Secure Remote Access with the Linux-based Untangle Gateway - page 2

Dynamic DNS, Remote Access, User Accounts

When you're ready to test out the portal, open your Web browser. Then type https://0.0.0.0/portal. Replace 0.0.0.0 with your Internet IP if connecting outside of your office or replace with the local IP address of the Untangle server when connecting from your network. You'll probably get warnings about the certificate from your browser since you aren't using a certificate from an authorized certificate authority (CA). You can simply ignore this and continue. Once the login page comes up, enter a username and password.

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To access network shares, open the Network File Browser application.

If you want to see the quarantined email, click Email Quarantine.

You can add shortcuts to network shares, remote desktop connections, and more to the Bookmarks list on the left. You can also edit the default bookmarks of individual users, groups, and all users via the Remote Access Portal settings on the Untangle Client.

Setting up remote desktop connections

If you want to connect to a computer on your network with Remote Desktop via the Web portal, make sure you enable remote connections like normal in Windows on the local computer. If using a unsupported or home edition of� Windows, or another operating system, you can install a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) server on the local computer.

Then you can add a shortcut to the Remote Desktop or VNC connection to the Bookmark list when logged onto a user's portal account. Additionally, you can add it for users, groups, or everyone via the Remote Access Portal settings on the Untangle Client.

Finishing up

We've reviewed most of the settings for the Remote Access Portal App. You should be able to bring up the portal on your network or from around the world. If you have more than a few users, you probably should organize them and create portal groups. Plus you can think about purchasing a SSL certificate from a real certificate authority (Thawte or Verisign, for example, or get a free one from Startcom) so users don't get warnings when they connect.

Eric Geier is an author of many computing and networking books, including Home Networking All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Wiley 2008) and 100 Things You Need to Know about Microsoft Windows Vista (Que 2007).