SecuRemote VPN Client setup on Windows

by Ed Hagihara

Setup and configuration procedure

This was a document that I had created while working at a previous company.  All relevant IP addresses and Key ID information has been removed out of consideration for that company, even though it wouldn't have made a difference since most all of those sites have been shut down anyhow.

Notes to the user:

The SecuRemote client software and this documentation will be distributed in electronic format with every CD. If there are any issues with the instructions contained here, please notify Help Desk for any suggestions/recommendations to make this a better document for you. No assumptions have been made here about technical ability, so please bear with the many screenshots.

This document is written with the assumption that you have a reliable system with either a dial-up internet access account or a cable/DSL modem.

Please make sure that any programs that you have running are closed before the installation.

An additional note for more advanced users:

If you have a home network running behind a Linksys, D-Link, or a similar cable/DSL router to share your internet connection across multiple computers, there may be additional configuration factors that will need to be taken into consideration. Please contact your IT helpdesk for more information concerning this type of setup.

Part 1: Installing the SecuRemote client:

1. Run the setup program. You should see the program unpack its self-extracting file and eventually come to this screen. Select "next":

2. You should see the license agreement. Select "Yes".

3. The installation will ask where you want SecuRemote installed.  Unless you really want it installed someplace else on your computer, just stick with the program’s recommendation. Select "Next".

4. From there, you should see the process of the program installing the files. After that, you should be presented with this screen. Select the "Install VPN-1 SecuRemote" option, then select "Next".

5. If you’re going to only be dialing up into the remote access with a modem, then select the option "Install on dialup adapters only". If you’re planning on doing this through a cable/DSL network connection, select "Install on all network adapters".

6. After the installation completes, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Select "Finish".

Part 2: Configuring the SecuRemote client:

1. After the system has restarted, you should see an icon of a little key and envelope in the bottom right hand side of the computer screen (a.k.a. the system tray).

2. Double-click on this, and you should see this window come up.

3. Go under "Sites" in the menu bar and select "New".  Under the Name, put in the name of the site you want to access and its respective TCP/IP address, then select "OK".

The site information is as follows:

Removed for security considerations

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you need access to a location other than your local site, you will not only need to create a separate connection per site, you will also need to have a separate username and password. Meaning, if you work out of one site and you need access to another site’s resources, you need to create a connection for that site. You will most likely not need a connection for all sites. Please ask the IT helpdesk for further information. IP address removed from picture for security considerations.

4. After you’ve created the site, if everything goes well, you should have a verification that you’ve gotten the right IP address and encryption key.  Select OK, then OK at the next window. IP address and Key ID removed from picture for security considerations.

5. After you’ve gotten all of the sites that you need access to created, close the VPN-1 SecuRemote window.

Part 3: Using the SecuRemote client:

1. SecuRemote must try to access something on the network that you’re trying to reach in order for it to activate. In this case, I’d try opening Outlook.  It should prompt you for a username and password combination at this point.

NOTE: When SecuRemote tries to access the network and when it prompts you for the username/password, please note that this is NOT your Windows or Novell account passwords and it should be assigned to you by IT when you submit your request for remote access.

2. When you’ve successfully authenticated, select "OK"

At this point, everything should be working okay. If there are questions or issues concerning remote connectivity, please contact your local IT helpdesk.  If you have any comments/suggestions on making this document better, please contact me at ehagihara [at] hotmail.com.

ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THE IT PERSON SETTING THIS UP:

1. Given that name resolution seems to run less than perfect through SecuRemote, the remote user may need to either be set to the local site WINS server that they’re connecting to –or- it might be easier to populate a hosts/lmhosts file for the local machine to access whatever servers they need access to.
2. Looking at the routing tables won’t show anything that indicates that there’s anything additional after installing SecuRemote.
3. If the user is running behind a cable/dsl or similar router, the address range that they’ll be using will more than likely need to be different than what’s defaulted. Most routers’ default setting is at 192.168.x.x range which will conflict with this company’s internal network address range.  Certain ranges in the 10.x.x.x range will also fail for similar reasons.  I recommend a network in the 172.16.x.x range to keep from conflicting, and also make sure that no two users’ internal address ranges are conflicting.