Configuring a VPN connection for your SonicWALL gateway
So you’ve just got your hands on a brand new SonicWALL device and you need to configure a VPN connection to remotely connect to your office network from home? Our quick start guide will take you through the basics you need to know to get yourself set up.
Top Support for Brand New VPN Gateways in VPN Tracker 365
We’re pleased to announce that yet another new VPN Tracker 365 beta is now live and available for testing! This version offers compatibility with three brand new device profiles from NETGEAR, Telekom, and Sophos, as well as continued support for OpenVPN connections; the newest addition to VPN Tracker 365 announced last week.
After months of careful planning and testing, the moment many of you have been waiting for is finally here… Following popular demand, the first public beta of VPN Tracker 365 with support for OpenVPN devices is now live!
VPN Tracker Version 36518.1.1 – Ready for macOS 10.14
We’re all super excited for the official release of macOS 10.14 this fall. In the meantime, we’ve already started testing out the beta version which was released on Monday. If you’re anything like us, you’ll probably be doing exactly the same thing, which is why we’ve included preliminary support for the Mojave beta in our latest update.
VPN Tracker 36518.0 is here! This new update welcomes support for Juniper SRX-Series gateways, as well as an array of new improvements and fixes for the best VPN performance at all times. Download VPN Tracker 365
Security expert teams are warning about a critical security breach in the current WPA2 WiFi encryption standard. Potential attackers are now able to break, monitor and manipulate WPA2 encryption with so-called “KRACK attacks”; caused by a weakness in negotiating security key management.
Be proactive – What you can do to mitigate security risks from KRACK-Attacks:
In order to keep your sensitive data safe from prying eyes, you should use a VPN. VPN Tracker World Connect will keep you safe while using WiFi on your Mac and iOS devices until security fixes start to roll out for clients and network hardware.
VPN Tracker World Connect instantly encrypts all your online activity with the highest encryption standards. Whether you are away on a trip, working at the office or simply at home, your data is protected on every WiFi connection.
The leading network device providers are currently working on security patches for this issue. Be sure to keep checking if a patch has appeared for your WiFi device. You can find more technical information about KRACK attacks here: https://www.krackattacks.com
The US Manufacturer, Ubiquiti, founded by former Apple developer, Robert J. Pera, rolled out into the network scene at the right time. Their high-performance wifi technology with easy centralized management have made Ubiquiti one of the most in-demand networking solutions on the market. On top of that, Ubiquiti has been brought to the spotlight with its UniFi Access Points. Their high quality coupled with a relatively inexpensive price tag has made Ubiquiti one of the most sought after brands in the networking market. UniFi also offers great gateway options for small teams, start-ups, and larger corporations.
So how can you use your Ubiquiti UniFi as a VPN gateway for your Mac? No problem with the latest Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateways firmware and with VPN Tracker 365. With our new and detailed Ubiquiti Configuration Guide in VPN Tracker 365, getting Macs connected to VPN on your UniFi is effortless.
VPN Tracker 365 Gateway support NEW More than 25 VPN Gateways are supported
With the latest version of VPN Tracker 365 (Download), we’ve added support for additional new VPN Gatewaysfrom well-known manufacturers: D-Link, FortiNet, NETGEAR, Watchguard and ZyXEL.
The new models are listed below, you can find all 300+ supported devices on our compatibility page.
Update & Availability: The latest VPN Tracker 365 version with Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateway Support is free with your VPN Tracker 365 Plan (Download the latest VPN Tracker 365 version here).
New customers can get their VPN Tracker 365 for only 69.99 EUR per year (covers all personal Macs). Benefit from the robust and secure VPN Tracker features for your business and personal needs. Customers with older VPN Tracker versions can upgrade for a discounted offer. VPN Tracker is compatible with macOS Sierra and already supports the latest Public Beta of macOS High Sierra.
SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function that is used to verify signatures and other security-related files. Basically, it lets you quickly check that the file or digital signature you’re being shown is actually the real deal.
What’s all the fuss about?
In the last few years, researchers theorized that it might be able to create a fake file that matches a genuine file’s SHA1 signature. It was all just a matter of computing power and given the way technology works, that it would be possible in the next few years.
At that’s exactly what has happened: the Google team used a clever technique and Google’s vast server infrastructure to create a fake PDF file with the same SHA1 hash as their reference file.
What does SHA1 have to do with VPN?
When using a VPN, the server and VPN app go through several steps that let each side verify they’re talking to the right person. There’s Phase 1, during which both sides set up a secure channel to talk over. Then they use that during Phase 2 to establish the actual VPN tunnel used to transmit encrypted data.
SHA1 can be used in both of these setup phases to verify the authenticity of the data being exchanged and is configured by default for many VPN vendors.
So is a VPN that uses SHA1 at risk?
For single files like their PDF example or website certificates, Google’s research definitely shows that switching to SHA-2 is an important and necessary step.
However for VPNs, the attack is not feasible due to the short key lifetimes used:
In Google’s research, they needed the equivalent of 6500 single CPU-years to create their fake file.
In your VPN tunnel, a SHA1 hash is only used for 1 hour on average, before it is swapped for a new key. And the hash algorithm is used to verify a packet that has already been encrypted. So an attacker could only use this attack to sneak a fake packet into your data – and they’d have to compute in within 1 hour. To actually read your data would still be impossible, as the encryption algorithm means there are effectively two layers of security an attacker would need to break.
Security setup within VPN Tracker 365
Extra protection: use SHA-2 with your VPN
The latest VPN gateways also support SHA-2 hashes (e.g. SHA-256, SHA-384 or SHA-512). These are more modern, highly secure SHA variants that can’t be broken. SHA-2 has been supported in VPN Tracker since 2015 and is in our default configuration for many popular VPN vendors, including SonicWALL.
Secure: SonicWall TZ600 Gateway (uses AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 with SHA-256)
The future
We always recommend using the strongest encryption available to you. So switching to SHA-2 algorithms if your VPN gateway supports it is a good idea. However SHA1 is still secure, provided you use a relatively short key lifetime and, more importantly, always pair it with a strong encryption algorithm (such as AES-128, AES-192 or AES-256).
Cisco Meraki network solutions are becoming increasingly popular and we've heard from a lot of macOS Sierra users about adding support for it in our Mac VPN client, VPN Tracker 365. Meraki devices are sleek, offer great performance and have great cloud management capabilities. On the VPN side of things, their Auto VPN technology makes them a breeze to set up securely, provided both sides support it.We've updated VPN Tracker 365 with comprehensive Cisco Meraki support. We've updated the Auto-Config VPN technology in VPN Tracker to work with Cisco Meraki, so it'll only take you a few minutes to get set up. The new Cisco Meraki Connection Profile supports the popularMeraki MX series.
Connected in minutes: Connect your Mac running macOS Sierra to a Cisco Meraki VPN Gateway
Open VPN Tracker 365
Create a new connection and choose our Cisco Meraki profile
Enter your Cisco Meraki gateway address
Then just follow the steps in our detailed Configuration Guide to configure VPN on your Meraki. VPN Tracker 365 automatically figures out the right configuration settings for your Meraki setup and connects you using the best settings.Tip: We've added a quick link to the Meraki configuration website, so you can instantly access your config and change settings, if necessary.
We were really impressed how easy it is to set up a VPN on the Meraki MX-Series and with Auto-Config VPN, you'll have VPN Tracker connected in minutes.How to get started: VPN Tracker 365 with Auto-Config VPN for Cisco Meraki is now available to all VPN Tracker 365 customers ( download latest version). New customers can purchase VPN Tracker 365 starting at just 79.99 annually and benefit from all of VPN Tracker's business and security features. VPN Tracker 365 is optimized for macOS Sierra and supports more than 300 IPsec VPN gateways.
As the leading VPN client for Mac, we’re always improving VPN Tracker 365 and adding new protocols, device profiles and configuration options, so customers always have the choice of leading VPN products and vendors. Today VPN Tracker 365 includes support for over 300 VPN gateways: from enterprise-level VPN solutions from SonicWALL and Cisco, to cost-effective VPN products for small-businesses, start-ups and home-offices (see all compatible VPN devices).
Simple, secure and high-performance
Getting your TP-Link VPN router configured with VPN Tracker is a piece of cake: The step-by-step VPN Tracker Configuration Guide walks you through all the settings you need to make in the TP-Link web interface and in VPN Tracker, you just pick TP-Link and enter your gateway address – secure remote access to your office will be up and running in minutes.
TP-LINK VPN devices support a variety of VPN protocols and encryption algorithms, including very strong AES-256 encryption. Our connection profile is designed to be extremely secure while also offering fast VPN performance.
Other improvements in the latest VPN Tracker 365 update:
• We’ve redesigned the new Connection window, so it’s easier to find your device manufacturer
• Improved import of system L2TP and PPTP connections
• An issue with accessing login credentials stored in your Keychain has been fixed
• SecureDrop downloads now work more reliably
Pricing and availability: VPN Tracker 365 with TP-Link support is now available for VPN Tracker 365 customers, a free update included as part of your VPN Tracker 365 plan.