VPN on router
 

Hi, can anybody tell me how to put VPN on a router and if its difficult to do?
Thank you in advance.

Re: VPN on router
 

It is fairly complicated and most routers do not support a VPN. More info here

Connect Your Home Router to a VPN to Bypass Censorship, Filtering, and More

If you are trying to access geo-blocked sites such as BBC iPlayer etc, using a Smart DNS service is far easier and usually cheaper.

Re: VPN on router
 

Thank you Fred, im totally at a loss, how do i arrange a Smart DNS service?

Re: VPN on router
 

I have used SmartyDNS for some time and have been very pleased with it. Go to smartydns.com and you will see the various payment options. They do a 14 day free trial and I suggest you opt for that. Setting it up in your router is fairly easy and they give instructions on their site.

If you put it in your router, all devices that use the router can take advantage of it. If, for some reason, you wanted to just use it with one device, most devices allow you to change their individual DNS settings which will override the router settings. Again, full instructions on how to do this are on their website.

If you have any problems their customer support is very good.

Re: VPN on router
 

I use witopia which does a similar job. Not expensive and well worth it. They are also very helpful and quick to respond (with an online chat) if you need techie help setting it up.

www.witopia.com

Re: VPN on router
 

Connect your PC to the router - either directly or via wifi. Most routers use one of 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 as the admin interface. Put this in the address bar of your internet browser and this should open the interface to your router. They usually have the default username and password ( often 'admin' and 'admin') on a product label somewhere - unless someone as changed the password in which case you may have a problem.
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This will give you access to the router settings amongst which will be the DNS settings. Input the DNS settings provided by your DNS provider and save. (remember to make a note of any original settings in case they are not factory settings). Then off you go - happy browsing!

Re: VPN on router
 

Hi Ive been trying to figure out all this stuff and need to be able to connect via servers or whatever in UK, France, US and Belgium. Belgium is a tricky one as there seems to be a lack of servers there. So if one is loaded there may not be an easy option to change. Strange as we have all the EU people there.

I also subscribed to a big name VPN service and had so much trouble I had to delete it, and even that left some software on my PC. I have to say it put me off, I spent hours with their customer service. Extremely frustrating!

A quick question, does a VPN / DNS take much of the bandwidth? In Spain we have an internet connection that is variable, and I need to stream TV without the service taking up the space. Also is switching VPN country/server easy to do, please on the router?

Mike we have the same router was it easy to add VPN to it? I dont want to add it to the router that came with our Spanish internet service, (for the hassle) but I can connect the extra router to it with an Ethernet cable and then wifi / mifi to that. (If thats possible)... Its a spare router now so if there is a problem I am not messing with the base setup.

BTW should my spare router be 'before' the Spanish router, with the Spanish router connected to that via Ethernet. Im thinking security, and having the spare router as the 'gatekeeper' to the outside world, please?

If any of these are silly questions - ooops, I'm not very techie....

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Re: VPN on router
 

Not.
Bandwidth useage depends what you are trying tio use the internet for.
EG video will take up mode bandwidth than audio, down to the amount of data required for video vs audio

On a router you simply type in another server url / gateway.
Bit faffy having to change the settings in the router.
But if you are using it on a PC then install the vpn software onm the PC and then you can change country at the flick of a switch. (Obviously not good on a PC if yo uwant to use the vpn on other devices)

Normally the "vpn" router is connected to the "Spanish" router. That way you have two options for connections (spanish and VPN).

Re: VPN on router
 

Thanks TG

I realise video takes more bandwidth than audio, as I mentioned I want to stream TV. My question actually was how much do you lose approx if you have the additional 'layer' or overhead of the vpn process. I realise it 'depends' but if Im streaming TV at a busy time on an internet connection that is fast enough, but only just, at times, will I lose tv, buffering etc, due to vpn, please? What is a typical worst-case reduction of service roughly?

Changing country/server on the router seems faffy but not difficult , it seems - thanks.

Re vpn on devices (not router), if I have vpn on say, a pc and tablet, can my pc be pointing to eg a uk server and the tablet to a eg Belgian server, please? In this case we are using 2 streams AND 2 vpn-overheads, and so I suspect the loading would be high. In this example I am doing eg i-player on pc and the ipad doing the Belgian equivalent, to avoid the geo-locking.

Re 2 routers, in either example the 2 routers are connected to each other, but is the ORDER important at all please, this was my query.... Is there an optimal order to maximise privacy, please?

Thanks again, questions-questions.... and clarifications please.

Jon

Re: VPN on router
 

Hi Jon


I only have used a smart DNS so, sorry, can't advise on VPN in the router. Looking at a previous post it does look quite tricky. The geoblocking software that the TV providers are starting to use can identify VPN traffic quite quickly and will block it so you need to keep switching VPN. There are, I believe, some smart VPNs which constantly switch IPAs to fool the geoblocking, but I have only heard of them by rumour.


The issue with the router that Priinet supply is that it has a locked down password and so you can't easily get at the settings and if you could you have to be very careful with the settings not invalidate your contract and loose the service altogether. I have a separate router (which coincidently happened to be the same as Priinet's) which I swap with it when required. However I have to confess that Filmon/Camposat etc currently meet my TV requirements.


I also have a Now box and a Fire Stick for the occasional movie or catch up - or else we bring a few DVDs with us.

Re: VPN on router
 

From my experience, a SmartDNS has a negligible effect on connection speed, but a VPN does. I used Astrill and lost about 20% of the normal speed.

Re: VPN on router
 

Thanks Mike and Fred

Ill check smart DNS especially as it may still get around the geo-lockers... and have less overhead. Last time I looked I couldn't get into Belgium with one of the biggest. I think it was actually called Smart DNS (but forgot).

There are several spare Ethernet ports on the priinet server, so I suppose I can just daisy chain my zoom router off that and load anything like vpn/DNS on that, and not touch the priinet router. Ive also tried replacing my priinet router and my little zoom router does it fine. But the whole reason for using my secondary zoom router is not to mess with their proprietary set up (and rules etc).

BTW a couple of years back, Mike, you helped me with all this router stuff, and I think I bought the same as you, the zoom router to use with a mobile internet dongle originally. See how I follow your lead with routers, and RFID wallets... and dongles! :)

Am I guessing that the ORDER of which goes first and second in the daisy chain is not important?

Thanks again for the help
Jon

Re: VPN on router
 

I'm a big fan of SmartDNS but recently SKY seem to have found a way to detect its use and as a result they provide an image which is unwatchable. Has anyone else come across this?

Re: VPN on router
 

Do you mean SkyGo, or the Sky Catchup system?

Re: VPN on router
 

Yes, you can run two VPNs on two devices each pointing to a different country.



Three ways :

router 1 (with VPN) is connected to the modem, and if router 2 (non VPN) is connect to modem

router 1 (with VPN) is connected to the router 2 (non VPN) which is connect to modem (ie you will have 1 router with a VPN and 1 router without a vpn)

router 1 (with VPN) is connected to the modem, and router 2 (non VPN) is connect to router 1 (which is pointless having router 2 as everything on router 2 will be going thru the VPN on router 1)

"maximise privacy" - only way is to get an IPS and VPN that does not log activity and IPs

To maximize privacy best way is dont use the internet.