Connect to a VPN

VPN stands for virtual private network and is a type of network connection that allows users to access computer networks from anywhere in the world. This technology is often used for business or educational purposes because many VPNs feature encryption methods which make sending data more secure and private. You can also appear as if you are in a different country, which makes obtaining content of a specific country possible if that country does not allow for international access. Thus, it is becoming more popular to purchase VPN networks from hosts or providers. If you need to connect to a VPN, the owner of the VPN will give you the specific login and password information. Then, follow these steps to connect from any computer with Internet access.

Steps

Picking a VPN

  1. Find an available account. If you are an employee or student, then your company or university may provide VPN access. Consult with employee or student services about obtaining access to such an account.
  2. Research your options for a new account. Consider the kind of security, privacy, amount of bandwidth needed, whether you require exit servers in other countries, platform needed, whether you'll need customer service, and how much you'll want to pay. Read more about each of these in the "Tips" section at the bottom of this article.
  3. Sign up and receive your account information. If you are purchasing a VPN service from a VPN provider, then you may need to pay for your new service. After signing up and paying (or verifying that your employer or university does provide such a service), the provider should give you information that will allow you to access your VPN such as a username, password, and IP or server name. You can use one of the methods below to connect to your VPN.

Connecting to a VPN using Windows Vista and Windows 7

  1. Click the "Start" button.
  2. Choose "Control Panel."
  3. In the Control Panel window, click "Network and Internet."
  4. Then click "Connect to a network."
  5. Select "Set up a connection or network."
  6. In the "Choose a connection option," select "Connect to a workplace" and click "Next."
  7. Look at the options on the page titled "How do you want to connect?" Choose "Use my Internet connection (VPN)."
  8. A window will appear asking "Do you want to set up an Internet connection before continuing"? Select "I'll set up an Internet connection later."
  9. Type the server information that the owner of the VPN gave you. Type the IP address in the "Internet address" text box and the server name in the "Destination name" text box. Put a check mark in the box next to "Don't connect now; just set it up so I can connect later." You will need to finish setting up your connection before you can connect. Click "Next."
  10. Enter the user name and password the owner of the VPN provided for you. Click the check box to remember the name and password if you do not want to have to type it in every time you connect. Click "Create."
  11. Click "Close" when the window with the message "The connection is ready to use" appears.
  12. Click "Connect to a network" under the "Network and Sharing Center" heading and click on the VPN connection your just created. Click "Connect."

Connecting to a VPN using Windows 8

  1. Press Windows on your keyboard and search for "VPN."
  2. Click on "Settings" in the right pane and click on "Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection" in the left pane.
  3. Within the "Create a VPN Connection" window, enter your VPN's internet address and a descriptive name. Also ensure the "Remember my credentials" box is checked for faster login. Click "Create."
    • The IP address should have been given to you by your employer or VPN provider.
  4. Hover over your newly created VPN when the "Networks" pane appears. Click "connect."
  5. Add your username and password. This should be given to you by your employer or VPN provider. Click "OK." You should now be connected.

Connecting to a VPN using Windows XP

  1. Click on the "Start" button and select "Control Panel."
  2. Choose "Network and Internet Connections" and then "Network Connections."
  3. Find "Create a new connection" under the "Network Tasks" heading. Click it and then click "Next." Click "Next" again on the screen titled "Welcome to the New Connection Wizard."
  4. Click on the radio button next to "Connect to the network at my workplace." Click "Next."
  5. Choose "Virtual Private Network connection" on the next page and click "Next."
    • If you are using a dial-up Internet connection, you will see the "Public Network" page next. Select the radio button for "Automatically dial this initial connection" and click "Next."
    • If you use a cable modem or other kind of constantly connected internet sources, click "Do not dial the initial connection."
  6. Type a name for your new connection in the text box on the "Connection Name" page and click "Next."
  7. Fill in your DNS server name or IP address for the VPN server to which you want to connect in the text box marked "Host name or IP address." Click "Next" and then click "Finish."
  8. Enter the user name and password the owner of the VPN provided for you. Put a check in the box to save the information if you want to save it for future use. Click "Connect" to connect to the VPN.

Connecting to a VPN using Mac OS X

Mac's "Network Connection" tool has remained virtually unchanged in all Mac OS X versions. Thus, these directions should work when making basic VPN connections. However, it is best to keep your system upgraded to the latest version in order to address any security flaws and to be able to access more recent advanced options (such as using certificates) for configuring your VPN connection.

  1. Select the Apple menu and choose "System Preferences." Click the icon labeled "Network."
  2. Find the list of networks in the sidebar on the left side of the window. Click the plus symbol at the bottom of the list to add a new connection.
  3. Use the pull-down menu to choose "VPN" when the window appears asking you to select an interface. Choose a connection protocol. Mac OS X Yosemite supports "L2TP over IPSec," "PPTP," or "Cisco IPSec" VPN protocol types. You can read more about these in the "Tips" section at the bottom of this article. Enter the name for your VPN and click "Create."
  4. Go back to the Network screen and choose your new VPN connection from the list on the left sidebar. Choose "Add Configuration" from the pull-down menu. Type the name of your VPN in the text box that appears and click "Create."
  5. Enter the server address and the account name that the owner of the VPN provided for you in the two text boxes. Click "Authentication Settings" directly under the "Account Name" text box.
  6. Click the radio button for "Password" and enter the password that the owner of the VPN gave you. Click the radio button for "Shared Secret" and enter the information provided to you. Click "OK."
  7. Hit the "Advanced" button and make sure the check box next to "Send all traffic over VPN connection" is checked. Click "OK" and then click "Apply." Click "Connect" to connect to your new VPN connection.

Connecting to a VPN using iOS

  1. Click on "Settings" and then choose "General."
  2. Scroll to the very bottom and choose "VPN." Click on "Add VPN Configuration."
  3. Choose a connection protocol. In the top bar, you will see that iOS has three available protocols: L2TP, PPTP, and IPSec. If your VPN is provided by an employer, then they will most likely inform you as to which protocol to use. If you are using your own hosted VPN, however, then be sure to use a form which is supported by your provider.
  4. Enter a description. This could be anything you want. For instance, if this is a work VPN, then you could describe it as "Work." If you plan to use this VPN for watching an out-of-country Netflix, then you could call it "Canadian Netflix."
  5. Enter your server information. This information should have been given to you either by your VPN provider or your employer.
  6. Enter your "Account" name. This field refers to your username which you most likely created when purchasing your hosted VPN or was created for you by an employer.
  7. Turn on "RSA SecurID" if you use this form of authentication. To turn this on, tap on the gray button. When it turns green, this feature is turned on. RSA SecureID comprises either a hardware or software mechanism which produces keys to verify a user over periods of time. Most likely, you will only have RSA SecurID in a professional setting.
  8. Enter your "Password." Your password was most likely provided at the same time as your username. Consult with your employer or VPN provider if you do not have this information.
  9. Enter your shared "Secret" if you require it.
    • A "secret" is used to further authenticate your account. Much like the "key" of an RSA Secure ID, the "secret" is typically a series of letters and numbers given to you by a provider or employer. If it has not been provided to you then you either may not need to enter anything in that field or you may need to contact your provider or employer in order to obtain the secret.
  10. Enter the "Group Name" for an IPSec connection if needed. Again, this would be given to you, so if your employer or provider have shared this information with you then enter it in this field. If they haven't, then, most likely, you may leave the field blank.
  11. Choose whether to "Send All Traffic" to the VPN. Click the button next to this field and ensure it is highlighted in green if you want all your internet traffic to go through the VPN.
  12. Click "Save" in the top right corner to save your settings. At this point, your VPN is connected.
    • You may turn your VPN connection on or off from the main "Settings" page by clicking its corresponding button. If the button is green, then you are connected. If the button is gray, then you are not connected. It will appear directly underneath "Wi-Fi."
    • Also, when your phone is using the VPN connection, an icon will appear in the upper left-hand side of your phone consisting of the capital letters "VPN" inside a box.

Connecting to a VPN using Android OS

  1. Open "Menu." Go to "Settings."
  2. Open "Wireless & Networks" or "Wireless Controls" depending on your version of Android.
  3. Select "VPN Settings."
  4. Select "Add VPN."
  5. Select "Add PPTP VPN" or "Add L2TP/IPsec PSK VPN" depending on your protocol of choice. See the "Tips" section at the bottom of this article for more information.
  6. Select "VPN Name" and enter a descriptive name for the VPN. This could be anything of your choosing.
  7. Select "Set VPN Server" and enter the server IP Address.
  8. Set your encryption settings. Consult with your VPN provider as to whether the connection will be encrypted or not.
  9. Open the menu and choose "Save."
    • You may be asked to confirm operation with storage password. This is your Android device password, not VPN password.
  10. Open the menu and select "Settings." Select "Wireless and Network" or "Wireless Controls."
  11. Select the VPN configuration you created from the list. Enter your username and password. Select "Remember username" and Select "Connect." You are now connected via VPN. A key icon will appear in your top bar to indicate that you are connected to your VPN.

Tips

  • When choosing between protocols to connect to, consider how you are using your VPN. PPTP is known to be fast over wi-fi; however, it is less secure than L2TP and IPSec. So, if security is important to you, then consider using either L2TP or IPSec. If you are connecting to a VPN for work purposes, then your employer will most likely have a preferred protocol. If you are using a hosted VPN, then ensure that you use a protocol which they support.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider the kind of security you want. If you want to use a VPN in order to send documents, emails, or browse the web more securely, then you’ll want to sign up with a host that offers an encryption method such as SSL (also called TLS) or IPsec. SSL is the most widely used form of security encryption. Encryption is a method of obscuring data from those who should not see it. Also, try to pick a host which uses OpenVPN rather than “point-to-point tunneling protocol” (PPTP) for encryption. PPTP has had several security vulnerabilities in recent years; whereas OpenVPN is commonly considered the more secure method of encryption.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider how much privacy you want. Some hosts may log their users’ activities which may be handed over to the authorities if questions of legality arise. If you would prefer for your browsing or data transfers to be confidential, then consider a VPN provider which does not keep logs on their users.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider bandwidth requirements for your VPN. Bandwidth determines how much data can be transferred. High quality video and audio are larger in size and, thus, require more bandwidth than text or images. If you only want to use a VPN for internet browsing or transferring private documents, then most hosts provide enough bandwidth to do just that quickly and easily. However, if you want to stream video or audio, such as watching Netflix or playing online games with your friends, then pick a VPN host that allows for unlimited bandwidth.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider whether you will access content outside the country you physically are located in. When you browse the internet, you have an address which shows where you are. This is called an “IP address.” If you try to access content in another country, your IP address may not allow you to do so because there may not be an agreement between that country and yours about the legal rights of the content. However, you can use a VPN host with “exit servers” which will show your IP address as being within that country. Thus, you will be able to access the content in another country by using the exit servers. When picking a VPN host in order to do this, you’ll want to look at the locations of your host’s servers in order to ensure that they have servers in the country where you want to access content.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider what platform you will use. Do you want to use mobile devices or your computer? If you travel a lot and the use of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets is important to you, then ensure that your chosen VPN host supports such a connection or even provides apps for your specific mobile devices.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider whether you will need customer service. Read reviews and look at what kind of support the VPN host will provide for customers. Some hosts may only offer phone support while others may also offer chat or email support. It’s important to find a service which offers customer support that you are most comfortable using. You can also search for reviews within a search engine (such as Google) in order to better evaluate the quality of customer support.
  • When purchasing VPN service from a provider, consider how much you want to pay. Some VPN hosts (such as Open VPN) do offer free services; however, they can be limited in their options. Since there are many competing VPN services, take the time to compare several different hosts by prices and the previously mentioned services they offer. You may be able to get all the services you want and need at a host with a cheaper cost than at another host.



Sources and Citations

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