How to set up a VPN on Windows 7
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If you are a regular internet user, and you connect to the internet through public Wi-Fi, poorly configured wireless networks or an unsecured cable network, then you should probably consider using a VPN. Connecting to a VPN is a great way to share sensitive files online, unblock websites and secure privacy in a heavily censored web.
What is a Virtual Private Network (also known as a VPN)?
A VPN creates a secure private tunnel through a public network like the Internet (there is no other better example of a public network than the Internet). It’s more like using an Ethernet cable to connect to a private network. Once the VPN connection is established, you can share files with other computers on the same network as the windows server.
The powerful virtual tunnel encryption technology used by VPNs makes it an important accessory in the corporate world. Organizations use VPNs to enable employees to securely access company servers outside of their workstations. VPNs also enable employees to securely share sensitive company files over the Internet, and make it possible to connect different company branches in different locations. People use it to get around geographical restrictions and censorship issues.
When it comes to choosing VPNs, you can either sign up for a premium VPN service that provides a secure VPN server to route your internet traffic or go for a third-party VPN software like Comodo to help you set up a simple VPN connection between your devices. Even better, you can set up your own VPN connection using your Windows 7 PC.
Why do I need a VPN on Windows 7?
- To hide your IP address for anonymity on the web – A VPN hides your device’s IP address and routes your internet traffic through a VPN server in a different location. To web police (government spy agencies like NSA etc.) and bad actors (hackers), your device assumes a new default IP address based on your VPN server location.
- To bypass internet restrictions – A virtual private network comes in handy Countries with heavy censorship such as China, Iran and Syria where keyword filtering is used to manipulate the openness of the Internet. A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and makes you appear in another country instead of your own, allowing you to bypass censorship in your country.
- To secure your privacy online on public Wi-Fi – A VPN provides your internet traffic with strong end-to-end encryption, thus eliminating man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and thus protecting your private information from hackers and scammers.
- To unblock restricted websites – The VPN does this by encrypting your internet traffic so that your school/work proxy server cannot know when you access a blocked website.
- To bypass geo-restriction and location errors – A VPN enables you to unlock geo-restricted content such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Go (to name a few) that is only available in certain geo-blocks. Just as food for thought, learn how to bypass geo-restriction and location errors with a VPN and other methods.
Setting up a VPN connection in windows 7
All in all, Windows 7 comes with an agile VPN client pre-installed and all you need is to configure the VPN client to connect to the VPN. Notably, a VPN consists of two parts. The first is the server part that receives the connection and the client part, which remotely accesses the private network. In other words, the Windows VPN server is waiting for an external connection from the VPN client. It allows the VPN client to connect to the remote network over the Internet.
Setting up a VPN connection on Windows 7 involves configuring the incoming VPN connection and the outgoing VNP connection. An outgoing VPN connection indicates that you are using a windows 7 Pc to remotely connect to another machine (Windows VPN Server) over the Internet. On the other hand, incoming VPN connection indicates that other devices are remotely connecting to your windows 7 machine over the internet.
How to set an outgoing VPN connection in Windows 7
- go to start menu > control Board, click Network and the Internet, under Network and Sharing Center Click Section View grid and tasks, the dialog box will appear.
- In the Networking and Sharing Center pop-up, click Create a new network or connection.
- On this screen, choose Connect with the workplace And Click {Next. The Connect to Work dialog box will appear.
- Here choose Use my internet connection Then enter your VPN server internet address And destination name. Note that this could be the IP address of the VPN server for a fully qualified domain name (FQDM).
You can get these details from the network administrator if you have a commercial VPN or open a command prompt and run the following command “ipconfig” to get the Internet address of the VPN server if your VPN is running.
- Once you have entered the VPN’s internet address and destination name (optional), remove the “Don’t call now; Just set it up so I can connect later.” check box then Click {Next.
- In the dialog that appears, Enter your username and password. You will need your password and username to verify your connection later. Click Creates And close VPN connection wizard in the next popup.
- At this point, go back to Network and Sharing Center and click Transformer change setting. A network connection dialog will appear.
- Here, the newly created VPN connection will be listed. Right click On the VPN connection icon and Select Properties. The VPN connection properties window will appear.
- under General tabCheck the IP address of your VPN. under Options tab, uncheck menclude windows domain logon check box.
- Under the title “protection” tab, choose “Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol with IPsec (L2TP / IPsec), check “Unencrypted Password (PAP)”, and remove All other options. Finally, tap Advanced Settings
- In the Advanced Properties dialog, select Use the pre-shared key for authentication‘, enter the same key you used for the client VPN settings and Click OK.
- Now go back to the network connection window, Right click on the newly created VPN connection icon and Select contact. You will be asked Enter your username and password before calling.
How to set up an incoming VPN connection
- go to Start Menu > Control Panel, Click Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center Then click Change adapter settings.
- In the Network Connection window that appears, click in the file At the top left connect and select New incoming connection in the drop down box.
- Here, select Users to access your connection. You can also add someone who is not in the list provided, afterwards Click {Next.
- On this next screen, Check the Online check box and Click {Next. The Allow connection to this computer check box will appear.
- Select your preferred Internet Protocol. Specific Internet Protocol (TCP/IPv4-) will usually work for you.
- finally Click allow pass And your VPN connection setup must be turned on.
What are the best VPN services for Windows 7?
- HideMyAss VPN It is a great VPN service for windows 7. It is fast, reliable and provides strong encryption that ensures complete security on the web. HideMyAss (also known as HMA) lets you choose from hundreds of their VPN servers around the world. It has around-the-clock customer support and an easy-to-use VPN client that will definitely work with your Windows 7 PC. Go to Hidemyass.com, download and install the VPN client software.
- ExpressVPN It is another great VPN service that you can choose for windows 7. It has around-the-clock customer support, excellent download speeds and an easy to use VPN client software for windows 7. Express VPN has hundreds of VPN servers to choose from and supported by your smartphone at no extra charge. Like HideMyAss, once you sign up for their service – simply download and install the free ExpressVPN app and you’ll have a VPN running on your Windows 7 in no time.
- PureVPN is Another great VPN worth trying. PureVPN doesn’t keep logs (ExpressVPN, HideMyAss also doesn’t keep some logs which include the start and end time of your VPN section but no personal logs like what you do online, what sites you visit etc.) of IP addresses to choose from. PureVPN comes with 128-bit encryption and around-the-clock online customer support. It has the most user-friendly VPN client software with great features and powerful customization.
- IPvanish VPN It is one of the fastest VPN services we have tested so far. It supports Layer 2 tunneling (L2TP) vpn security protocols among others, and has servers in more than 60 countries to route your internet traffic.IPvanish VPN has a mobile app for both android and Mac OS.You may want to read our full IPVanish review, to know Whether it really suits you or not.
- CactusVPN is another great VPN service that we can recommend you to use with windows 7. With around-the-clock customer support and strong 256-bit encryption, CactusVPN guarantees you real value for your money. The provider has excellent download speeds, is quite reliable and you can get started with it for just $3.25 per month.
To sum it up, we tried to give you a step-by-step guide on what (and why) you need a VPN for windows 7, how to setup a simple VPN in windows 7. We have also reviewed the best premium VPN service for devices that works on windows 7. At this point, Your VPN should be up and running if you followed all the steps correctly. Please write to us in the comments section for more personalized information in case you have any difficulty setting it up.
Top/Featured Image: By VertayArtz/Deviantart
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