Re: Re: How safe is a VPN connexion from within an internal network?

[krymson () gmail com]

Before this turns into more of a flame, let me just say you both are correct.

Yes, you cannot turn off the Internet connection, ala pulling out the physical network cable, and maintain your VPN 
connection.

But yes, there are ways to fiddle with Windows routing so that once a piece of software (common with Cisco VPN) 
connects a PC to a remote network using a VPN, that client PC can no longer access its own local resources or even an 
Internet connection via its own gateway, logically. Instead, it acts like it is on the remote network and goes out 
through its gateway for Internet access.

This is common with Cisco, and as such, Cisco won't play well with complex requirements or multiple VPN software being 
used at the same time. It effectively takes over what Windows can see on the network.

Jeffrey, I think you might be getting something else otherwise confused. It is quite a problem to have a VPN client 
that is already compromised to call back out to the Internet and possibly offer up a shell to the attacker. This 
connection, depending on the VPN software, will go out through the remote network gateway. To the attacker, it doesn't 
much matter where the client is located, or what network it appears to be coming from.