VPN for Remote Work: Setup Guide

Why Remote Workers Need a VPN

Working remotely means connecting to corporate resources from potentially insecure networks -- coffee shops, hotels, airports, and home Wi-Fi. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and the corporate network, ensuring that:

• Data in transit is encrypted -- Even on untrusted Wi-Fi, your traffic is unreadable to eavesdroppers.
• Internal resources are accessible -- Intranet sites, databases, and file servers become reachable as if you were in the office.
• Company IP policies apply -- Your traffic appears to originate from the corporate network.

Corporate VPN Types

Remote Access VPN

The most common type for remote workers. Each employee's device runs a VPN client that connects to a VPN gateway at the office or cloud:

Employee laptop -> VPN tunnel -> Corporate VPN gateway -> Internal network

Popular solutions: Cisco AnyConnect, OpenVPN Access Server, WireGuard, Palo Alto GlobalProtect.

Site-to-Site VPN

Connects entire office networks together. Not used by individual remote workers, but relevant for branch offices:

Branch office router -> IPsec tunnel -> Headquarters router

Cloud-Based VPN (ZTNA)

Modern alternatives like Cloudflare Access, Zscaler, and Tailscale replace traditional VPNs with Zero Trust Network Access. Instead of routing all traffic through a central gateway, they verify identity and device posture for each request.

Setting Up WireGuard for Remote Work

WireGuard is lightweight, fast, and increasingly popular for corporate VPNs:

# On the server (VPN gateway)
wg genkey | tee server-private.key | wg pubkey > server-public.key

# /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
[Interface]
PrivateKey = <server-private-key>
Address = 10.0.0.1/24
ListenPort = 51820

[Peer]
PublicKey = <client-public-key>
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32

# On the client (employee laptop)
[Interface]
PrivateKey = <client-private-key>
Address = 10.0.0.2/24
DNS = 10.0.0.1

[Peer]
PublicKey = <server-public-key>
Endpoint = vpn.company.com:51820
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.0/24, 192.168.1.0/24

Split Tunneling for Remote Work

Routing all traffic through the corporate VPN adds latency and consumes bandwidth. Split tunneling routes only corporate-bound traffic through the VPN:

• Corporate resources (intranet, databases) -> through VPN
• General internet (YouTube, personal browsing) -> direct connection

This reduces VPN server load and improves the employee's internet experience.

Security Best Practices

• Require MFA for VPN authentication -- username/password alone is insufficient.
• Keep VPN clients updated -- VPN software vulnerabilities are actively exploited.
• Use always-on VPN with a kill switch when handling sensitive data.
• Enforce device compliance -- Only allow devices with updated OS, active antivirus, and encrypted storage.
• Monitor VPN connections -- Log authentication attempts and flag unusual access patterns (login from unusual locations, off-hours access).