Secure Boot CDs for VPN HOWTO

1. Introduction

For several years now, users at the Institution where I currently work part-time have expressed a need for a robust and secure connection to the internal network. The internal network actually has some clients that are on private networks and some clients that are Internet-routeable.

Being mostly a Microsoft shop, the options that have been available were not deemed appropriate for various reasons, usually due to security concerns. After being introduced to the problem a few months ago and listening to the concerns surrounding it, I suggested using a boot CD, which would alleviate all of their security concerns. They gave me the go ahead to give it a try. I now have a working prototype and this document describes the process used to create it.

1.1 Copyright

to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work
to make derivative works
to make commercial use of the work

Under the following conditions: Attribution. You must give the original author credit. Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one.

For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the author.

1.2 Disclaimer

Use the information in this document at your own risk. I disavow any potential liability for the contents of this document. Use of the concepts, examples, and/or other content of this document is entirely at your own risk.

All copyrights are owned by their owners, unless specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.

You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system before major installation and backups at regular intervals.

1.3 News

V0.06 2007-02-09 (pre-release)
V0.05 2007-02-05 (pre-release)
V0.04 2007-02-05 (pre-release)
V0.03 2006-12-12 (pre-release)
V0.02 2006.12.11 First Draft (pre-release)
V0.01 2006.11.13 webgenerated sgml form (pre-release)

1.4 Credits

I used many resources to do what I did. A big thank you to all those that have contributed to these projects. They include but are not limited to:

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7246
http://www.openvpn.net/howto.html
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org
http://www.ubuntu.com

1.5 Translations

Currently there are no translations. If you would you like to translate this, Please contact me at jefferydouglaswaddell (at) gmail (dot) com .

Next Previous Contents