It's a pretty simple idea, and not unique. According to Hamachi's site: "With
Hamachi you can organize two or more computers with an Internet connection into their
own virtual network for direct secure communication." But the devil is in the details... And the details are good.
Hamachi is very, very slick. Available right now for Windows and Linux (OS X promised "soon"), Hamachi sets
up a VPN between to machines lickety-split. Just as advertised, it's a zero-configuration VPN. What's more, it can
simulate up to 5 network cards, and gives you an IP starting with 5— allowing you to pass through a firewall.
It's like your LAN on the internet, all with as little fuss as possible. Take it for a spin and let us know what you
think in the comments.
[Thanks to Fred for the tip]
Tags: cross platform, CrossPlatform, open source, OpenSource, vpn
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Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsKyleJan 4th 2006 1:05PM
Hamachi is NOT open source as the title suggests, although the creators have been asked several times to open up the source code.
Also, Hamachi is a great way to legally stream music between two+ computers using iTunes.
IgnatzJan 4th 2006 1:13PM
I tried for some time to get Hamachi working between two firewalled computers, with no success. Even port forwarding could not get the machines to communicate. (Whereas I've had a WASTE network going for more than a year and it gave me almost no difficulty.) The disadvantage of "zero configuration" seems to be it either works or it doesn't...
Lee CreasyJan 4th 2006 3:24PM
i like it. worked on the first time. great for iTunes.
KenJan 4th 2006 7:09PM
I have been using Hamachi for a while now. It is really nice to be able to leave a computer set up for remote maintenance with only Hamachi bound to the remote program for incoming traffic. I have my remote software setup to only allow traffic from 5.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 IP subnet. This allows for me to add Hamachi to any computer in the world, join my private network and remote to my PC at home. The only problem you might have with this is if you are running a software firewall. They will still block traffic unless configured correctly. Most software firewalls allow the non-routable networks (192.168.x.x) so all you really have to do is add 5.x.x.x to the list. Voila (no accent). Instant access as long as you are using the Hamachi IP address to get through. You can close off all other ports through your hardware/software firewall and Hamachi won't even flinch.
The one big draw back (with the current 0.9.9.9 version) is there is does not run as a service natively. Some people have gotten that to work, but it's a real hack, so you have to have the account which you installed Hamachi on logged in, for Hamachi to connect up. The 1.0 beta has service support now, so that'll be a thing of the past once it comes out of beta. If you are thinking about trying this out, be sure to read through the forums on the website (www.hamachi.cc). There is even a how-to forum setup where some people have posted their method of getting certain things to work. :)
Good luck!
PS - Hamachi is really nice for a network admin who has many many computers in many locations and doesn't have the resources to install hardware VPNs. It's also really nice for running LAN-only games over the internet...
MorganJan 5th 2006 10:53PM
Been using Hamachi for a couple of weeks. Installed on two machines behind my firewall and on my laptop. I have been able to connect just fine from various WiFi spots, hotels, airports and even off of a DirecWay satellite connection (understandably slow). It's the simplest VPN I have ever played with. Might suggest that you adjust the binding order in Windows, as Hamachi creates a virtual adapter at the top of the list. This caused a few problems when connecting between machines on my LAN that were running Hamachi, they chose the Hamachi adapter instead of directly connecting on the same subnet.