Free VPN Software Server Account

Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology is a necessity for enterprises and organisations in today’s age of global markets and a global workforce. VPN allows organisations to maintain an office network which can be accessed by employees and customers from anywhere in the world. Open source solutions for free VPN can be used as an alternative to expensive, commercial VPN solutions.

One such free VPN solution is OpenVPN. This is an open source, free VPN software that can be downloaded from its website. OpenVPN community edition gives enterprises all the features required in a VPN system and can be used on a variety of operating systems.

This article explores the idea of open source free VPN and the leading free VPN software solution, OpenVPN – community edition.

Open Source Software and Free VPN

Open source software is the exact opposite of commercial, copyrighted software. As the name implies, open source software gives complete or open access to its source code to anyone. As open source software can be downloaded from the Internet without restrictions, it is completely free. Free VPN software such as OpenVPN also falls under the category of open source software.

Open source software licenses are typically called copyleft licenses. This means that users can make changes to the source code and distribute the software, something that is not allowed in commercial, copyrighted software.

OpenVPN – community edition is free and is distributed under the GNU Public License (GPL), which makes sure that the software is free for all users and there are no restrictions on modifications and distribution. Some components of OpenVPN community edition have different open source licenses, which ask for acknowledgements. There is a commercial version of OpenVPN that adds more features.

How is Open Source Free VPN Developed?

The way open source software is developed is different from how commercial software is built. In commercial software development, a software firm may hire many computer professionals who work in a confidential environment. After several months and structured project management, a copyrighted version of the software is released to the general public. The software firm zealously guards the source code, which is also typically expensive.

Open source software relies on the expertise of a community of developers who work together on various aspects of the software for free. The work is done in an entirely transparent manner, over the Internet and the developer community interacts over the Internet at a common site. Open source free VPN is also developed along similar lines.

The free VPN software solution, OpenVPN, was also developed using a network of developers. The brainchild of James Yonan, it first released in April 2002. With continuous development, the latest stable edition, OpenVPN 2.1.3 was released on August 27, 2010. The main development tracker is at the OpenVPN Community page where developers can communicate, view beta releases and track the project.

Features of OpenVPN – Free VPN

Some main features of OpenVPN solution are:

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol - Unlike most commercial VPN solutions, which use a protocol called IPSec for safely transmitting data over the Internet, OpenVPN relies on the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol for relaying information packets. In secure websites, browsers use a prefix “https://” before the sending information in encrypted format.
Free VPN server and client – OpenVPN requires client software to communicate with the free VPN server. Unlike some web-based VPN solutions, in which the browser can be used to connect to the VPN network, OpenVPN requires configuration in every client machine.
Runs on many operating systems – OpenVPN can function on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Mac and Linux.
Scalable VPN network with load balancing – OpenVPN supports load-balancing across multiple VPN servers and can handle increasing number of VPN client connects.
Encryption methods – OpenVPN supports both encryption keys and certification-based encryption for secure transmission of data.

About Free VPN Server in OpenVPN

The founders of OpenVPN offer a both a free VPN server and a commercial version of OpenVPN server for download.

The commercial OpenVPN server, called OpenVPN Access Server, has enhanced features as compared to the server in free VPN - OpenVPN Community Edition.

The OpenVPN community edition has features such as secured VPN data transmission using tunnelling technology, graphical user interfaces and data compression.

The commercial Access Server offers a faster and easier deployment process including live technical support. It also offers features such as readymade configuration for users and an easier user management process.

Free VPN account or User in OpenVPN

In order to operate a free VPN account or user in an OpenVPN network, the end user machines have to be installed with a free client software, which then communicates with the VPN network server.

OpenVPN Client software are available for free download from the OpenVPN website . The client software is available for various operating systems such as Windows, Linux and Mac.

A free VPN account or user can be set up quickly and easily. OpenVPN servers can handle thousands of client connections simultaneously.

A client can connect to the OpenVPN server by entering the IP address of the server in the required field. The user would be then prompted to an authentication routine based on passwords and security certificates. Once the connection is accepted, the user is assigned a VPN IP address. The remote worker can now start communicating over the company VPN system.

A free VPN solution such as OpenVPN can help businesses and organisations set up a global virtual office network without the expenses associated with a commercial VPN system. OpenVPN offers security and reliability, which enable remote employees and global customers to access a central online office network.

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