Mergic has released Mergic VPN 1.0, a virtual private network (VPN) client for Palm OS handhelds.

The company said the VPN client allows handheld users with Internet access to securely connect to a private network, such as their home or corporate LAN. This allows other applications that require network access, such as network HotSync and e-mail clients, to connect to the computers they need to access. Mergic claims its VPN product is the first VPN client for the Palm OS platform to support the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), which is supported by more servers than any other VPN protocol.

When Mergic VPN is started for the first time, a wizard walks the user through the connectivity set-up. Once the configuration is complete, the company said Mergic VPN can work transparently through an Auto Connect feature that allows user-selected applications to automatically connect to and disconnect from the VPN server as needed without requiring the user to launch the VPN client.

To use the product, some way to get a TCP/IP connection is required. Supported connection types include IEEE 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi) wireless LAN modules, wireline and wireless modems, smartphones, and handheld to mobile phone connections using Bluetooth, infrared or cable. Mergic VPN has support for 40, 56 and 128-bit Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE). It also supports the PAP, CHAP, MS-CHAPv1 and MS-CHAPv2 authentication protocols.

Mergic VPN is now available online for $29.99.