Hi Herbert,

Monday, June 26, 2006, 8:53:09 PM, you wrote:

> On Mon, 2006-06-26 at 21:47 -0300, Gerhard Fiedler wrote:
>> Herbert Graf wrote:
>> 
>> > Since the router with VPN is their only connection to the rest of the
>> > internet only physical access can bypass it (unless they manage to hack
>> > the VPN router, possible, but easy enough to secure).
>> 
>> I think this may be a downside of this approach. Patrick talked about young
>> boys with technical inclinations... I think it won't be long before one
>> finds out how to bypass the VPN router and hook up a computer directly to
>> the unfiltered internet on the WAN side of the router. Of course, if a
>> password is needed, then this may work.

> Obviously, physically securing the hardware is an issue, but I don't see
> that as a big issue.

That password barrier sould be a good deterrent. I'm a bit uncertain,
however, what device would require a password - do modems themselves
allow the requiring of passwords? It's been a while since I've tried
it, but IIRC, I was able to connect my laptop directly to my broadband
modem and surf the net.

>> This is basically the same as the satellite operator offer, with the
>> difference that with the satellite solution, there is no unfiltered
>> internet at the individual locations.

> But a benefit here is cost and ISP transparency. I'm a big believer in
> never setting something up that limits you to a particular ISP. By using
> a VPN solution and your own box you are ISP neutral, if they raise rates
> you can go to their competition with little issue. Cost is a big benefit
> as well since aside from the upfront cost (which isn't trivial, I
> admit), there is only the cost of administration, but can be very cheap
> since there's only one thing to configure.

I like the idea of ISP transparency - some colonies can only get an
expensive satellite connection, while others would be able to choose a
less expensive connection.

The tradeoff is, then, lower bandwidth vs. ISP transparency.

-- 
Best regards,
Patrick Murphy
James Valley Colony
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