Here is a slick little tip I learned from my buddy Dan over at machineLOGIC today. I just had to share…
I’ve been using the built-in Microsoft VPN client for years – through 5 or 6 iterations of Windows in fact. Dead simple to set up, easy to use and I’ve rarely had any issues with it.
However, I’ve always hated that all of my network traffic would go through the VPN tunnel. Such a pain! I mean, face it: downloading a file is so much quicker from home than via the tunnel. Fewer hops and, frankly, my home connection is faster than my office connection — and has fewer users to boot.
And let’s not talk about the guys running WoW patches while still connected to the VPN. (Hi Matt!)
I started to gripe about this earlier today and Dan commented that with one checkbox I could solve all my problems (on this topic, at any rate):
The image is from Windows 7. Vista is very similar and XP isn’t really all that different either.
Edit the VPN connection properties. Go to the Networking tab (odds are you can go ahead and disable IPv6 while there) and then edit propertied for the IPv4 protocol. Hit “Advanced” and then uncheck “Use default gateway on remote network.”
Just that simple. Cool huh?
Possibly Related posts:
Loading tweets...
5 comments
Nathan Taylor
August 17, 2009 at 9:56 am (UTC -7)
A great tip. Been using it for a couple of years. Don’t leave home without it.
Chris
August 18, 2009 at 9:28 am (UTC -7)
There is a downside though.
If the remote network has multiple subnets, you’ll have to either set up some static routes or re-check the box…
Andrew
August 19, 2009 at 4:46 pm (UTC -7)
This trick has worked great for me with XP and Vista, however unchecking the box on Windows 7 results in not being able to resolve any machines over the VPN. Leaving it checked however, works, at least as far as being able to see the machines I need, but then all of my traffic goes through the VPN. Any suggestions? Note, this currently works from my Vista machine, so the trouble is at least limited to my Windows 7 machine.
Chris
August 19, 2009 at 5:00 pm (UTC -7)
Andrew — First time I tried this tip was from a Windows 7 machine. I’m afraid I haven’t experienced your issue. Sounds a bit like a DNS issue(?).
Peter Motyka
August 21, 2009 at 10:04 am (UTC -7)
I really wish Cisco VPN client had this option…