SSL VPN vs IPSec VPN
Where Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPNs and IPSec VPNs diverge is in their place on the network layer and what this means for users, though both rely on the Transport Layer Security protocol. A VPN that uses SSL is on the session layer, and doesn’t explicitly require a client application to launch or to secure a connection. This means it can connect users securely to specific parts of the network instead of the whole thing. IPSec, on the other hand, does require third-party software outside one’s internet browser, but since it’s on the network layer it comes with strong security benefits.
IPSec VPNs are popular because they’re widely regarded as being difficult to break into. It’s true that there’s no option to avoid the use of an IPSec VPN client, but since most SSL VPNs require a client anyway, it doesn’t matter. A strength of IPSec is that remote computers have full, unbridled network access as if they were at the office: all file storage systems, office hardware like printers, backups and other resources. Though access is granted no holds barred, organizations can still feel safe because a hacker would have to both break the nearly-impenetrable encryption and also the client software itself, including the correct configurations.