Methods and apparatus are provided for transmitting data over a network through a tunnel. In one embodiment, a method comprises obtaining data for transfer over a network from a sender to a receiver. At an operating system level, at least one packet is intercepted from the data that satisfies one or more configurable criteria. A tunnel is established from the sender to the receiver, wherein the tunnel selectively performs one or more of encryption, compression, and data deduplication of the intercepted packet. The intercepted packet is transmitted through the tunnel from the sender to the receiver. A handshake protocol optionally determines the presence of agents at the sender and receiver. The handshake protocol fails if agents are not present at both the sender and receiver, and the transfer is then carried out over a standard communication channel.