Can someone watch what you are doing on your computer if this is installed and active? Or even not active?
How can you determine if someone has downloaded files from your computer while connected via VPN?
No, this post is not related to the Trojan. I've been using a CISCO VPN working with a client's applications. My computers can't seem to access the sites when I'm not connected to the VPN, but I was able to connect before I installed the CISCO VPN. I also feel as though my every move is being tracked / monitored while the VPN is connected. I turned the logs on at one point and saw that there was traffic from my machine to them. But the logs dissappeared from my machine as though someone cleared them, I did not. Sometimes, it just disconnects me by itself.
Short answer is no. A VPN connection from your machine to another networked machine is a secure, encrypted connection. That's the point - the data exchanged between the two connected machines is all encrypted packets. And when you are connected to a remote machine, no, there is no open data pipeline back to your machine that someone else on the network can piggy-back on as they would not have the encryption keys to use your VPN connection.
P.S. you might find this useful - http://www.vpnc.org/vpn-technologies.html
Note that mobile VPNs are used by law enforcement and first responders, hosptals and companies securing proprietary data - VPN protocols are the de facto standard for secure remote connections.
And when you Cisco VPN is closed, it does nothing just by being installed.
Your last couple posts seem to indicate you're concerned about something, perhaps related to your question about the MacProtector trojan last week? If you can let us know more details about what you're worried about, we can be more specific. As Michael has already said, though, VPN is not something anyone would be using to spy on you.
a VPN often times FORCES all traffic to travel across the VPN connection. This is a function of both VPN client preferences, AND whether the VPN server allows the client to make connections that do not travel across the VPN.
If all your traffic is being forced across the VPN, then it is a question of whether the destination system is accessable from the VPN server.
For example, the company I work for forces all traffic across the Cisco VPN when I have it active. As long as the VPN is active, all my traffic looks like it is originating from inside the corporate firewall which restricts what I can and cannot access.
If I want to browse the web while the VPN is active, I have to configure my System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> Proxy to use the company's proxy server. I cannot make ssh, ftp, afp, smb, cifs, vnc, etc... connections outside of the corporate filewall while the VPN is active, this includes my home network printer, my home file server, my wife's MacBook, etc... I can only access stuff inside of work, and I can access the web ONLY if I setup a Proxy in my network preferences.
NOTE: Some companies configure their VPN servers to allow local connections to home servers, computers, and networked printers. Many do not.
CISCO VPN - Can someone watch what you are doing?
