Configuring OpenVPN. OpenVPN - setting in Windows

The Internet has firmly entered the life of the average person. Communication on interests, getting to know new people, gaining additional skills and knowledge, finding the necessary information - all this is just the beginning of a long list of what can be done on the network.

Internet yesterday and today

Fifteen years ago, no one could have imagined how much we would become attached to the global web. There was a new disease - Internet addiction, which is treated as recently appeared specialists. Opened previously unknown vast market. The horizons for marketing and advertising have expanded. Knowledge and technology have become available, like never before. What do people do online today? Someone publishes interesting thoughts in the format of a blog, someone is doing business, and someone is online at a prestigious university. Everyone has their own interests, but there are common concepts and phenomena, which sooner or later experienced practical any user. These are viruses and spyware, security software and proxy servers, social networks, VPN. It is the latter that will be discussed in the article.

What is VPN

A VPN is a network within a network. An additional connection that is created over the already existing one. Most often this is a detached space inside the Internet, an island of protected information in the ocean of free access. What is the difference between a zone or a VPN tunnel? First of all, only authenticated users that have been previously added to the list of VPN service clients have access to it. In addition, all traffic inside is transmitted in an encrypted form and is not accessible from the outside. And VPN provides anonymity and helps to bypass proxy settings, if any. Of course, everyone would like security, which means that this service is quite in demand. The law of the market, which says that due to the growing demand, the number of offers is growing, is still in force, therefore the choice of service providers is very wide. But we will consider the general using the example of a particular. Setting up OpenVPN - a fairly popular tunneling solution - will be an example of working with technology in general.

Benefits

First of all, it should be noted that OpenVPN, unlike its paid counterparts, is distributed freely. In this case, the program has full functionality. An anonymous and secure tunnel can be created even from an office with a corporate firewall.

As an undoubted advantage of OpenVPN client-server implementation, you can name the simplest installation process of the application. For a successful installation, you do not need deep knowledge or special skills. You do not even need to get used to the new operating system, because OpenVPN is also available for Windows. The second critical advantage of the program is the minimization of costs. Do not buy a license or specialized equipment. Do not need a powerful server - a normal personal computer is enough. If you have not decided on the choice of VPN software, it makes sense to try the free stable and convenient software from James Jonan.

OpenVPN: client configuration

Usually, services of such a plan are deployed on * nix-systems: Gentoo, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc. However, in the case of OpenVPN (especially with the client part), it does not matter to us whether Ubuntu is installed on the computer where the OpenVPN configuration will be performed , Windows 7 li: at least the initial steps will not be very different. For convenience, we choose a fairly common, familiar and convenient OS from Windows. The distribution program can be easily accessed without problems. Download the latest version of OpenVPN client on the computer, run the installer and agree in turn with everything that it recommends. In the component selection window, tick the checkboxes. After the installation is completed, it makes sense to additionally install the OpenVPN GUI user interface, which will greatly facilitate the process of setting up and further managing the client. For correct operation, OpenVPN must be run in compatibility mode. To achieve this, you just need to tick the label properties. This completes the deployment process for the VPN client. It remains only to receive from the administrator a file with keys and certificates, as well as a configuration file for your connection.

The next step is to configure the OpenVPN server. Windows supports not only the client side, but also the server side of the application.

OpenVPN server on Windows

The server part of OpenVPN is installed in the same way as the client: download the distribution kit and alternately agree with the proposed one. But here you yourself will act as administrator. Accordingly, to make changes to the configuration file, generate keys and certificates, you will have to do it yourself. But do not be scared: configuring the OpenVPN server on Windows is not an impossible task, it's even for beginners. The operations are performed via the command line. The exact text of the commands can be found in any OpenVPN installation guide. If everything is done correctly, the state of the new one created in the system after installing the VPN server, the virtual adapter will change from "Cable not connected" to "Connected". In the adapter properties, you will see the configured internal network address.

OpenVPN outside the computer

We have considered with you the options for deploying the client and server parts of OpenVPN to the Windows operating system. Given the cross-platform nature of the program, it can be installed on other versions of the OS (Debian, Linux Mint, etc.). What else, except for a desktop computer, can act as a client or a VPN server? They can serve as NAS network storage. By activating the service of the server under consideration there, you can connect the VPN client directly to the drive. Most routers also support OpenVPN. With the rapid development of information technology, all modern devices are produced as much as possible functional. It's not just a printer, but 3 in 1, combining both the scanner and the copier. This is not only a mobile phone, but also a camera, player, GPS-navigator, QR-code reader and much more. If there is not enough built-in functionality, the constantly updated content of application stores will help to expand the capabilities of handheld devices. Therefore, there is nothing unusual in choosing a new field of activity for installing OpenVPN. Windows - already passed stage, now we will talk about the Mikrotik router.

Deploying OpenVPN on Mikrotik

Despite the fact that bold experiments are always welcome, the result sometimes does not justify hopes and aspirations. It also happens that, combining different technologies, you can achieve quite the opposite of what is expected. In the case of Mikrotik serious disappointments, of course, will not, but some truncation of the functional still takes place. For example, UDP transport is not available on the router. But, unlike a computer, it is enough to import ready files of certificates and keys on the Microtick router, and then start the wizard, without the command line. The settings are not difficult: you need to set an address range for VPN clients, enable the "OpenVPN server" function. Mikrotik, the configuration of which does not take much time, is in no way inferior to the stability of the VPN server on the computer. The only thing to remember is the order of the permissive and forbidding rules, which is the same for all devices that perform the firewall function.

A little bit about VPN servers instead of concluding

There is a saying that no technology will win wide acceptance until a regular user or system administrator can easily install it. It is desirable that this is within the framework of one master, where you just need to click on the "Next" button. In fact, every product will have its fans, regardless of what actions will have to be taken before direct use. Setting up OpenVPN under Windows requires a command line, but it is not particularly difficult. While the built-in tools of the operating system or some individual solutions are really installed and configured with a few mouse clicks. But for 12 years OpenVPN has not disappeared, but continued to develop, and still remains a popular product, high-quality and unprincipled.