VPN client

Introduction

See VPN introduction

Client

Client files

The client requires:

• Authority of certification ca.cert
• Client private key client.key
• Client certificate client.crt

Then, you can setup client configuration.

Client configuration

Copy / paste the following configuration - just adjust your path according to your OS and file system:

#################################################
# OpenVPN 2.0 client config                     #
# --------------------------------------------- #
# version 1.0 - April 2011 - Guillaume Diaz
# version 1.2 - June 2013 - Guillaume Diaz
#                           conf update + chroot
#################################################


# OpenVPN configuration
##########################
# Client mode
client
# VPN mode
dev tun
# Protocol
proto udp
# Remote server
remote dev.daxiongmao.eu 8080
# Do not bind to a specific local port number
nobind
# Keep trying indefinitely to resolve the hostname of the OpenVPN server.
resolv-retry infinite
# Compression of data exchange
comp-lzo



# SECURITY
########################
# SSL/TLS root certificate (ca)
# The server and all clients will use the same ca file.
ca "C:\\Apps\\OpenVPN\\config\\ca.crt"
# Client certificate and private key
cert "C:\\Apps\\OpenVPN\\config\\xinxiongmao.crt"
key "C:\\Apps\\OpenVPN\\config\\xinxiongmao.key"


# Downgrade privileges after initialization (non-Windows only)
user nobody
group nogroup
# Try to preserve some state across restarts.
persist-key
persist-tun

# Encryption of data exchange
cipher AES-128-CBC
# Integrity check
auth MD5
# Control server certificate
ns-cert-type server 


##-- Logs --##
# Set log file verbosity.
verb 4
# Wireless networks often produce a lot of duplicate packets.  
# Set this flag to silence duplicate packet warnings.
mute-replay-warnings
# Silence repeating messages
mute 10

Notes:

You have to edit the configuration file.

• Adjust paths on lines 30-38
• On Windows you must you the double slash \\
• On Linux don’t forget to uncomment the following lines for better security:

# Downgrade privileges after initialization (non-Windows only)
user nobody
group nogroup

• Linux: depending on your distribution you might need to adjust user / group default name.

Software

Linux

Installation

apt-get install openssl openssh-server openvpn

Security

See Firewall VPN

Windows

On windows, many clients are available. The best one, for me, is: « OpenVPN.net Community » https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html

• Take the Installer (64-bit), Windows XP and later

Then, you have to copy your .OVPN configuration & certificates inside the ~/openvpn/config/ folder.

To use the VPN:

• Run the OpenVPN client as administrator ==> right click on the icon ==> run as administrator
• Right click on the icon close to the system clock ==> connect

!! Hint !! You can create a 1 click shortcut.

• Edit the default shortcut
• Set target = C:\apps\OpenVPN\bin\openvpn-gui.exe --connect devDaxiongmao.ovpn
• In Compatibility tab set the run as administrator option.

In target the --connect option allows you to start a specific profile automatically. :-)

MacOSX

The best VPN client is “tunnelblick” http://code.google.com/p/tunnelblick

• Configuration files are in ~/librairies/openvpn
• That’s the libraries [“bibliothèque”] folder of the current user