Secure Global Desktop Administration Guide > Security > Securing client connections with Secure Global Desktop security services

Securing client connections with Secure Global Desktop security services

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Learn the essentials of Secure Global Desktop security services. Understand how to enable secure connections.

Secure Global Desktop security services allow you to secure the connections between Secure Global Desktop client and a Secure Global Desktop server. The connections are secured using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Secure connections have these benefits:

Benefit	Description
No eavesdropping	SSL encrypts all information before transmission.
No tampering	SSL can check that a message has not changed between the client and the Secure Global Desktop server.
No message forgery	SSL requires that the server prove its identity to the client before communications can take place, and also guards against replay attacks.

Internet transactions are open to many forms of attack, for example packet-sniffing, DNS spoofing, and man-in-the-middle attacks. It is critical to recognize that even when SSL is used, a connection is only secure if SSL is configured correctly.

Secure Global Desktop security services can only help raise security levels as part of an ongoing security strategy. They can not transform your intranet into a high-security installation by itself.

When Secure Global Desktop is first installed, the initial connection between a Secure Global Desktop client and a Secure Global Desktop server is secured with SSL. However, after the user has logged in, the connection is downgraded to a standard connection. To be able to use SSL permanently for connections to Secure Global Desktop, you must enable Secure Global Desktop security services.

Enabling Secure Global Desktop security services

To enable Secure Global Desktop security services:

Obtain and install an X.509 certificate for the Secure Global Desktop server to use. An X.509 certificate enables the Secure Global Desktop server to identify itself to a client device. (There are important security considerations regarding the types of X.509 certificate you can use.)
Enable security services for that server, using tarantella security start. This enables secure connections for the users you have configured to have them.

Secure connections between the client and Secure Global Desktop server use port 5307/tcp. You may have to configure your firewall to allow network traffic on this port. Alternatively, you may want to use firewall forwarding.

Security services and secure (HTTPS) web servers

Secure Global Desktop security services only secure the connections between a Secure Global Desktop client and a Secure Global Desktop server. It does not secure any other type of connection, including the connections made to the Secure Global Desktop Web Server. To secure the connections to the Secure Global Desktop Web Server, follow these steps.

If you are using the browser-based webtop or you have developed your own web applications, you may also have to secure the SOAP connections to a Secure Global Desktop server.

Giving users different types of connection

You can decide which users receive secure (SSL-based) connections, and which users receive standard (unencrypted) connections. To do so, you configure the Connections attribute for a person object, organizational unit object, or organization object.

You can configure the type of connection based on these factors:

Who the user is. Perhaps only members of the Accounts department need secure connections.
The DNS name (or IP address) of the user's client device. Perhaps users only need secure connections when accessing Secure Global Desktop over the Internet.
The Secure Global Desktop server's DNS name (or IP address). Perhaps users only need secure connections when accessing one particular Secure Global Desktop server.

The initial connection to a Secure Global Desktop server, before users type their username and password, is always secure. This means that usernames and passwords are always sent securely. Once the user is identified, the connection may be downgraded to a standard connection according to your configuration.

Here are some examples for customizing connection types: