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Seems like a perfect use case for EC2 on demand. Only run the VPN node when you are on an open wireless network and need the VPN security. Shut it down otherwis

Seems like a perfect use case for EC2 on demand. Only run the VPN node when you are on an open wireless network and need the VPN security. Shut it down otherwise. That would make it harder to run, but it would greatly reduce the cost. I'd pay $0.02 for an hour's worth of security while stopping off at a coffee shop.

JonnieCache 16y ago
It wouldn't be much harder to run. You can start and stop the instance using the command line tools, so you could easily wrap the whole lot into a script which started the server and brought up the VPN link, then when youre finished take down the link then the server, all in once command. The API-based management is what makes cloud providers really special.
- sudont 16y ago
  Hopefully these scripts would eventually evolve into a client management panel, making this as easy to the general populace as Firesheep.
  - checker 16y ago
    Amazon should bundle it together and offer it as a service.
    - wmf 16y ago
      Honestly, there are so many VPN providers that EC2 looks like overkill for this.
      - Groxx 16y ago
        Care to list some decent ones? I'd be interested, but haven't looked for them much.
        msh 16y ago
        I have used www.tektonic.net since 2004 and have been pleased with their service.
        Groxx 16y ago
        That appears to be a VPS provider, not a VPN. And it costs more than 0.02$/hour on demand.
        msh 16y ago
        Sorry, misunderstood the question.
kayoone 16y ago
couldnt attackers then grab your EC2 dashboard cookie and possibly compromise your EC2 instance ? I mean if you need to login there first via an unsecure session, its not really that much safer
- bostonvaulter2 16y ago
  But the EC2 login should be via https, although I'm not 100% sure that is actually the case.
- trueluk 16y ago
  Your AWS dashboard would be compromised if you waited until you were on the open wireless network to run the EC2 instance, but attackers would not be able to compromise the EC2 instance. Once the instance has been created you can't change the Key Pair. You also can only download the private key associated with the Key Pair once, which is right when you create it. But of course, an attacker could stop or terminate your instance if he gained access to your AWS dashboard.
  - scraplab 16y ago
    Not true: the dashboard runs entirely on SSL - which is still encrypted on an open wifi network. Compromising SSL isn't out of the question though, but highly unlikely.
- timdorr 16y ago
  The AWS console runs entirely over SSL, so it is secure. E.g. https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home

JonnieCache 16y ago

It wouldn't be much harder to run. You can start and stop the instance using the command line tools, so you could easily wrap the whole lot into a script which started the server and brought up the VPN link, then when youre finished take down the link then the server, all in once command. The API-based management is what makes cloud providers really special.

sudont 16y ago
Hopefully these scripts would eventually evolve into a client management panel, making this as easy to the general populace as Firesheep.
- checker 16y ago
  Amazon should bundle it together and offer it as a service.
  - wmf 16y ago
    Honestly, there are so many VPN providers that EC2 looks like overkill for this.
    - Groxx 16y ago
      Care to list some decent ones? I'd be interested, but haven't looked for them much.
      - msh 16y ago
        I have used www.tektonic.net since 2004 and have been pleased with their service.
        Groxx 16y ago
        That appears to be a VPS provider, not a VPN. And it costs more than 0.02$/hour on demand.
        msh 16y ago
        Sorry, misunderstood the question.

kayoone 16y ago

couldnt attackers then grab your EC2 dashboard cookie and possibly compromise your EC2 instance ? I mean if you need to login there first via an unsecure session, its not really that much safer

bostonvaulter2 16y ago
But the EC2 login should be via https, although I'm not 100% sure that is actually the case.
trueluk 16y ago
Your AWS dashboard would be compromised if you waited until you were on the open wireless network to run the EC2 instance, but attackers would not be able to compromise the EC2 instance. Once the instance has been created you can't change the Key Pair. You also can only download the private key associated with the Key Pair once, which is right when you create it. But of course, an attacker could stop or terminate your instance if he gained access to your AWS dashboard.
- scraplab 16y ago
  Not true: the dashboard runs entirely on SSL - which is still encrypted on an open wifi network. Compromising SSL isn't out of the question though, but highly unlikely.
timdorr 16y ago
The AWS console runs entirely over SSL, so it is secure. E.g. https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home