Hello!
I’m hoping to setup a way to make it appear as if my laptop is at home when I am not physically there.
My work can be very particular about me being at home, tracked by IP, but sometimes I like to work off a hotspot at a park or elsewhere since there isn’t a need for me to physically be at home to do my work. I’m hoping there is a way I could setup a VPN where I can tunnel the traffic from my machine through my home network so that work thinks my IP is home.
I understand that VPN is typically used to create a secure connection into my home network to access the NAS and isn’t intended to be used like a VPC with external network access, however, is there a way I could achieve this? Or use some package hosted through docker?
Any insights into how I could achieve this (or terminology I can look up, as I’m not really sure how to approach this problem) would be really helpful!
Thanks!
You can do this using a dual router VPN setup, one that sits at home as your “server” and a travel router that you take with you as your VPN client (so the laptop is not aware it’s on a VPN and can still use your company’s corporate VPN software inside the router VPN tunnel).
There’s a number of little things you have to do to set it up properly and really lock it down right, but I did it for years internationally while working for a big tech company, and have dozens of clients doing the same.
Edit - you can check out my comments history to give you a pretty good lead of things to look into.
I don’t think you should try to trick the company. That being said, i have OpenVPN running on my router at home. I VPN into my home and tunnel all traffic out of the home internet, works like a charm.
The best solution is to ask your employer for permission to work outside of your currently approved home location rather than try to skirt the rules and risk termination.
Tailscale with Apple TV as exit node in your home.
Would also using RDP work?
This.
I actually do sympathise with OPs plight but it’s not worth losing your job over.
I don’t know about Apple TV but yes, Tailscale with an always-on device in your home used as exit node is about as easy as this gets.
If you don’t know what that means, Tailscale sets up a VPN connection but can do so without having to open any router ports (big security bonus) and when you set another Tailscale device as “exit node” it means that device acts as an outbound gateway for other Tailscale devices in your private ‘Tailnet’. So everything your device in the park does, first goes back through your exit node before getting to the internet.
Not if you need to do webconferencing… and you’d need someone around to help when it reboots from updates, etc.
I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my work computer behind. And the latency might be an issue. Plus, most people have work-managed laptops so you can’t install RDP software on it unless it’s a personal laptop.
What is the difference between using an rdp and your approach?
I just want to access geo restricted websites that have high security measures against using proxy/vpn that require residential static ip. one option a vpn subscription that offer residential static ip, however the ip most of the time is shared which can be flagged. Any advice?
Same advice as above. You could pay for a residential VPN service with the risk you mentioned, or you can setup a VPN server/router in your home and have a VPN for life at no continuing cost.
Check out GL.iNet routers.
Does the vpn setup have residential ip, also is it necessary to have a GL.iNet router?
If you host a VPN router in your house then you can connect to it from anywhere and the traffic will come through your home IP address.
You could use many different hardware options as a Wireguard VPN server, but routers with a wireguard server built in are the easiest. It doesn’t have to be GL.INet, they just happen to be affordable and very flexible. They support wireguard, openvpn, tailscale and zerotier.
You can also do this with Tailscale using a device in your home as the exit node. Just look for some YouTube videos on it.