Want to setup a VPN? but don’t have the time, or you are just plain old lazy to setup something like OpenVPN? Well then Hamachi is for you!.  Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private networking application with an open security architecture and NAT-to-NAT traversal capabilities. Ok, why a VPN? u ask. An IP VPN is a partitioned private network constructed over a shared IP-based backbone that utilizes technologies to ensure privacy of data, so you can setup your own private network over the internet and still communicate with the peers securely. You can setup a VPN just to do something very simple as playing a multi-player game over the internet and simulate a local LAN. Setting up Hamachi is a piece of cake!. Just download the windows installer if you use windows or get the tarball of the binaries for linux. Setup is as simple as running the installer and you are all set to go :b

But Hamachi is not a replacement for something like OpenVPN it still has some disadvantages

- dependends on a third party mediation server - if necessary, you can firewall your Hamachi connection (although this sort of negates the convenience of not having to open up ports on your computer for certain games that you would have if you don’t firewall your Hamachi-NIC: the regular NIC would still be firewalled without problems as things are being tunneled), but firewalling your connection is global for ALL Hamachi networks you have joined whereas OpenVPN creates a separate virtual NIC for each "network" that you and your peers create

- some games act up with the predefined 5.0.0.0 mask 255.0.0.0 network, which in Hamachi you cannot change, although a workaround would be IPX on all Hamachi clients if the game supports it. In OpenVPN you decide any IP ranges and settings yourself

- so far, Hamachi cannot be "bridged" with other NIC’s on your system like you can with OpenVPN or at least I haven’t been able to

- perhaps Hamachi cannot be forced into promiscuous mode which is necessary for this to work or simply refuses to use static IP addresses if you manually enter the 5.0.0.0 address

- no Windows 98 support, which some gamers still use especially with older games that require IPX or even NetBEUI.

You can get Hamachi from http://www.hamachi.cc/

So what are you waiting for? go, give it a try!