Using VPN On An IPhone

As with PC clients, iPhone and iPad allow secure access to the company network via iphoneVPN. The iOS-8 devices supported different protocols. The following article explains the configuration and the different solutions in detail.

When connected to a VPN, the iPhone/iPad behaves like a normal PC. This means that companies need normal VPN access. This can be a VPN router or a Windows server. The connection is made via internal settings on the iPhone/iPad. Apps from manufacturers such as Juniper or Cisco are available in the App Store for connection, which simplify the configuration and start of the VPN and control the data traffic.

A VPN is also a great way to watch your favorite TV show overseas on your phone, read more at southfloridareporter.com.

VPN protocols for the iPhone/iPad – Cisco and Co.

vpnThe iPhone/iPad supports L2TP/IPSec, PPTP and Cisco IPSec protocols, which means you can use any VPN server that uses these protocols. User authentication can be configured via MS-ChapV2, RSA SecurID with CryptoCard or via a symmetric key (Shared Secret).

  • Point-to-Point Tunnel Protocol (PPTP)-based VPN traffic consists of a TCP connection to TCP port 1723 on the VPN server to manage the tunnel, and GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) encapsulated packets for the VPN data.
  • However, PPTP traffic can have problems with firewalls, NATs and web proxies. To avoid problems, firewalls must be configured to allow both TCP connection and GRE-encapsulated data.

PPTP allows encrypted encapsulation of various network protocols. After authentication has been performed, a PPTP VPN encrypts the connection. Encryption is based on the authentication password. The more complex the password, the better the encryption. Since the encryption and transport of each IP packet is done through the GRE protocol, you must make sure that the hardware firewall or DSL router you are using supports this protocol.

If you use a current FritzBox, you can also configure it as a VPN server that works with iPhone/iPads. More information can be found on the AVM website.

VPN via L2TP

it-bloggerThe second variant of setting up a VPN is the Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol (L2TP). This protocol is more secure than PPTP, but more complex to set up. L2TP uses IPSec to establish encryption. When setting up a VPN with L2TP, unlike PPTP, the data traffic is reliably encrypted before authentication.

Since L2TP uses IPSec to encrypt the data traffic, you can also use this VPN type for 3DES encryption. The use of a VPN based on L2TP requires a certification authority infrastructure. You can also use Juniper Junos Pulse and Cisco AnyConnect.

Apps are available in the App Store to help you set up these methods. This is also easy for the inexperienced user if the corresponding connection data of the VPN is available.