VPN for Remote Work: Setup Guide
Learn how to set up and use a VPN for secure remote work, including corporate VPN types, split tunneling, and best practices.
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:
10.0.0.0/25 → Dept A (10.0.0.1 – 10.0.0.126) 126 hosts
10.0.0.128/26 → Dept B (10.0.0.129 – 10.0.0.190) 62 hosts
10.0.0.192/28 → Servers (10.0.0.193 – 10.0.0.206) 14 hosts
10.0.0.208/30 → P2P Link (10.0.0.209 – 10.0.0.210) 2 hosts
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:
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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:
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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).