IPCOP - Administer remotely

[technobyte]

Hi

Can anybody assist with setup, settings and general howto on administering and being able to access an IPCOP machine remotely?

Appreciate the help.

Thanks

 

[The_Unbeliever]

I use Smoothwall, but the same principle will apply :

option 1 - open VPN ports to an internal VPN server, connect from outside to the VPN server, and do your work this way. (Quick and dirty)

option 2 - install OpenVPN on IPCop and let it handle VPN connections. VPN in to the Cop box and do your work this way. (Not so quick, will need a good box as VPN do take a lot of CPU resources).

option 3 - use Hamachi or GoToMyPC to connect to an internal PC remotely, then from there to your Cop box.

I prefer option 1 or 2.

Use a good, strong username/password/login credentials in all the cases.

One last thing - whatever VPN solution you go for, make sure it have logging enabled to enable you to check on failed login attempts (usually somebody trying to haxxor his/her/its way into your network).

 

[SecretCode]

Like Libs I use Smoothwall but I don't do any of this VPN stuff.

a. If your firewall connects via ADSL you'll get a different IP address at different times. To find my firewall I use dyndns.org and a dynamic DNS feature built into Smoothwall - IPCOP probably has it too.

b. I access the firewall using an SSH tunnel. This is supported by putty http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ - you have to open the SSH port for incoming connections on the firewall, then the putty session allows shell login. As Libs said, a strong password is essential.

c. Once the SSH tunnel is open, I can log in the web admin interface via https://localhost:441/ (441 is a special https port used by Smoothwall - again, IPCOP may be the same).

If you decide to go this way but are confused (some of the putty settings are buried deep!), post again.