Is there a good primer on VPN server setups?

[Bear Island]

I'm very new to this and will be implementing pfSense in my home network shortly.

Basically, I'm looking for a good source to learn about setting up a VPN server for my network.

At the moment, my big question is certificate/key vs. password authentication. I would like to be able to access my network from my laptop when I am away, but I would also like to leave my laptop at home and access the network from a public computer, securely. BUT, I fear that a username/password-only system will leave my open to being hacked. Thoughts?

[jimp]

We cover those topics in-depth in the book, and this month's hangout (on Friday) is going to cover setting up remote access VPNs as well. Both of those are available to Gold subscribers.

You can find some how-tos and other info on the doc wiki as well for free, but it may not have all the detail you want about deciding between variations of settings.

[johnpoz]

So this public computer, does it allow you to install openvpn client?  Or are you talking abut using ipsec or l2tp or pptp?