Some routers have special means of handling Virtual Private Networks (VPN). Other routers may require putting the client computer for the VPN in the DMZ, which has reduced security. VPN features vary widely from router to router, and many routers do not have any VPN-specific features at all.

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VPN Passthrough

A VPN passthrough detects PPTP and IPSec protocols and passes those through the router automatically. All you have to do is enable PPTP and/or IPSec in the VPN Passthrough section. The is the easiest means of handling VPNs because it requires minimal configuration effort, but it’s not quite as secure as a VPN tunnel.

VPN Tunnel

The VPN router creates a tunnel between two endpoints (your home network and your work network) so that the data and information between those points is secure.

You will need to configure both a local group and remote group of IPs (computers) that are allowed to access the VPN tunnel. Enter the IP address for the Remote Security Gateway, which is the VPN device (second VPN router, server, or computer with VPN IPSec software) on the remote end of the VPN tunnel.

VPN Tunnels allow encryption, and DES and 3DES are generally the two choices. 3DES is more secure, so it is generally recommended. The remote end of the tunnel needs to be configured to use the same type of encryption. The key exchange is either handled automatically through IKE or manually by typing in the encryption key into the form on the router.

VPN Tunnels can also be configured with authentication if you want an extra level of security.

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