VPN connections in VMware virtual machines

VMware Fusion provides two options for the network connections in a virtual machine: direct (Bridged) and by sharing the host?s connection (NAT). I have found that if you want to connect to a VPN from within a virtual machine, you must use the Bridged option. If you want the virtual machine to use the Mac?s VPN connection, you must use the NAT option. I have also found that connecting to the VPN from within a Windows Vista virtual machine on my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.5.2 is not reliable -- the connection frequently drops out. However, if I connect using the host machine (NAT), the virtual machine uses that connection perfectly, and I have had no disconnection issues.

published on Wednesday, the 28. May 2008, macosxhints

Use a Smart Folder to remove certain iChat log files

With family, friends, and coworkers scattered around the country and the world, iChat is one of my most-used applications. Given that a lot of important conversations flow through it, I've archived my iChat logs for years using the "Automatically save chat transcripts" feature in iChat. One annoyance, though, comes courtesy of the VPN we use to reach the Macworld servers. Every time I connect and disconnect from the VPN (many times a day), AOL generates a warning that shows up as a new iChat message:Your screen name is now signed into AOL(R) Instant Messenger (TM) in 2 locations. To sign off the other location(s), reply to this message with the number 1. Click here for more information.Of course, each and every one of these messages is logged, though I clearly don't need to save them. To make it simpler to get rid of these extraneous logged files, I created a Smart Folder with the following search criteria, with "Any of the following are true" at the top lev...

published on Thursday, the 8. May 2008, macosxhints

VPN Tracker 5.2 adds SonicWALL support

equinux has released a new update for VPN Tracker, its IPsec-based Mac VPN client software. The tool is deliberately designed to mimic iChat, and can automatically connect to a VPN based on current location, as well as perform routine start-up tasks such as checking mail and mounting appropriate volumes. equinux claims to support over 300 VPN dev...

published on Tuesday, the 29. April 2008, macintosh-news-network

Equinux updates MediaCentral, VPN Tracker

Equinux has updated two of its key programs, MediaCentral and VPN Tracker. MediaCentral operates as a kind of Mac equivalent to Windows Media Center, combining the playback of several types of media within one program; users can not only load music, photos and videos, but DVD movies and TV, the latter offering the option of IPTV or digital broadca...

published on Friday, the 21. March 2008, macintosh-news-network

Apps: VPN Tracker, MacGPS Pro

VPN Tracker 5.1 ($90) IPsec based VPN client for Mac OS X. VPN Tracker 5.1 incorporates client provisioning for WatchGuard devices and lets administrators rollout VPN access for large numbers of users. VPN Tracker 5.1 now supports Watchguard's easy-to-configure Mobile User VPN. The client provisioning functionality in VPN Tracker 5.1 is completely ...

published on Tuesday, the 18. March 2008, macintosh-news-network

Mount shares by name over VPN

I telecommute four days a week and need to get to various servers at work over a VPN connection. I don't like routing all my traffic through the VPN connection, because I do a lot of internet work as part of my job. I don't want to pull all that through the company connection and down a VPN pipe, so I have my VPN connection set to only route traffic through the VPN that goes to my company's resources. The problem is this: when I am on site, I can browse the various Windows workgroups and shares without a problem and connect easily (thank you, Leopard!). But when I VPN in, I lose this ability. I can access shares by typing in their IP addresses, and this works fine for those servers that have static IPs. However, some of the servers (developer boxes, etc.) will have IPs that roll over every week, making this method impossible. This has been a major annoyance of mine for quite some time, and I have looked extensively for some way to make it work, but haven't been abl...

published on Wednesday, the 12. March 2008, macosxhints

Apple Announces iPhone 2.0 Software Beta

Apple today previewed the iPhone 2.0 software ? scheduled for release this June ? and announced the immediate availability of a beta release of the software to selected developers and enterprise customers. The iPhone 2.0 beta includes both the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and new enterprise features, such as support for Microsoft Exchange Active Sync and the addition of Cisco IPsec VPN.

published on Thursday, the 6. March 2008, apple-hot-news

Apps: iSync plugins; pearPortVPN

iSync phone plugins 5.2 ($15) allows the synchronization of contact and calendar data with Mac OS X and more than 153 mobile phones. The latest release adds support for: Nokia-2630, Nokia-2660, Nokia-3120 classic, Nokia 5310 XpressMusic, Sony-Ericsson-K660i, Sony-Ericsson-K770i and Sony-Ericsson-T250i. System requirements are Mac OS X 10.4.9 or hig...

published on Friday, the 8. February 2008, macintosh-news-network

Use VPN on the iPod Touch to read Exchange mail

With Apple's Mail included in the software update ($20) for iPod Touch firmware upgrade 1.1.3, I was looking forward to really improving the utility of the device by reading my work email. However, the comments I read on the net said that the iPod Touch didn't have the networking preferences like the iPhone, and thus, VPN couldn't be done. But they were wrong! VPN is hidden in Settings » General » Network, and if your company's Exchange server has IMAP services activated, then you can configure the iPod Touch to read your work email. The only problem that I have found is that the VPN connection isn't persistent. If your iPod goes to sleep, the VPN connection drops out. Go back to settings to switch it back on again. Now I have full email wherever there's Wi-Fi. [robg adds: This is the same spot where you'll find VPN settings on the iPhone. I assumed this was documented in the updated iPod Touch user's guide, but it doesn't seem to be mentioned...

published on Tuesday, the 5. February 2008, macosxhints

Apps: PacketStream, pearPortVPN

PacketStream 2.3 ($25) point-and-click activation of the Mac's built-in network monitoring program, which is usually available only from the command line. By clicking a few buttons, you can monitor data as it streams over your network--especially useful for checking web traffic, network bottlenecks, or even suspicious network activity. All network ...

published on Thursday, the 24. January 2008, macintosh-news-network