Virtually at the office

Although MobileMe and similar services are great, many employers have (understandable) reservations about keeping sensitive data at third-party locations. For those companies, Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology may be the answer.

Increasingly, travellers who will have access to the internet can use virtual private networks to access data from anywhere. When ours was working (it’s a long story) I could not only access files at the office, I could even print on the office printer or fax through the office fax directly from my computer in Germany, the UK, or anywhere I had internet access. Aside from being pretty cool, VPN technology allows you to store all your files at work, ensuring that any loss of your laptop doesn’t equate to loss of your data.

If you’re a small business person (or a corporate type who still saves a lot of files to your laptop) find out whether you have (or can set up) a VPN for your important files. Apple’s OS X Server has VPN capability out of the box, and I imagine other small office server products do as well. VPNs - they’re not just for big companies any more.