{"id":45912,"date":"2020-04-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=45912"},"modified":"2024-02-21T12:15:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T17:15:17","slug":"vpn-manage-remote-user-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/vpn-manage-remote-user-access","title":{"rendered":"Managing Remote User Access to a VPN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Many IT admins are rushing to stand up VPNs in response to the sudden shift to remote work. VPNs (virtual private networks) establish a secure \u201ctunnel\u201d between two points, and they can play a key role in organizational security for work-from-home users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two main use cases for a VPN<\/a> in a work-from-home context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, there are many corporate VPN options for IT admins to consider. Perhaps the most popular is OpenVPN, an open-source solution with paid offerings. Enterprise-class solutions are also available from vendors such as Cisco, Palo Alto, Fortinet, and others. However, standing up a VPN might require on-prem infrastructure, as well as installation and configuration on each individual\u2019s system, which can be tedious and difficult, particularly if a team is already remote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why the JumpCloud\u00ae<\/sup> cloud directory platform<\/a> offers a variety of solutions to help admins manage VPN access, as well as establish workflows in which users don\u2019t need a VPN to access organizational data or change their AD passwords. It can serve as a standalone cloud directory service or as a comprehensive AD identity bridge to virtually all IT resources. Here are three instances it might come in handy to secure remote user access:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don’t already have a VPN established, providers like OpenVPN offer options to deploy a new instance in the cloud, which eliminates the need for any additional on-prem infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you can install a VPN client on remote JumpCloud-managed systems will depend heavily on the VPN provider your organization selects, as well as the operating systems you\u2019re working with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, some VPN providers create preconfigured installation files and use a generic cert, rather than a user-specific cert, which is generated by the firewall. If admins can select a VPN solution that uses a generic cert, meaning that everyone would use the same install file, they could then use the command runner<\/a> available through the web-based Admin Console to push it out and install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also pair your JumpCloud instance with third-party, open-source package managers \u2014 like Chocolatey or AutoPKG \u2014 to install and update applications<\/a> on user systems remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Install VPN Client on Remote Systems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Enable Work Without a VPN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n