Tore Johnsen wrote: Hi, I'm new to Linux and I'm looking for some general advice. What I'd like to do is to set up a Linux file server using Samba (and a Subversion server using Apache but that may not be relevant to my question). I need Windows client machines to connect to the file server accross the Internet. I would like the client machines to be able to access and operate on the served files as if they where on their local drive - and here is where this newbie is getting fuzzy on the protocols and what can be easily done. What is the best way to do this with reasonable security? Do I use SSH or VPN ? Is it at all a good idea to use Linux or should I go with a Windows Server instead? --- When I hear "use files as if they are on their local machine" I am assuming that you plan on mapping drives for your clients to the file server. This would typically indicate that you would be using Samba on the file server. In that situation it would be a good idea to use some sort of a VPN for your clients not on the LAN. You could use IPSec, SSL, L2TP or others, though that is a discussion in and of itself probably worth its own thread. Alternatively, I saw a link to this software the other day, http://www.southrivertech.com/index.php?pg=./products/webdrive/index. It may have even been posted on this list, I don't recall. Basically that software allows you to map a drive using SFTP, which would pretty much remove the need for a VPN. When given the choice between a Linux server and a Windows server there are few times I could imagine choosing the Windows server. Josh