DirectAccess in Windows 7 and Windows 2008R2

DirectAccess is a new feature in the Win 7 and Win 2008 R2 operating systems that gives users the experience of being seamlessly connected to their corporate network any time they have Internet access.


DirectAccess allows remote users to securely access intranet shares, Web sites, and applications without connecting to a virtual private network (VPN). DirectAccess establishes bi-directional connectivity with a user’s intranet every time a user’s DirectAccess-enabled portable computer connects to the Internet, even before the user logs on. Users never have to think about connecting to the intranet, and information technology (IT) administrators can manage remote computers outside the office, even when the computers are not connected to the VPN. DirectAccess is supported by Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows Server 2008 R2.


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Untangle 8.1 software make network control easy

Untangle's 8.1 multi-functional firewall software simplifies and consolidates the many network and security products that organizations need at the gateway to the Internet, making protection and filtering easy and affordable.

Untangle runs on generic Intel/AMD hardware. A Pentium III processor, 2 NICs and 512MB of RAM is the min spec for smaller networks and multi-core chips with extra RAM really make Untangle sing for larger networks.
More specific sizing guidance and links to the community hardware compatibility list can be found on the Hardware Requirements.


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Windows 7 Privilege elevation

All users of clients running Windows 7 run with rights of a standard user. When a user attempts to do something that requires administrative privileges, for example add printer driver, her rights need to be raised from a standard user to an administrative user. This increase of rights is called privilege elevation. User Account Control is a gateway for privilege elevation. It allows users who are members of the local Administrators group to access administrative rights.

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