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.
1
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.

Re: VPN on router
 

I forgot about my Zoom router which must be in a drawer somewhere - I only ever used it for 3g. You may have an interesting conflict with two Wifi zones in the same room - make sure you set a different channel on each router.
BTW I have actually connected my smart box to the Priinet router using an Ethernet cable rather than wifi.

Re: VPN on router
 

Dns services intended to allow you to steal streaming services are being blocked wholesale by most services. VPN services are much harder to block but that hasnt stopped the bbc trying for iplayer in the uk, but the better vpn services have already bypassed their blocks.

You can install a vpn directly on some routers, higher end asus and nighthawk routers are pretty east, its also possible to replace the routers os with open systems that support openvpn directly, eg asus have asuswrt.

BUT

Though it sounds nice and simple, there is a performance penalty of even the best vpn's, and its nothing to do with them normally. Your isp cannot know whats gping on in your encrypted tunnel so they usually prioritise it as low priority browsing, so expect to only get 10-30% of your normal capacity.

HOWEVER IMHO

you do need the vpn for some stuff like viewing streaming bbc, which at hd is perfectly possible in 1.2 mb, but you dont want everything else to have to go and compete via vpn, so only use vpn on a device by device basis and only when needed, eg in the uk, you need a vpn to access piratebays website properly but once you have got your bittorrent file downloaded, p2p doesnt need it, though if you are security conscious you can use it.

You can of course setup a router as your vpn router and plug it into your other router and generate a vpn wifi and an open wifi.

Re: VPN on router
 

I have to disagree. Most sites are available with Smart DNS while many are now blocking some VPNs, BBC iPlayer being a recent example.

It may be different where you are located, but in Spain DNS seems to work fine.

Re: VPN on router
 

Whats happening is lawyer creep, the owners of copyright are the mainly american/uk based companies. When they negotiate new annual-ish agreements with end user suppliers like sky hulu amazon etc they are increasingly requiring prrof of operational technical blocking to limit users to the country being paid for. The platforms that do this are managed by people like cisco interestingly, they are increasingly sophisticated. You will get blocked at some point. It is a game between them and the richer vpn providers and there is no sign that a war will be won, just that battles are won or lost then guerilka warfare restores an equilibrium soon thereafter for the better suppliers users. Now ask who are the better suppliers - and i guarantee nobodys goung to tell, to avoid putting your head over the parapet. We have p2p vpn to look foreward to shortly, that will be a game changer.

Re: VPN on router
 

Well I was referring to the NowTV box and the NowTV Windows App, neither works properly with SmartDNS any more and if you go on the Sky forum they are quite open that they are now blocking access for SmartDNS. I'm not sure if they can detect that the geolocation data has been stripped away or if they have some other way of knowing.

Re: VPN on router
 

When you ask a dns service to do its thing, you say 'my address is blah and i need the ip address for www.sky.whtever, the hiding services change/hide your sending address, but when your request gets to sky at 1.2.3.4 it has the sending address which has to be a real ip address but is the sending dns services spoofed - at which point sky choose to ignore it. Simple.

A vpn is a permanent redirection via a local ip address, much heavier data handling required but sky cannot argue that its in the required country but if they know its an address from a dns or vpn provider they might block it, ut if the vpn provider is swapping its sending addresses around valid domains, sky cannot legitimately block it.

Re: VPN on router
 

My understanding is that SmartDNS services do NOT hide or change your IP address, they simply strip out the geolocation data by routing that (limited data) through a proxy server.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_DNS_proxy_server

Re: VPN on router
 

What geolocation data do you refer to? There is nothing like that required in the header frame, how before devices had gos did the world know where your pc was ? Your ip reveals your location, they have to change the return address to their own then pass the response back onto you. Once your device knows the ip address you talk to the service direct, but if the service you actually want is fronted/guarded by something that can decypher your real return address....

Re: VPN on router
 

I have a NOWTVbox but I don't have a Sky package on it so cannot comment on whether it works with a Smart DNS. However I also have SkyGo which gives me access to all Sky channels and that works fine with SmartyDNS.

Re: VPN on router
 

Thanks for this.... Wow its complicated for a non- technical person like me. I think I should wait a while to see how the vpn technology changes to combat the 'lawyer creep'.

Great to know there are experts out there willing to help untangle all this 'stuff'

Jon

Re: VPN on router
 

Remember its an ongoing-forever war, battles are never won long term by the suppliers, i wouldnt bother to wait, but buy into a good vpn service that covers all the device types you use, and has decent support - which means you have to go with a decent service.

Re: VPN on router
 

I can't check whether it works for me on SkyGo as I gave up on my satellite subscription when I switched to NowTV as even with a 1.2m dish my satellite picture was quite poor.

Re: VPN on router
 

It just seems odd that Sky would block NowTV but not SkyGo.

Re: VPN on router
 

Give them time...

Re: VPN on router
 

Apart from the rights management issue, there is no financial reason why Sky should block either of them as they are getting paid for both options.

They are far more concerned with the loss of revenue in the UK and elsewhere from card sharing systems. They have now stopped the HD options but you can get the whole Sky package in SD for as little as £12 a year. This is a far bigger financial exposure and has nothing to do with geo blocking.

Re: VPN on router
 

And they are trying to stop this.
On the 31st Dec all Thomson Sky HD digiboxes will no longer decode Sky pay channels. These boxes are mainly used by cardshare networks. And the reason why Sky have sent letters to clients still using these boxes offering them newer HD boxes. And it is thought that next year all premium (sports and movie) customers still using SD boxes will also ceased to decode, and offered a new HD box.
Probably why Sky UK CS can be found for so little these days, its day are numbered....

Re: VPN on router
 

Possibly they have blocked my SmartDNSProxy servers (somewhat stupidly you don't need to be a customer to see a list of their DNS servers). SmartyDNS may not be blocked (yet).

Re: VPN on router
 

See post #2

Re: VPN on router
 

The truth is - it depends on the router, some can, some cant, but dont do it, you will hamstring all your internet performance, you DO require vpn for some purposes, dns solutions are not secure, but only use it when actually required as it mens your isp really cannot prioritise your traffic properly so they invariably put it all in the slow lane.

Re: VPN on router
 

I am helping a friend out today with their TV. They have a samsung smart tv and priinet. I have vpn on my router but i dont think i can do it on priinet reading this thread so smarty dns looks the best option? Can yo get BBCiplayer etc still using smartydns based in tv?

Re: VPN on router
 

I have a Samsung Smart TV using SmartyDNS in the router and it works fine. You do have to go through a procedure to enable UK catchup apps in the TV, but I assume you have already done this.

You can also change the DNS settings in the TV if you don't want to change the router settings.

Re: VPN on router
 

Hi

Thanks I have changed the dns in my router but this is for a friend who is SO untechie she has a smart tv which she is using as a big monitor! She is using a cable to attach her lattop to watch tv as the apps all in spanish. So i am going to change the apps to uk and change the dns on the tv as she uses something called priinet as her internet. There is a router but i think its locked and they dont like you fiddling.

Re: VPN on router
 

which dns are you using i am using smartydns.com and was going to do the same for her but i wanted to make sure it works for a while as i know if she would have to change the dns in tv she would probably get stuck.

Re: VPN on router
 

As I said in my post, I use SmartyDNS.

Re: VPN on router
 

Basic problem with any spoofed dns is that it does nothing to hide you from the provider of the stream, they know your real ip address.

Works like this.

Dear dns service, i'm mildred, tell me where is?
Dear dodgy.tv, i'm brian, and am local to you, whats your ip address?
Dear brian, its 1.2.3.4
Dear mildred, brian here, you need to know its 1.2.3.4

So mildred goes to 1.2.3.4 but as part of the transaction and stream initiation she has to supply her ip address to send the stream to and didgy.tv gives her a key/token to be kniwn as [this is why a dns service is cheap, they dont have to handle much data]

1.2.3.4 may just accept that she's brian but if they want its easy to spot where she is, and this service is whats becoming more common. In an even nastier twist, the services remember you, they just block your address from any service they choose. In britain the courts are ordering isp's to block piratebay addresses, one used to get a dns error, the actual transactions are now blocked by virgin sky and bt, much more efficient for them, easy to avoid [with a vpn.]. Yes one might use a proxy but they are so full of advertising, virii and other spyware i would prefer not to.

Are you also aware that even if they dont block you, some log your presence, in the hope that one day their lawyer will win a [no win no fee] test case in your country. If they do, its payday for the lawyers and tv co, they can bill or sue all the people they kniw about.