Tailscale: An Easy-to-Use Networking Tool That I've Been Loving

Tailscale, An Easy-to-Use Networking Tool That I’ve Been Loving

I’m always on the lookout for new tools and technologies that can make my life easier. As a techie, that’s kind of my thing. One of the tools that I’ve recently come across that I’m really excited about is Tailscale. Tailscale is a secure and easy-to-use networking tool that can be used as a replacement for a standard VPN and in some cases can even be more secure.

What I like about Tailscale

• Security: Tailscale uses a mesh networking architecture, which Tailscale claims this makes it very secure. Your devices are directly connected to each other, rather than going through a central server. This means that there’s no single point of failure, and it’s also more difficult for attackers to intercept your traffic.
• Ease of use: Tailscale is very easy to set up and use. Once you’ve installed the Tailscale app on your devices, you’re pretty much good to go. There’s no need to create complex VPN configurations or share passwords.
• Flexibility: Tailscale is also very flexible. You can use it to connect your personal devices together, connect network together or even use it as a VPN to change your IP address (when using an exit node). You can also use Tailscale to share files and folders between devices using a new feature called Tailscale Send.

How I’ve been using Tailscale

At first, I started using Tailscale to connect all my personal devices together. This has been really helpful for me when I’ve been out and about and needed to remote into my desktop PC, for example. Of course, I could use something like TeamViewer or DWService, but why use a third-party when you can use Remote Desktop over the Internet?

As time went on and I learned more about Tailscale, I started using it more… Professionally. I now have advanced ACLs set up for multiple devices on my Tailnet and even have internet-facing servers attached so that I can securely SSH into them without exposing any ports directly to the Internet.

I’ve also been using Tailscale to allow friends to connect to my local Plex server without having to expose it to the internet or even set up a Cloudflare Tunnel. As you may know, not dealing with port forwarding or worrying about the Internet having general access to my NAS is an absolute stress relief.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I’m really happy with Tailscale. It’s an excellent tool that’s made my life just that much more easier. Sure, I wish that the ACLs were easier to configure because as of right now, the only interface you have is via a JSON file. Otherwise, I can’t find any reasons to not like tailscale. My single and only concern is: how much can we trust Tailscale as a whole?

Additional thoughts

• Tailscale is a great way to connect your devices to each other, even if they’re on different networks.
• Tailscale is also a great way to share files and folders between devices.
• Tailscale is easy to use. Once you’ve installed the app on your devices, you’re good to go. There’s almost no need to configure anything.

If you have any questions about Tailscale, feel free to post a comment below!