Web service makes VPNs easier

Remote access firm LogMeIn boosts its range with a virtual private network (VPN) service

Remote access firm LogMeIn has added to its line-up a virtual private network (VPN) service that needs no complex configuration. The tool lets a user easily set up a secure connection between their computer and a remote system as if both were part of the same network.

LogMeIn Hamachi, available from 1 November, uses the same web-based infrastructure as the company’s other products, in which a LogMeIn server acts as intermediary when setting up a connection. This architecture avoids the need for changes to network firewalls, and a VPN can be set up in seconds.

"Hamachi lets you set up a secure VPN between any two PCs without any complex configuration," said LogMeIn chief executive Michael Simon. It requires the Hamachi software to be on both the system being accessed and the PC the user is sitting at. But neither system needs to have a public IP address or to be open to inbound IP traffic, as is typically the case with a VPN.

Typical users for Hamachi include travelling executives with laptops, home workers or anyone who might need a transient, secure connection to a company network, said Simon.

A beta version has been available since the beginning of the year from Applied Networking, which LogMeIn acquired this summer. It already boasts 5 million users, according to the firm.

LogMeIn Hamachi is available as a $39 per year (£20) Premium version or as a free download. The Premium version can be configured as a Windows service, which means that a remote user can connect any time the target system is powered up. The free version runs as an application and consequently only works when a local user is logged in. Premium also allows up to 256 computers in a virtual network and has a faster relaying function.

Customers can mix the free and Premium versions, according to Simon. For example, IT staff might use the Premium version with copies of the free version on remote user desktops. If an admin needs to access the machine during a helpdesk session, they can instruct the user to open the application.