The problem: with more users working from remote sites, office networks need to enable provide file sharing, desktop and print services further a field (map describing a typical setup).

There are a myriad of possible secure architectures and suitable 3rd-party software products. For single users, we recommend a free solution based around OpenSSH and Windows Remote Desktop.

For 1-5 seat companies, where there may be more than one computer at each site, we recommend a pair of physical VPN boxes. We recently employed a pair of Linksys BEFVP41 (reviewed by Toms Hardware). These are exceptionally good value at only £32-35 (as of 10/10/2006) but they may not be available much longer as Linksys have decided to replace them with units like the WRV200 and WRV54G.

A VPN can also be setup using Windows IPSec client and a single VPN endpoint, like the BEFVP41, although we've yet to test that.