My wife uses Outlook on Win2KPro thru a VPN connection to her work, to do email. I'd like to get her into using Linux so if I could get this set up for her she might like it.

What would I use on Mandrake, using KDE, to make this happen? KMail? How do I do the VPN?

Edit: I found a package thru the Mandrake software installer called "openvpn..". Anyone ever use this?


TIA....

bump......

Anyone?

Well, I'll give my $.02 for what its worth...

I use Nortel Networks Contivity VPN client on my Win2k machine for work apps over my DSL connection. The Nortel VPN server will only accept clients that are Nortel VPN clients. They have the Nortel VPN Client for WIndows and for Linux on their website. Maybe your wife's VPN client has a linux version. ight be worth a shot.

There are also generic VPN clients available for download on many sites. Those may work as well. Find out what she has on her Windows box and search for an equivelent Linux version.


Good Luck!

Ok, I know that there are very good VPN clients for Linux, but I don't suppose that helps too much... If googling hasn't worked, give me about 12 hours and i'll go hit up some other people and get back to you this evening with info. (late evening, i'm on US PST.)

Windows uses IPSEC as a VPN protocal, IPSEC is available as a patch to the 2.4.x kernel or its naitive to 2.6.x.

However I prefer to use OpenVPN, it has a .exe installer for Windows, its simple to install on Linux (relatively). Uses very strong encryption too.
Grab it from:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/openvpn/

Or maybe tinc, which uses the same OpenSSL style of encryption, and like openvpn runs in userspace so won't bring down your kernel if it goes tits up.
Again, reasonably simple to install, and again an .exe for Win machines too.
http://tinc.nl.linux.org/

Either of these would sort a VPN connection between Linux-Linux, Win-Win, Linux-Win, Win-Linux etc etc
You could then use ssh to transfer progs/apps down the line, ie have kmail running on the machine at work but viewed from the machine at home.

If youd like to transfer the whole desktop down the line (like KDE), try TightVNC, uses jpeg compression to enable remote desktops over the internet, again Windows and Linux binaries.
http://www.tightvnc.com/

Or, if you'd like to access a Win machines desktop from a Linux machine, but using the Win machines native terminal services as opposed to TightVNC you can:
http://www.rdesktop.org/

Gotta luv working from home