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Linux Network-Manager GUI for OpenVPN
Many Linux distributions (including Ubuntu Desktop variants) come with Network Manager; a GUI to configure your network settings. It also can manage your VPN connections. It is the default, but if in doubt make sure you have the network-manager-openvpn package installed.
- Open the Network Manager GUI, select the VPN tab and then the ‘Add’ button
- Select OpenVPN as the VPN type in the opening requester and press ‘Create’
- In the next window, add the OpenVPN’s server name as the ‘Gateway’
- Set ‘Type’ to ‘Certificates (TLS)’
- Point ‘User Certificate’ to your user certificate
- Point ‘CA Certificate’ to your CA certificate
- Point ‘Private Key’ to your private key file.
- Use the ‘advanced’ button to enable compression (e.g.
comp-lzo), dev tap, or other special settings you want to set on the server. Now try to establish your VPN.
OpenVPN with GUI for Mac OS X
Tunnelblick is an excellent free, open source implementation of a GUI for OpenVPN for OS X. Download the latest OS X installer from there and install it.
It also is recommended by upstream, which has an alternative of their own.
Then put your client.ovpn config file together with the certificates and keys in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Tunnelblick/Configurations/ and launch Tunnelblick from your ‘Application’ folder.
Instead of downloading manually, if you have brew set up on MacOS this is as easy as running:
brew cask install tunnelblick
OpenVPN with GUI for Win
First, download and install the latest OpenVPN Windows Installer. As of this writing, the management GUI is included with the Windows binary installer.
You need to start the OpenVPN service. Go to Start > Computer > Manage > Services and Applications > Services. Find the OpenVPN service and start it. Set its startup type to ‘automatic’.
When you start the OpenVPN MI GUI the first time you need to run it as an administrator. You have to right click on it and you will see that option.
There is an updated guide by the upstream project for the client on Windows.
Further reading
FAQs
OpenVPN is a full-featured SSL VPN which implements OSI layer 2 or 3 secure network extension using the industry standard SSL/TLS protocol, supports flexible client authentication methods based on certificates, smart cards, and/or username/password credentials, and allows user or group-specific access control policies ...
How many clients can OpenVPN handle? ›
By default, max-clients = 1024. But it looks like one can simply push it to a bigger value. Of course, HDD, RAM, bandwidth and CPU are bottlenecks.
Can OpenVPN clients talk to each other? ›
To force clients to only see the server, you will also need to appropriately firewall the server's TUN/TAP interface. Uncomment out the above client-to-client directive if you would like connecting clients to be able to reach each other over the VPN. By default, clients will only be able to reach the server.
What is the OpenVPN option -- client-to-client? ›
The --client-to-client flag tells OpenVPN to internally route client-to-client traffic rather than pushing all client-originating traffic to the TUN/TAP interface. When this option is used, each client will "see" the other clients which are currently connected. Otherwise, each client will only see the server.
What is the difference between OpenVPN and VPN client? ›
What is the difference between a VPN and OpenVPN? A VPN is a service that protects your internet connection, while OpenVPN is one of the tunneling protocols helping VPN services do that. Anyone can use the OpenVPN open-source code client to set up their VPN connection.
Is OpenVPN a real VPN? ›
OpenVPN offers users a very simple and secure VPN option that is both economical and quick to install. Users are able to easily install it on their client devices. The availability of client software for all operating systems and mobile devices means my customers can connect regardless of their setup.
What are the limitations of OpenVPN? ›
Limitations. When routing all VPN client internet traffic through Access Server, we recommend not exceeding 1,000 VPN connections per Access Server installation. This limitation is a practical limit on how many NAT connections a single operating system can handle efficiently.
How secure is OpenVPN client? ›
Yes, OpenVPN is widely recognized for its strong security and versatility. When you connect to an OpenVPN server, your device authenticates with the server first and then establishes a secure and encrypted connection.
Is OpenVPN client free? ›
It is Free Software that puts its users first. There are no ads, no affiliate marketers, no tracking — we don't even keep logs of your IP address or other information. We just supply open technology for fast, easy, private, and secure control of VPNs.
Can OpenVPN track you? ›
We are a Zero-Log service provider and Do Not keep records of your traffic, browsing, or activity while using our services. We do analyze website functionality for performance for purposes of improving our service offerings to our customers.
The OpenVPN protocol isn't built into Windows. Therefore, you must install a client app to communicate with Access Server. A client app captures the traffic you want to send through the OpenVPN tunnel, encrypts it, passes it to the server, and decrypts the return traffic.
Do I need a public IP for OpenVPN? ›
If you do not know your WAN IP address you won't be able to connect from other providers or locations not belonging to the ISP. The port needs to be open publicly. You can find your wan address by searching “what is my ip”.
How do I allow only specific clients in OpenVPN? ›
Go to VPN > OpenVPN > Client specific overrides and add an override rule for each client you want to control by firewall rule. Select the VPN server, enter the users common name as it is set in the users certificate.
What is an OpenVPN tunnel? ›
OpenVPN Tunneling Protocol. The OpenVPN tunneling protocol uses the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption protocol to ensure data shared via the Internet remains private using AES-256 encryption.
How do I know if OpenVPN client is running? ›
The OpenVPN status page at Status > OpenVPN shows the status of each OpenVPN server and client. The status includes service controls for each separate server and client instance on the status page.
What is a VPN client? ›
A VPN client is a software based technology that establishes a secure connection between the user and a VPN server. Some VPN clients work in the background automatically, while others have front-end interfaces that allow users to interact with and configure them.
Is the OpenVPN client free? ›
It is Free Software that puts its users first. There are no ads, no affiliate marketers, no tracking — we don't even keep logs of your IP address or other information. We just supply open technology for fast, easy, private, and secure control of VPNs.
How do I connect to OpenVPN client? ›
This includes our business products: Access Server and CloudConnexa.
- Step 1: Download OpenVPN Connect v3. You can download the install files for OpenVPN Connect v3 for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS here: ...
- Step 2: Launch OpenVPN Connect v3. ...
- Step 3: Connect to the VPN server.
