Obviously, VPN is extremely useful if you have given all your trusted employees and also key contractors a remote access to your network with the help of a VPN client or virtual private network. There are so many cost benefits and productivity related benefits of using a VPN. Below are some helpful tips that you can follow while using a VPN.

1. You must use a strong authentication method

This will surely depend on your network infrastructure. You should also be able to check your VPN and operating system documentation to determine all of your options.

2. A strong encryption method must be used

An L2TP or layer two tunneling protocol can be very useful when used. This is a network with certain types of Microsoft servers. For example, a peer-to-peer protocol can be considered very weak unless its clients’ password is guaranteed to be very secure.

3. Limit access to your VPN to everyone with a valid business reason

Any VPN connection is a gateway that can be used to enter the LAN. You should only keep it open when it essentially needs to be open. Remote employees and contractors should be discouraged from connecting to your VPN to download commonly required files.

4. Access to selected files via extranet and intranet

If you have a secure HTTP site that comes with a strong password and authentication, it will expose only selected files on one of the individual servers and not your entire network.

5. Email access should be enabled without a VPN

On all Microsoft Exchange servers, you must configure a server for the Exchange proxy to allow Outlook to access this Exchange through RPC or remote procedure call. Obviously, this is protected with the help of an SSL encryption.

6. Enforce and implement a strong password

There must be a very strong policy for a password. You should also understand that your network is only as secure as the weakest password in use. There should be no one who is allowed to keep a password permanently. Use a word, number, or any other alphanumeric password combination. This can help you protect your VPN in the long run.