How to set up a VPN in Windows
Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) in Windows will use a secure “tunnel” connection between your PC and the VPN provider. This secures and encrypts the data which means no one or ISP can see what is happening on your internet connection such as websites visited. VPN’s are commonly used to surf websites in private at home or connect to a secure corporate network remotely.
When you sign up to a VPN provider they will usually give you instructions to download their software to connect to the VPN.
Alternatively if you want to setup a VPN in Windows yourself here are the instructions:
These instructions describe how you would setup a manual connection with ExpressVPN
- Click on the start button and type “vpn”
- Click on VPN settings
- Click add a VPN connection
- Fill in the following details
VPN provider: Windows (built-in)
Connection name: Express VPN
VPN type: L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key
Pre-shared key: 1234578
Type of sign-in info: Your user name and password
User name: This is your user name shown in the manual configuration PPTP and L2TP/IPsec section
Password: Password shown in the manual configuration PPTP and L2TP/IPsec section
Tick Remember my sign-in info
Click save.
To Connect:
Click on the Wi-Fi symbol on the bottom right hand corner.
Click on the VPN connection and connect.
There you go, you have just setup a L2TP/IPsec VPN connection.
Extra Info:
IPsec provides a secure channel and then L2TP provides the tunnel.
You will want to avoid Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) as it is an obsolete method and has a lot of security issues.
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