Google adds VPN and virtual desktop to Chromebook

Google has added virtual private network (VPN) and secure WiFi support in its latest stable Chrome OS release for its pay-as-you-go laptops.

The Chromebook VPN currently only supports the Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol (L2TP) over internet protocol security with a pre-shared key (PSK) to encrypt traffic, Google states on its VPN page.

Unsupported VPNs include Cisco’s Anyconnect, L2TP over IPsec with PSK on Cisco devices, and OpenVPN.

The new features on its web-centric Samsung and Acer made laptops were a top priority of its business and education customers, said Rajen Sheth, group product manager for Chrome for business.

“Over the last few months we’ve gotten great feedback from many of our Chromebooks for Business and Education customers, and we’re excited that this week’s latest stable release of Chrome OS includes their top feature requests: VPN and secure Wi-Fi (802.1x) support, and access to virtualized applications.”

Google has made much of the Chromebook's security features, claiming at the launch that customers did not need to buy antivirus due to its “in-built” security features. Some of those features included application sandboxing, verified boot and data encryption.

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