How to set up and use OpenVPN Connect

OpenVPN is a protocol for a VPN tunnel program that is secure, fast and free to use. It works on Standard TCP/UDP internet protocols. VPN allows user to create a virtual network which connects with real network securely. It encrypts the transferred data and that encryption is very strong as you can freely use OpenVPN over the public internet without getting intercepted by anyone.

OpenVPN is open-source software that uses the virtual private network to secure the connection in the bridged network. It is increasingly been used by big companies as its main features are security and privacy.

See also: What is VPN Good For And The Top 5 Best VPN Services

Step by step guide

The main reason why people use OpenVPN protocol is that it is very easy to use and it is safe and secure. Most security experts always recommend using OpenVPN for anything you do online.

In this article, we are going to discuss how to set up and use OpenVPN Connect and what steps are required to start with.

1- Before setting OpenVPN Connect you must ensure that it has all the necessary configuration files. OpenVPN Connect is a powerful package and it won’t connect to your VPN until it has all the configuration files. Some other providers ask you to generate it manually and some of these files are sometimes hard to find. So, it is advisable to check VPN’s website before you start setting up OpenVPN Connect.

2- The latest version of OpenVPN Connect is available on the official website. There are many links of OpenVPN for different Operating Systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, etc. So, download the latest version or beta version of OpenVPN Connect depending upon your Operating System. If you try to run a different build for different OS than it won’t run.

3- As you launch the OpenVPN Connect, it will ask for a profile containing information on the server which you would like to use such as server name, username, password, port number.

Click the button name ‘Import from file’ then click ‘Browse’ and choose one of the OVPN configuration files which you have downloaded earlier.

4- If all is well then OpenVPN display a success message. It gives the profile a title based on your IP address and the name of your file. You can then log in using your username and password. After providing all the details click ‘Add’ to import the profile. You can also import certificates provided by the VPN provider.

5- When your profile gets imported then you are ready to go. Your profile will list on OpenVPN’s Access Server Profile page. Tap the profile which you want to connect with OpenVPN’s Server then you prompted for your password and within a few seconds, it will connect you with the VPN.

6- With default settings OpenVPN works fine but if you want to work something out of the box then you can change it too. It will normally take 60 seconds to connect to the server but if the client wants to connect it to less than 10 seconds then it can connect to it. If you can enable ‘Reconnect on Reboot’ options then it will connect automatically with the server whenever your system reboots. OpenVPN Connects sets it setting to adaptive which means by default it tries connection with UDP first, then TCP if that fails. If you want to change VPN protocol to TCP first then you can forcefully change it in settings. The default settings are well configured and it works fine in most cases so it is advised not to change it until and unless you need to update some settings.

Join our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss out on what's happening in the tech world. It's that simple.
subsc

🚀 Trusted source for tech since 2012