So the title is pretty in depth, but I am a newbie to VPNs and need some help.
I live in NJ, big NY Rangers fan and I currently do not have an satellite or cable service so I rely on my psvue subscription and amazon fire tv which has Kodi on it.
I created a VPN with ExpressVPN, downloaded their software app on my mac and have the VPN up and running (on my mac). I don't have a compatible router to run the VPN through, so I read that I can use my mac to share the VPN to the amazon fire tv. How do I go about successfully doing this? ExpressVPN said my Mac has to be hardwired via ethernet to my existing router, is this true?
I also wanted to know that if I successfully get the amazon fire tv connected to my VPN connection, will my kodi app run off of that connected VPN or do I have to manually configure the VPN via Kodi as well? I am thinking that having the VPN connected on the Fire stick will be sufficient enough for Kodi.
T
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.blinkt.openvpn
If you pay for a vpn service that doesnt allow you to use an openvpn client, stop paying for that service..
Using the mac doesnt make that much sense, since the firetv can connect to vpn services on its own. If you WANT to use the mac you would connect it to the internet via lan and create a hotspot on the wlan side on which the firetv then connects. So look for mac hotspot programs if you absolutely want to do it that way.
The app above works witha ll apps as soon as it connects, so no extra setup in kodi needed. Successfully tested under 5.0.5.
harlekinwashere said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.blinkt.openvpn
If you pay for a vpn service that doesnt allow you to use an openvpn client, stop paying for that service..
Using the mac doesnt make that much sense, since the firetv can connect to vpn services on its own. If you WANT to use the mac you would connect it to the internet via lan and create a hotspot on the wlan side on which the firetv then connects. So look for mac hotspot programs if you absolutely want to do it that way.
The app above works witha ll apps as soon as it connects, so no extra setup in kodi needed. Successfully tested under 5.0.5.
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Well How would I know if ExpressVPN allows me to use an openvpn client? I thought the fire tv couldnt connect to vpn on its on so that is why I was having my mac come into play, but it is getting a little too complicated for me. So I download this app from the google play store via my android device? If you can give me some more direction I would greatly appreciate all of your help!
Edit: I can use my android device and sideload the app via AGK Fire...learning a little more each second
You should be able to setup a VPN through a Router, even the crappy Ones issued by your ISP.
Ichijoe said:
You should be able to setup a VPN through a Router, even the crappy Ones issued by your ISP.
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hmmm I will have to look into that with my ISP router, thanks
I know how much you all love reddit QA culture - but
Using a VPN client on the device itself i the best way to realize this.
Setting up a VPN on your router is a worse way to realize this, mostly favored by people that read it once, and never tried it. Its only viable if your router supports selective tunneling, so you can tunnel the traffic from one ip through your vpn, but not from others. Which is only possible on newer dd-wrt or equivalent routers, because on older build one of the necessary commands broke - setting up your whole internet to go through the vpn is like paying for worse internet.
The router most likely is the slowest piece of equipment in your chain, so switching it off and on again is a chore - believe me I tried to make it work for three days. Interfacing with the router isnt great either.
So yes, I bet 90% of the people advising you to use a VPN connection on your router, have just read it somewhere ad thought it would be great to repeat it in every context.
Also ISP router - haha, yeah - good luck.
The only way VPN on a rounter makes sense is if you are on on of the _recent_ open source routers, and can spend a day to get either openvpn or pptp running there (no documentation from most VPN vendors) and selective tunneling to the Fire TV - or if by some really strange luck, have bought a commercial router that has VPN tunneling to one specific device built in.
Imho bad idea, even worse in practice (routers UI to switch -), but the favorite of the collective knowledge crowd that hangs out on reddit and repeats what people before them have said. Because they just went with what sounded right.
Does your VPN provider support Open VPN connections? Well, shouldnt that be something that you ask yourself before choosing a VPN provider? Also - dont ask the internet, if your provider supports it, ask your provider - again, you are paying the provider, so use its support infrastructure to ask the important questions.
The issue with the "what the most eazy" mindset, when it comes to VPNs or interoperating devices, is that you have to rely on open standards (like Open VPN) and not brand, or best vendor app. Its a strange concept, but actually knowing about stuff, before going into a monthly payment plan - is actually a good thing...
cheers h.
Related
Anyone know how to convert CAT5 Cable to wireless in the Hotel room. I love to bring my PDA with me , when I travel. But, I found a problem to using the internet in most of the hotel.
Problem: Most hotels only have CAT5 network , when you plugin your notebook computer, you have to go to the login page to login. But when you using PDA(wireless). The question is how to use the internet?. If you bring a wireless rounter with you. When you plugin . how to make it found the hotel login page on your PDA?
Easiest method is to buy a Wireless bridge. Linksys sells these. Its a device that will tern an Ethernet Cable into a wireless signal.
I travel a great deal and although there are a great number of ways to deal with this issue...this is how I get around it.
I bought one of the little Dlink pocket routers like this one for a great price (less than $30). What you can do with this product (and others I'm sure...) is clone the MAC address of your laptop's ethernet port. Basically...it'd work like this...
1.) Plug your laptop into the hotel network.
2.) Jump through their proxy hoops to get out onto the net.
3.) Unplug the cable from the hotel network and into the pocket router.
4.) From the router's config pages...set the NIC to clone your laptop's MAC address.
5.) Plug the hotel network into the pocket router WAN port.
Badda bing! You're sharing their network wirelessly...doesn't take a lot of time at all. I've really enjoyed the Dlink one I got...small...flexible...and it comes with a nice travel case. Linksys (or Cisco now), Apple, and others all make similar products and some of them have the benefit of not needing a power adapter and just plugging straight into the wall outlet (a big benefit IMHO), but I can't speak for exactly what kind of functionality they provide versus the Dlink product as I've never used them.
By the way...a bridge will not help you do what you want...you need at least an AP...but if you get one of the devices like I mentioned...you get the added benefit of a NAT firewall between your device and the hotel LAN (which can be a very good thing by the way).
I can't see why you can't just plug in a standard access point via the WANport. Set the internet connection to Automatic DHCP.
Then the first time you access the net it will be ready for logging in.
eangulus said:
I can't see why you can't just plug in a standard access point via the WANport. Set the internet connection to Automatic DHCP.
Then the first time you access the net it will be ready for logging in.
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Because many hotels control access to their internet connections by utilizing various methods but most often by controlling access via MAC addresses. Think filtering a wireless connection by only allowing certain MAC addresses... Now...if an AP allowed MAC address spoofing...then I certainly don't see why just an AP wouldn't work just as well (other than the fact that you don't get the benefits of a router).
By the way...this topic is certainly not Hermes specific and should likely be moved to a more appropriate forum.
One note should be made.... If the hotel is using NAT to assign IP addresss, and you use a second NAT with your router... you may not be able to use various VPN clients. Double NAT'ing doesn't work for many IPSEC VPN clients. i.e. AT&T NetClient
A number of switch vendors offer the ability to limit each port on their switch to allow traffic to one MAC address per port. A bridge would show multiple MAC addresses and typically when the switch sees that, the port is automatically shut down. This is done in many cases where there is a $10-15 a day charge for internet access and the hotel doesn't want you setting up an AP to share the cost with your travel mates. Thus they limit to one MAC address per port. The router solution would show up with only one MAC address... but you then have the double NAT issue in some cases. If you are not using a VPN, that may not be a problem.
Just some additional data points to consider.
I love the linksys travel router - more expensive then their mini router (about the same size) except for 2 things that are key for me. First, it's powersupply is embedded and 110-220v and 2 - it let's you connect it to a hotel wireless hotspot and then share that hotspot over wifi. This is great - it means that 4 people with rooms next to each other can share the fee of the hotspot and share it. It also means I can share that same hotspot with my phone! The only downside on this one over the mini router is it only has one wired out jack but that's no big deal for me!
Note that plugging a router into a network jack when the site in question is set up to use DHCP can cause some havoc on the network. I doubt many hotels are savvy enough to start hunting around for rogue routers when people in the hotel can no longer get IP addresses, but bear in mind that it's always a possibility. It's probably not a good idea to leave something like this plugged into the network longer than necessary.
Also note that whenever I've encountered a location where the establishment requires you to log into a web page in order to access anything, I've had no problem doing that from the Hermes.
Doom Tints said:
Note that plugging a router into a network jack when the site in question is set up to use DHCP can cause some havoc on the network. I doubt many hotels are savvy enough to start hunting around for rogue routers when people in the hotel can no longer get IP addresses, but bear in mind that it's always a possibility. It's probably not a good idea to leave something like this plugged into the network longer than necessary.
Also note that whenever I've encountered a location where the establishment requires you to log into a web page in order to access anything, I've had no problem doing that from the Hermes.
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The one I mentioned only asigns an IP to people on it's end and not outside - it even uses it's own IP range. It is designed to be transparent to the existing network.
Yes, I know. However, depending upon the network setup, this can still cause problems.
For example, some versions of Symantec's 'On Command/CCM' (a suite for pushing software updates to computers automatically when they are booted on the network) can communicate with some routers in such a way to where the router thinks it needs to try to provide one of its IP addresses to the network. This invariably ends up having a computer in some random place on the network ending up with a 192.168.x.x IP. When an admin sees this, he/she knows that there is a rogue router on the network.
Alot of work... as you know these hotel internet connections are controlled. If you're posting here use that 3g or even edge instead of giving the hotel your credit card to have a field test (is that a ppc program?) or field day with.
Doom Tints said:
Yes, I know. However, depending upon the network setup, this can still cause problems.
For example, some versions of Symantec's 'On Command/CCM' (a suite for pushing software updates to computers automatically when they are booted on the network) can communicate with some routers in such a way to where the router thinks it needs to try to provide one of its IP addresses to the network. This invariably ends up having a computer in some random place on the network ending up with a 192.168.x.x IP. When an admin sees this, he/she knows that there is a rogue router on the network.
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Well I doubt this will happen in most hotel networks and aside from that - I doubt that there is hardly ever a network admin on hand 99.9% of the time
The Linksys Travel Router is the product I'd highly recommend as I've been using it around the world for some years now.
It has a hardware switch that let's you control its functionality. In one position, the Wired Ethernet is simply converted to Wi-Fi and once you connect, you still get the IP from the hotel's DHCP server. If you need to share the connection with more systems (such as your laptop and your phone or with some colleagues in adjacent rooms), you just switch to another mode after logging in to the hotel's network and the Linksys becomes a NAT router and gives you a private IP.
It also comes with a nice travel case...
SayMobile said:
The Linksys Travel Router is the product I'd highly recommend as I've been using it around the world for some years now.
It has a hardware switch that let's you control its functionality. In one position, the Wired Ethernet is simply converted to Wi-Fi and once you connect, you still get the IP from the hotel's DHCP server. If you need to share the connection with more systems (such as your laptop and your phone or with some colleagues in adjacent rooms), you just switch to another mode after logging in to the hotel's network and the Linksys becomes a NAT router and gives you a private IP.
It also comes with a nice travel case...
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That's the device I've been talking about - the only thing I add to the kit is a european outlet adapter (which fits nicely inside the coiled ethernet cable included
Hi everyone,
I've tried just about everything I can think of, and no matter what I do, I can't get VPN to work over Wifi (on a P4000, which is the Canadian version of the Mogul/Titan). Does anyone have any experience/success with this?
I've tried searching the forums too, but couldn't locate a post on this topic. I can't be the only one wanting to use VPN over wifi?
Many thanks!
No I have not had any luck either. It also seems that you can not access the VPN using the phone as modem. It will allow you to securely connect, but when you try to link up with your computer, it gives an error message regarding an unidentifiable IP address. Sopmeone help!!!
I found this - http://securenet.niu.edu/vpnpptpwinmo5.shtml
It seems to be a weird workaround, definitely not convenient to connect. But, it doesn't actually connect for me. It starts the connection process, and I then get a username/password error or a "disconnected by the other party". So, it doesn't work.
Has anyone tried a 3rd party VPN client such as Bluefire VPN? http://www.bluefiresecurity.com/products/vpn/
It's quite expensive, though! 70$! We shouldn't have to pay for something that in theory, Windows Mobile already includes.
I didn't know that windows had it's own VPN installed in the OS so I actually have Bluefire installed. I had it on my Palm so it didn't cost my anything to switch the license over to my Titan. It works fine or me using Wi-Fi, EVDO, or 1x.
Telus blocks vpn access unless you have a VPN bundle, which costs 5$ i believe. I had to add it to mine. Other then that, i use openvpn talking to my router, works great
ghettofreeryder said:
Telus blocks vpn access unless you have a VPN bundle, which costs 5$ i believe. I had to add it to mine. Other then that, i use openvpn talking to my router, works great
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You have to pay to use VPN over Wifi? For cell-data, I'd understand, but I don't see how they can require us to pay to use our own WiFi networks.
I'm able to get the VPN to attempt to connect, however it always reports a username/password error.
I checked out openVPN but couldn't find a link for a Windows Mobile version. Can you post the link?
just type openvpn ppc into google, its the first result. As for vpn over wifi, i red it wrong, i was thinkin evdo
successful VPN over WiFi
You can successfully get on VPN through WiFi. GO to your VPN client click on connection entries drop menu at the top, then click modify, go to transport tab, and click to check the box enable trasport tunneling. Once you do this save it and you should be able to access it. I was successful.
DJ
I've got a unique situation, and I thought I'd ask to see if anyone else has been able to deal with this situation.
I've got an unlocked MyTouch 3G working on a network in South America. I am presently behind a proxy, and running a wireless router in my home. I can't afford a 3G connection, but of course I want to download apps from the Market, etc.
So far, I've been able to set up a transparent proxy on my desktop (cntlm) to receive traffic and redirect it to the proxy (to avoid the authentication pop-ups), so the browser is fine. Also, Gmail and GTalk work fine, since they transmit on different ports. But the rest of the apps hit a brick wall. Market, Maps, Mapdroyd, etc all zilch.
Since I've been able to do something similar with my *iPod* (yes, I know that's a curse word here), I wonder if there is a way to somehow redirect all web traffic to my desktop, so that it can authenticate with the proxy.
My phone is rooted, running Cyanogenmod-5, with the proxy settings directed to my desktop. But only the browser recognizes the settings. Can other apps be persuaded to use it as well?
Just to add to the previous post...
I did a little more digging, and it seems that the Android Market connects on port 5228. Unfortunately, I don't have control over which ports can be opened in my situation. However, since my *ahem* iPod *ahem* also has Google Maps, I tied connecting and it works fine. I can only assume that it is using the proxy setting, whereas the MT3G is ignoring it.
This is a linux system, and there has to be a way to force it to use the proxy, am I right?
Should the wireless router not take care of the proxy???
The router should take care of all wan-side communication...
So the lan-side devices just connects to the router and have internet!!!
If your router cannot handle this, you could buy some rather cheap wireless network adapter... and in linux you could set it up as hotspot... making sure that all devices just connects to it and have internet while you take care of the proxy problem!!!!
I'm sorry for the confusion, I should have explained my situation better. I actually live in a complex that provides internet by means of a proxy. I have no control over the proxy, and all I have to connect to it is a LAN connection. I have my cheap wireless router hooked up to it, and my computers are configured to direct traffic to it. (I understand that this is similar to many business-like setups.) What this means is that my MT3G can communicate through to the proxy by means of the transparent proxy, but it seems that not all apps are designed to apply the system-wide proxy setting.
If you are able to help, I would gladly provide more details...
How do you do this? I have just been reading up on this and apparently it is very easy to get hacked or for someone to see what you are doing when you are connected to a hotel connection. I am going on vacation in about a month and plan on using my laptop on the hotel network. From the research I have done it seems like a VPN is my best bet? Anyone know about this stuff? I just don't want my passwords and credit card info getting swiped.
Use OpenVPN and tunnel all of your laptop's traffic to a secure remote location, or better yet, to a computer at your own home that has the OpenVPN server setup properly.
This will make it very difficult for anyone to see what you are doing.
Or, tether your phone's internet if that is a possibility for you and then use OpenVPN on your phone's tether if you're still worried.
DIY
If you're running Windows you can make your Windows computer a VPN server really easily. Here's how.
Windows XP
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn_server.htm
Windows 7
http://www.windows7library.com/blog/networking/a-quick-vpn-server-using-windows-7/
Then you need to go into your router and forward port 1723 for VPN traffic to the computer you just set up this VPN server on. Do a search on the brand name of your router plus 'incoming vpn port forward'
Once that's set you'll need a Dynamic DNS service so that you can access it over the Internet by name, even if your IP address at home changes. You can set this up for free here.
http://dyn.com/dns/dyndns-free/
Of course if you're on a Mac I can't help you there lol, I'm not a Mac guy.
Last up, if you're at a hotel, VPN connections don't always work coming out of a hotel due to cheap/crappy setups. To PoisonWolf's point, having tethering on your phone is always a great backup in case the hotel's Internet access isn't good.
B
From my desktop i am using BeeVPN and would love to have my phone connection using the VPN protocol protecting my traffic on my phone as well.
So now i am hoping someone here are using either beevpn or a similar service and have setup a secure vpn on their note and would share their experience in doing so?
I've setup a VPN to my home using Windows 7's built in VPN server. I used Dyndns to sort out the physical IP address to my home (since I don't have a static IP) and then set up the port forwarding on my router to forward VPN connections to the PC I have running the VPN service.
Works like a charm (PPTP protocol being used.)
I have openvpn on my XP home machine and also on my (rooted) note. It is a bit fiddly to get the note's internet traffic routing via the home XP box - that does not happen by default on an openvpn connection, you have to set it up in the openvpn server config file. Should then be OK but unfortunately, pushing the default gateway doesn't seem to work on Android in practice. The openvpn client on the note has a workaround for this - a menu option to "fix DNS problems" which does the job after the VPN is established.
I use this method for any stuff I do on public wifi other than basic web surfing where I have no security concerns. So, banking, utilities etc. all goes over VPN. I also use it when I need to present my home IP address rather than thet of the connection I'm currently on: eg. for watching UK TV streams whilst outwith UK, and for remote access to 3rd party systems that sit behind firewalls which allow my static home IP through but nothing else).
Connecting to the VPN from public wifi/3G is very easy (once I've woken the XP box with Wake on LAN). The only real downside is that your download speed over the VPN in this configuration is limited to the UPLOAD speed of your home broadband. I get 800Kbps which is sufficient for decent video streaming (skygo/TVcatchup).
The other major benefit of VPN is that you can remotely access your home PC's and services on them via internal ip addreses without having to open up ports on your router on the WAN interface.
I've had a Vpn set up on my note for about 4 months now with no problems.
I use vpnaccounts.com as the server very easy and simple to setup.
I just wish the Vpn would work using my data connection and not just Wifi but we can't have everything!
georgios73 said:
I've had a Vpn set up on my note for about 4 months now with no problems.
I use vpnaccounts.com as the server very easy and simple to setup.
I just wish the Vpn would work using my data connection and not just Wifi but we can't have everything!
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I'm located in Brazil and also use vpnaccounts.com on my laptop, pc, Galaxy Note and Nexus S. The server I connect to is in Dallas Tx.
I also use the 1 VPN app which gives you 1 click logon.
Everything works great!
Yes but don't you have to enter your VPN password every time you want to turn on the VPN?
I can't find a way to keep the password remembered by the device.