Sharing a VPN internet connection

[Santana2]

Hi all,
I have a small home network of two PCs . We share folders, a printer and an internet connection which comes in to our home through a wireless antenna on the roof.

One pc (my son's) is the main one where the internet connection comes in and the other pc is connected to the first by a second network card and a small hub.

Life was beautiful until one day the internet man came over and changed the connection between our home and his site into a VPN one type PPTP, gave us a user name, a password and left.

Now the second computer (my daughter's) can't see the internet.

Can some body pls. tell me what can I do so that both computers share the internet connection again.

Thanx

 

[riser]

Are you sure he created a VPN connection?

You could use a router and configure the PPTP portion of it and use that in place of your hub.

Or you could set up ICS, internet connection sharing, which has a wizard you can run under Internet Properties - Connections - Setup

Those are your two options in knowing it's a VPN connection.. are you sure it wasn't DSL?

 

[Santana2]

Hi Riser,
Thanx for your reply,
Yes, I think he created a VPN connection.
He used the "create a new connection" in win xp, then selected VPN, then he checked "dont dial" then entered a user name , a password, then in the new connection properties he went to networking and selected PPTP, then checked "optional encription" , then he checked "challenge handshake" etc, etc.
So yes I believe he created a VPN connection type PPTP.
Now windows xp ICS can not work under a VPN. I dont know why but when VPN comes in, ICS flys away. This is a win xp thing.
Now the type of internet connection that I have is a one that stays on all the time. There is a wireless access point/antenna on our roof , then from it an ethernet (STP) cables runs down into my son's room straight into his PC.
No DSL envolved here. There are no DSL modem nor cable modem!
This said, tell me now what you think
Moderator, if you are listening to this pls. help too

Regards

 

[riser]

You're in Europe? STP is really only used in Europe and not in the US.

I've never really heard of anyone having a VPN connection set up for their home just for internet browsing.

Your best bet is to ask the person who set it up if you would be able to purchase a VPN support router, Linksys has a router with VPN Endpoint in it, which should maintain that connection securely while letting anything behind your computer connect.

The VPN in WinXP has a good amount of security, which is why other computers can't connect over the secured line. It's from PC to the VPN concentrator. You don't really have any options in this case except to talk to him and see about having a hardware solution put into place.

I believe the VPN Endpoint ran around $80-$110 US dollars.

 

[Santana2]

Hi Riser,
What about a software solution?
A proxy like win-rout or win gate?
In this case, the main PC will act as a proxy, fetching and cashing pages for the second PC.
What do you think of that?
I live in the middle east.
Regards

 

[riser]

Middle east, ok that explains the STP.. Shielded TP is not normally used in the US.

Using a VPN uses a security layer above and beyond regular internet. You could try setting up Internet Connection Sharing, which will basically make the 1 PC a proxy and route through, but the VPN configuration might also block that and only allow 1 PC to use that connection. VPN's sole purpose is creating extra security to block outside computers to access that connection. This means it'll block other computers from accessing the VPN tunnel to your PC. The only thing I can think of that would fix it is a VPN Endpoint Router. This would bring the VPN connection in from your Modem to the Router. The router would maintain the VPN connection and only allow PCs behind it to connect. I also know that under certain circumstances with VPN, other PCs are blocked from using the internet and/or internet connection is very slow.

Depending on what kind of ISP the guy is running, you might be able to setup a VPN connection on your other PC to connect to the same location. You might want to ask him what settings he had as you will need a username/password to log into the VPN on the other PC. This means both PCs will have a direct and secure connection to the the ISP and should still be able to access each other on your network.

 

[Santana2]

Hi Riser,
I think the internet guy did what he did because he was obviously not happy with customers who have a small home network share internet with several computers around the house using ICS. I guess this put more over head on his bandwidth that is not really paid for. I mean we subscribe with him as a single user but actually we are two.
So now, with this new vpn thing he made sure that one and only one machine is connected per home.
He would be in a position now to squeeze more money out of his subscribers if they should ask for another pc to share the internet.
I am trying here to find a way around this you know.
So are you sure that a router with vpn (pptp) capability would do this for me?

Regards

 

[riser]

The VPN Router is designed to maintain the VPN connection instead of your PC doing it. You'll need to know the username/password he's using to connect you to the VPN though, along with the IP address he's pointing to for the VPN session.

If it doesn't work, it's hardware and you can return it. But without a doubt, if it's a VPN, it will work. The only catch is if he's monitoring your MAC address.. but the router will be able to spoof that and you should be back in business.

 

[Santana2]

Hi Riser,
First of, thanx for your help man. I sure appreciate it.
OK, I'll start shopping for a router with the following specs.:
- It should support vpn type pptp.
- It should be an end-point router.
Did I miss anything?
By the way, does it make a difference if its an end-point or not?
I guess it'll be much more easier for me if you could just recommend a specific model/s that I can shop for locally or order from the web.
I was doing some searching and heres what I found:

From Linksys models BEFVP41 V2 or BEFSX41 http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?childpagename=US%2FLayout&packedargs=c%3DL_Product_C1%26cid%3D1118334622279&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

From D-link models Dl-804HV or DFL-300
http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=9&sec=0

Can you choose from these four?

Thanx again
Regards




<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by santana2 on 08/01/05 04:53 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[riser]

The linksys you pointed out is the one I recommend. When it says you can have 2 IPSec tunnels, that just means to can connect to 2 VPN Hosts.. 2 different ISPs, not computers on your network.

The only thing you'll need to know is the authentication information that you'll need to put into the router to get that connection. That shouldn't be blocked from you if you ask your ISP person.

Other than that.. this Linksys is designed to do exactly what you want to do.

 

[wseslaw]

Well.... I don't think it still actually for you, but actually you don't need any additional hardware,

but however someone else will be looking in forums for solution, like me. It has nothing common with ICS, it just will not work for you in VPN case.

I had same problem - and the solution is very easy, you just need to launch a proxy server on the computer which has an internet connection (I have an WiFi network and VPN-connection to internet, I also tried Bluetooth PAN network and it also works great)

ezProxy - small software easy to download, install and setup - is all you need.
I have network - 1PC with VPN connection running ezProxy and 1 macbook, 1 iPhone connecting through PC. The PC is running as server, and MacBook and iPhone use it's IP address and port number in proxy setting in browser.

This software is so great, that it allows you to connect to VPN, without touching the server, you just enter the address in address bar on Client (MacBook in my case and wait 1-3 secs - the VPN on PC server is connecting automatically by the request from MacBook or iPhone (all you need is to setup IP adressess which could engage connection)