upload speeds (slow), so it's not good for heavy usage (video chat, watching streaming video, downloading).

I'm particularly interested in being able to do file sharing, where ports are usually blocked in hotels.
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Mar 30, 2010, 07:02 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cold Warrior View Post
Slinkware is meant to get a user back to his home network, and unfortunately my home network has standard residential upload speeds (slow), so it's not good for heavy usage (video chat, watching streaming video, downloading).

I'm particularly interested in being able to do file sharing, where ports are usually blocked in hotels.
Slinkware does file sharing, but it needs port 22 (SSH).

If port 22 is blocked, your options are rather limited.

Take a look at Searchlight.
You can define your own ports.

Other than that, yes, maybe you really need a full-blown VPN to get around the port 22 issue.

-t
     
Cold Warrior  (op)
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 4, 2010, 12:33 PM
 
I went with vpnout. Had used them before but then things stopped working on 10.6, so I'm using it with a Win7 virtual machine.
     
slinkware
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2010
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 7, 2010, 02:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Slinkware does file sharing, but it needs port 22 (SSH).

If port 22 is blocked, your options are rather limited.

Take a look at Searchlight.
You can define your own ports.

Other than that, yes, maybe you really need a full-blown VPN to get around the port 22 issue.

-t
Olof from Slinkware here. Slink does not use port 22. By default it uses a random high port. However, you can configure any port you want in the Preference Pane. Also Slink supports HTTP or SOCKS proxies for connections, should you need that.

Let me know if you have any questions1
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 7, 2010, 07:06 AM
 
Ahh, interesting. So it connects using SSH, but on a random port ?

I completely missed that option in the Prefpane.

-t
     
slinkware
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2010
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 21, 2010, 03:27 AM
 
turtle777: Slink can use any port you want. Often it makes sense to set port 80 and 443 to get through corporate proxies. (Slink support HTTP and SOCKS proxies. HTTP proxies often allow outbound connections only to ports 80 and 443.)

Heads up: Slink is out of beta and Slink 1.0 is available:

Download Slink - Slinkware
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 21, 2010, 07:48 AM
 
Thanks. Downloading the new version right now

-t
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:45 PM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,