A Simple Guide on how To Setup VPNs

Overview A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides you with multiple servers, let’s you change our virtual location, and protects you fr...

Overview

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides you with multiple servers, let’s you change our virtual location, and protects you from data theft.

There are many VPN providers operating in this vast industry, all providing different features at various price offerings. These VPN services have compatibility on different platforms and operating systems. This means you should know how to setup VPN on your device.

While there are many detailed setup guides and descriptions of VPN (some providers have tutorials for setting up VPN), we will try to keep our guide simple and one where you do not have be a super techie.

VPN Setup for Windows

Many VPN providers have their own software / client / app that can be downloaded and installed on your system. However, you can easily setup VPN manually on your Windows by following these steps:

1. Go to ‘Start’ and open ‘Control Panel’.
2. Under the Network and Internet, click on ‘View network status and tasks’.
3. Click on ‘Set up a new connection or network’ and a setup wizard will open.
4. When choosing a connection option, select ‘Connect to a workplace’ and click ‘Next’.
5. Select ‘Use my Internet connection (VPN)’ when asked ‘How do you want to connect?’
6. Enter the desired server address in ‘Internet Address’ and enter your providers name in ‘Destination Name’.
7. Check ‘Allow other people to use this connection’ and ‘Don’t connect now; just set it up so I can connect later’ boxes and click ‘Next’.
8. In the next screen, enter the ‘User name’ and ‘Password’ provided by your VPN provider and check the box ‘Remember this password’. Leave the ‘Domain (optional)’ field empty and click ‘Create’.
9. In the next screen your connection will be ready, do not click ‘Connect now’ and hit ‘Close’.
10. Click on the Computer icon on the right bottom corner of your screen, you will see your new VPN connection, click ‘Connect’ under this new connection.
11. A Connect VPN Connection box will open; go to ‘Properties’.
12. You can enter the ‘Host name or IP address of destination’ under the ‘General’ tab to which you want to connect.
13. You can also select your choice of protocol by going to the ‘Security’ tab and from the dropdown menu under ‘Type of VPN’ you can select the appropriate protocol. If you select L2TP protocol, click on advance settings and enter the ‘preshared key for authentication’ (12345678).
14. Then go to ‘Networking’ tab and uncheck ‘Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)’ and ‘’File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks’. Leave the other options and click ‘Ok’.
15. Now hit ‘Connect’ and your VPN connection will be established. That’s it, you’re done!

Look in to the Best VPN Providers for Windows 2015

VPN Setup for Mac

Similarly, many VPN providers have their own clients, software or app for Mac that can be downloaded and installed onto your systems. However, following our step by step guide, you can configure VPN manually:

1. Go to ‘System Preferences’ and click ‘Network’.
2. Click on the ‘+’ symbol located at the bottom left of the Network screen.
3. A small screen will open which will promote you to select the interface and enter a name for the new service.
4. From the dropdown menu of ‘Interface’ select ‘VPN’.
5. Next you need to select the VPN Type. Choose the protocol you want.
6. Enter the ‘Service Name’ you want to keep and click ‘Create’.
7. Now enter the ‘Server Address’ to which you want to connect (see your provider server list) and enter the username you received from your provider in ‘Account Name’ field.
8. After entering information in these fields, click on ‘Authentication Settings’.
9. Enter the password that you received from your provider under User Authentication section.
10. Enter the ‘Shared Secret’ key under the Machine Authentication section (usually 12345678, but check with your VPN provider for the key) and click ‘Ok’.
11. Now click ‘Advance’ in the Network screen and under ‘Options’ tab, check the box for ‘Send all traffic over VPN connection’. Then click ‘Ok’.
12. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘Connect’. That’s it, you’re done!

Read our Detailed Setup guide for Mac

VPN Setup on Router

There are many routers that you can select and setup VPN on. However, you do need to check which routers are supported by your VPN provider as not all of them can be configured.

Here are some basic steps that you can follow to setup VPN on your router (do remember that some of these steps may vary based on the router you are using).

1. Connect your cable modem with your router using an Ethernet cable.
2. Go to your routers control panel from your system.
3. In your router’s control panel, go to ‘Network’/ ‘Basic Setup’ / ‘Basic’ tab to configure the internet or WAN settings.
4. Now enter the login credentials and other information provided by your VPN provider (username, password, subnet mask, gateway, and information).
5. Next, you will be promoted to select the protocol settings. Choose the suitable protocol and change your ‘Connection Type’ depending on your VPN provider’s settings.
6. Now choose the suitable DCHP settings based on your VPN provider.
7. ‘Save’ and ‘Apply Settings’. That’s it, you’re done!

How to Share your VPN Connection?

You can share your VPN connection from your system to other devices as well. Many secondary devices, like gaming consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, etc.) do not have the feature for setting up VPN directly onto the device.

One of the methods is to share your VPN connection from your system to this secondary device. Using the following steps, you can easily share your VPN connection.

Sharing VPN Connection on Windows

1. Go to Control Panel and click ‘View network status and tasks’ under Network and Internet.
2. From the left side bar, click on ‘Change Adapter Settings’.
3. Right click the VPN connection of yours and then click on ‘Properties’.
4. Go to ‘Sharing’ tab. Check the ‘Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection’.
5. Click on the dropdown menu under ‘Home networking connection’ and select the connection through which you have connected your secondary device (Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection).
6. Click ‘Ok’ and your VPN connection is successfully shared.

Sharing VPN Connection on Mac

1. Go to ‘System Preferences’ from your home screen and then click on ‘Sharing’.
2. Select the ‘Internet Sharing’ from the left side bar.
3. Select your connection from ‘Share your connection from’ dropdown menu.
4. Then next to ‘To computers using’, select ‘AirPort’ or ‘Ethernet’ or ‘FireWire’ (the choice depends on the method you have your internet connected to other devices).
5. That’s it you’re done, your internet connection is now shared. You can see ‘Internet Sharing’ status as ‘On’ and the icon will turn green.

Conclusion

To sum everything up, VPN has many benefits as it will protect your data from different cyber-goons, surveillance agencies, and other malicious entities. It will also keep your identity anonymous to others and keep you invisible to the outside world.

Our guide for setting up VPN on different platforms will help you easily configure the software and keep you protected and safe over the internet.

Leave us your comment or any question that you might have regarding VPN setup guide, we will be happy to help.