HideMyAss VPN

Monday, May 13, 2013

How to do Internet Connection Sharing - ICS - on Windows


This tutorial explains how you can get your gaming console, television or similar network-capable device to use the VPN via Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).

It has been made for Windows Vista/7;

As mentioned, you can use this tutorial for any network capable devices - computer, laptop, gaming console, NAS drive, TV, etc.  

Connection: ADSL router> via WiFi > Laptop > via Ethernet > PS3 Console

First you need to verify your computers IP address. You will need to find what IP addresses
the DHCP router is broadcasting. The common addresses are 192.168.1.X or 192.168.0.X
To check please do the following:
  1. Open network and sharing Center
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings”

)

3. Right click on your wireless connection and select “Status".
4. Click on “Details”




Note down the  TCP/IPv4 address (example. 192.168.1.4)



Now you will need to setup the shared connection between your computer and the network device.
Since you know your DHCP IP pool (192.168.1.X or 192.168.0.X) you can pick a random IP.
If you have two or more computers/devices IP’s from 192.168.X.100 to 192.168.X.200 should be available.
In this tutorial we will use 192.168.x.115
To configure your ICS, first thing to do is to set your computer to have a static IP address:
  1. Open “Network and sharing Center”
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings” 



3. Right click on “Local Area Network” and click “Properties”
4. Highlight “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click “Properties”



5. Under the “IP address” enter the IP address you picked (In our case 192.168.x.115)


6. Under “Subnet mask” enter "255.255.255.0"
7. Press “OK” and save your settings.
Next thing you should do is to create L2TP connection. For a detailed step-by-step tutorial with screenshots,
see: http://wiki.hidemyass.com/Tutorials:Windows_L2TP_connection_setup
Once you have created the L2TP connection please do the following:
  1. Open “Network and sharing Center”
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings” 



3. Right click on “Your L2TP Connection” and click “Properties”
4. Select “Sharing” tab.
5. Check the “Allow other network users to connect through the computer’s internet conection box”
6. Check the “Allow other users to control or disable the shared internet connection” box.
7. Click on “OK”



Now connect to VPN and test your connection. (e.g. verify IP at http://ipadress.com)
Troubleshooting:
  • The windows firewall should be disabled. However, one some windows versions the windows firewall service
    and the internet connection sharing service are the same, so you might be forced to leave it enabled, but
    set rules to accept all traffic. Otherwise it's not going to work!
  • Both devices (computer and network device) should have an IP in the same subnet (e.g. 192.168.0.x)

Facts:
  • It's also possible to do this with a PPTP connection instead of L2TP.
  • OpenVPN is also possible by sharing the TAP adapter, but it's more complicated than L2TP or PPTP.

Short instructions:
  • Set your computers IP to an IP you can remember (e.g. 192.168.0.150)
  • Create a L2TP connection (instructions)
  • Enable ICS in the properties of the L2TP connection
  • Set your network device as followed:
    • IP: Should be in the same subnet as your computer
    • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    • Gateway/router IP: IP of your computer (e.g. 192.168.0.150)
    • DNS: any DNS you like, e.g. 8.8.8.8
  • On your computer, connect to the VPN using the L2TP connection
  • Finished - your device should now use the VPN via ICS


That's all - the rest of the configuration has to be done on your external device that should use the VPN (e.g. Playstation, XBOX, NAS, Computer, etc.)
On that device, you need to use this settings:

  • IP address:  Should be in the same subnet as your computer. E.g. if your computer is 192.168.0.5, you could use 192.168.0.6
  • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
  • Default router/Gateway: Here enter the IP of your computer, you set earlier (e.g. 192.168.0.5)
  • Primary DNS: Same here.
  • Secondary DNS: Same here.
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How to Setup Playstation 3 to use VPN via ICS

Once you have setup Internet Connection Sharing on your PC/Mac according to our instructions linked below, follow the instructions to setup your Playstation to use the VPN connection.

Next step is to set the network connection on your PS3 Console.
On your XMB go to “Settings” and select “Network Settings”.  
 
  1. Choose “Internet connection settings”. 
 
  1. You will be asked to select a method, select “Custom"
 
  1. Select connection method “Wired connection”
 
  1. Select the operation mode for network device – select “Auto-Detect” 
 
  1. IP address settings – select “Manual” 
  Enter the following settings:
IP address:  192.168.x.110 (This IP must not be the same as the IP address for ICS)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default router: 192.168.X.115 (IP address from your “Local Area Network”)
Primary DNS: 192.168.X.115
Secondary DNS: 192.168.X.115
 
  1. MTU select “Automatic”
 
  1. Proxy server select “Do not use”
 
  1. UPnP select “Enable”



Press the X button on your controller to save your settings.
Test the connection.

Your PS3 should be connected to VPN.
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How to make Internet Connection Sharing - ICS - on Windows

This tutorial explains how you can get your gaming console, television or similar network-capable device to use the VPN via Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).It has been made for Windows Vista/7;

As mentioned, you can use this tutorial for any network capable devices - computer, laptop, gaming console, NAS drive, TV, etc.

Connection: ADSL router> via WiFi > Laptop > via Ethernet > PS3 Console

First you need to verify your computers IP address. You will need to find what IP addresses
the DHCP router is broadcasting. The common addresses are 192.168.1.X or 192.168.0.X
To check please do the following:
  1. Open network and sharing Center
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings”

)

3. Right click on your wireless connection and select “Status".
4. Click on “Details”




Note down the  TCP/IPv4 address (example. 192.168.1.4)



Now you will need to setup the shared connection between your computer and the network device.
Since you know your DHCP IP pool (192.168.1.X or 192.168.0.X) you can pick a random IP.
If you have two or more computers/devices IP’s from 192.168.X.100 to 192.168.X.200 should be available.
In this tutorial we will use 192.168.x.115
To configure your ICS, first thing to do is to set your computer to have a static IP address:
  1. Open “Network and sharing Center”
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings” 



3. Right click on “Local Area Network” and click “Properties”
4. Highlight “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click “Properties”



5. Under the “IP address” enter the IP address you picked (In our case 192.168.x.115)


6. Under “Subnet mask” enter "255.255.255.0"
7. Press “OK” and save your settings.
Next thing you should do is to create L2TP connection. For a detailed step-by-step tutorial with screenshots,
see: http://wiki.hidemyass.com/Tutorials:Windows_L2TP_connection_setup
Once you have created the L2TP connection please do the following:
  1. Open “Network and sharing Center”
  2. Click on “Change adapter settings” 



3. Right click on “Your L2TP Connection” and click “Properties”
4. Select “Sharing” tab.
5. Check the “Allow other network users to connect through the computer’s internet conection box”
6. Check the “Allow other users to control or disable the shared internet connection” box.
7. Click on “OK”



Now connect to VPN and test your connection. (e.g. verify IP at http://ipadress.com)
Troubleshooting:
  • The windows firewall should be disabled. However, one some windows versions the windows firewall service
    and the internet connection sharing service are the same, so you might be forced to leave it enabled, but
    set rules to accept all traffic. Otherwise it's not going to work!
  • Both devices (computer and network device) should have an IP in the same subnet (e.g. 192.168.0.x)

Facts:
  • It's also possible to do this with a PPTP connection instead of L2TP.
  • OpenVPN is also possible by sharing the TAP adapter, but it's more complicated than L2TP or PPTP.

Short instructions:
  • Set your computers IP to an IP you can remember (e.g. 192.168.0.150)
  • Create a L2TP connection (instructions)
  • Enable ICS in the properties of the L2TP connection
  • Set your network device as followed:
    • IP: Should be in the same subnet as your computer
    • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    • Gateway/router IP: IP of your computer (e.g. 192.168.0.150)
    • DNS: any DNS you like, e.g. 8.8.8.8
  • On your computer, connect to the VPN using the L2TP connection
  • Finished - your device should now use the VPN via ICS


That's all - the rest of the configuration has to be done on your external device that should use the VPN (e.g. Playstation, XBOX, NAS, Computer, etc.)
On that device, you need to use this settings:

  • IP address:  Should be in the same subnet as your computer. E.g. if your computer is 192.168.0.5, you could use 192.168.0.6
  • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
  • Default router/Gateway: Here enter the IP of your computer, you set earlier (e.g. 192.168.0.5)
  • Primary DNS: Same here.
  • Secondary DNS: Same here.
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How to connect XBOX to VPN via ICS on Mac

Note, this set up is for Lion 10.7.3. For Snow Leopard 10.6 you have
to edit a plist file in terminal.
Heres what you will need:
  1. VPN account
  2. USB to Ethernet adapter, i use the Apple Macbook Air one
  3. Ethernet Cable
You will have to manually enter the VPN connection, here is how:
  1. Open System Preferences / Network
  2. Click the add (+) interface and choose VPN
  3. IMPORTANT: In VPN-Type, select PPTP
  4. Set HidemyAss as the service name
  5. Click Create
  6. This window will now close and you will be taken back to Network Preferences window
  7. Leave the Configuration as default
  8. In the Server Address enter the PPTP IP address of the VPN Server. To get this you will have to login to the HidemyAss website and
    navigate to PPTP Server on the left of the website. 
  1. Whilst one the website note down your username and password above the server list. Bear in mind that your PPTP password is different to any other password (for security reasons).
  2. Click Authentication Setting and enter your PPTP password – NOT YOUR ACCOUNT PASSWORD!
  3. Click OK to take you back to the network window
  4. Click Advanced and tick “Send all traffic over VPN connection
  5. Click Connect and wait for the green light on the connection window.
  6. To ensure the service is running smoothy visit a IP trace website such as www.tracemyip.org

You will now need to share this VPN network with your XBOX. There two ways of doing this, over WiFi or Ethernet.
I prefer Ethernet as its fast for file sharing  (i use my XBOX as a media center also)

Option 1 Ethernet: XBOX will connect directly to you Mac with a Ethernet cable

  1. Ensure the XBOX is switched off
  2. Connect the Ethernet to USB into you Mac.
  3. Then connect an ethernet cable from the adapter directly into the back of your XBOX.
  4. Open System Preferences / Network
  5. USB to Ethernet should be listed in yellow, if not click the add (+) interface and choose USB to Ethernet
  6. Click back or Show all to take you to the main System Preferences window and select Select Internet Sharing
  7. In the pull down menu “Share you connection from” choose HidemyAss
  8. Then tick USB Ethernet adapter
  9. On the left list tick [Internet Sharing] and [Start] in the pop up window, this should now be green and active
  10. Turn you XBOX on and check the System Setting / Network / Ethernet/ Test XBOX Live to ensure you have a connection

Option 2 Wi-fi:  XBOX will connect directly to you Mac using a new Wi-Fi network

To use this you will have to have you Mac connected to the internet with an Ethernet cable
  1. Open System Preferences window and select Select Internet Sharing
  2. In the pull down menu “Share you connection from” choose HidemyAss
  3. Then tick WiFi
  4. Click the Wi-Fi Option button and set a 5 digit password (WEP Key)
  5. On the left list tick [Internet Sharing] and [Start] in the pop up window, this should now be green and active
  6. Turn you XBOX on and check the System Setting / Network / Wi-Fi/ Test XBOX Live to ensure you have a connection

Theres one more connection option which i haven’t tried but would mean your Mac connects to the internet via wifi and the XBOX will connect to the ethernet port but I’ve not tested this so I’m not sure if it will work.
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Friday, May 3, 2013

How to setup OAST with OpenVPN GUI on Windows

OAST OpenVPN GUI


OAST OpenVPN GUI is a OpenVPN client for Windows

Downloads:
See below for instructions how to setup.


Windows setup

The special thing with OAST OpenVPN GUI is that it's portable, so no installation is necessary.
  • Install either the OAST standard client, or the portable one (see links above); then start the OAST.exe
  • To connect to our servers, you'll need the OpenVPN config files:
  • All TCP+UDP config files as .zip: http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/vpn-config.zip
    Single TCP config files: http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/TCP/
    Single UDP config files: http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/UDP/
  • In OAST, click "Settings".
  • Next to "OpenVPN configuration file", click "Browse".
  • Browse to the folder with the *.ovpn config files you've downloaded earlier.
  • Select and open a *.ovpn config file, e.g. "Austria.Carinthia.Klagenfurt.TCP.ovpn".
  • Click "OK".
  • Enter your username and password.
  • Check "Save this username and password" if you like.
  • Click "Connect".
  • Wait till OAST shows "The connection has successfully been established" instead of "Connecting".
  • Now check your IP and location e.g. at http://geoip.hidemyass.com
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How to use Viscosity on Windows and Mac

Viscosity is a VPN client for Windows and Mac. It can be used to connect to HMA Pro VPN using our config files.
Download Viscosity here: http://www.thesparklabs.com/viscosity/download/
Note that Viscosity is not a free software, you can use it for 30 days and then have to register it.
  

Windows instructions

First, let's prepare the config files for the VPN servers, to make the process a bit easier.
TCP and UDP config files can be downloaded as single files @ http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/TCP/ and http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/UDP/
or completely as .ZIP archive @ http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/vpn-configs.zip
TCP is standard, and UDP makes sense if you're experiencing slow speeds or want to bypass restrictions on your network.

Create a folder on your desktop, or anywhere else. You can name "VPN config files"; extract the content of the archive into that folder.



Now, install Viscosity for Windows -> http://www.thesparklabs.com/downloads/Viscosity%20Installer.exe
During the installation, the installer wants you to confirm the driver installation of the Viscosity virtual ethernet adapter.
You must confirm it.
Once installed, the Viscosity Icon will appear in the bottom right of your desktop. Rightclick it, and select "Preferences".
The preferences windows will appear.
Now please click on the "+" at the bottom left of that window. (marked red in the screenshot)
Here, select "Import Connection" and "From File..."
A file selection dialog will pop up. Here, navigate to the "VPN config files" folder you've created earlier.
In this tutorial, we'll select "USA.Arizona.Phoenix_LOC1S1.ovpn", of course you can select any server config file you like.
Once selected, Viscosity will confirm that the config file was successfully imported, and the connection will now be available in your list.

Now please click on "Edit" in the bottom right of this window.
  
Here you can edit the settings of your new server configuration.
Go to the "Networking" tab (see screenshot ->)
Check "Send all traffic over VPN connection".
In the "DNS Servers:" field, enter:
208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220
That's OpenDNS, the DNS servers that our VPN connection is going to use.
Now click on "Save" in the bottom right.
You can close the preference window now.
Now we want to connect to our newly configured VPN server.
For that, rightclick on the Viscosity-icon in the bottom right of your desktop again.
You'll notice that the "USA.Arizona.Phoenix_LOC1S1" server is available now. Click it!
Now Viscosity will ask for your username and password.
Use the same username+password that you also use to login to the VPN control panel @ http://vpn.hidemyass.com
Check "Remember my credentials", so you don't need to enter your credentials again.
Click "OK".
Now wait a few seconds.
Once Viscosity finished connecting, a notification window will appear in the bottom right of your desktop,
telling you that you successfully connected to the VPN server.
Please note: The IP which is mentioned here, is NOT your IP! It's just a redirecting IP used by the server.
To verify your IP address, location and ISP, please go to a verifying website like http://ipaddress.com
You'll see that this data has changed from the usual, that means you're successfully connected to the VPN;
and all traffic will be routed through the VPN.

That's all! If you want to configure more servers for Viscosity, just repeat the tutorial.
But note that Viscosity creates a new virtual ethernet adapter for each server,
so using too many servers here can cause conflicts and slowdown your system.
For disconnecting from the VPN, viewing connection details and changing preferences, do this also in the
Viscosity menu as you see here ->
   

Mac instructions


1. Download the HMA config files from:
http://hidemyass.com/vpn-config/vpn-configs.zip

2. Double check on the downloaded zip file to extract it - you should see a folder called "vpn-configs".



  
Download Viscosity for Mac here -> http://www.thesparklabs.com/downloads/Viscosity.dmg
Open that .dmg file. Now a window should appear which shows you the content of this archive.
Here, open the "Viscosity" file.
Viscosity is now getting installed.
You might get asked to move Viscosity into the application folder. Confirm this.
The installation process has finished now.
  
 If Viscosity is not starting automatically now, you can also start it by clicking the Viscosity icon in your "Applications" folder.  
3. Open Viscosity, go to its menu, and open the "Preferences" window.
4. Click on the "+" button and select "Import Connection > From File…".
From here you should navigate to the "vpn-configs" folder from above.
You can either select the folder to import every single connection at once,
or you can select an individual config file from inside the folder just to import one.
Click the Open button once you have made your selection (you may have to wait a few seconds if you're importing the whole folder).
A file selection dialog will open up.
Now navigate to the folder which you created for the config files. (In this case, it's on the desktop).
In that folder, all VPN config files are available.
Select the VPN servers config file you'd like to connect to.
In this tutorial, we'll select "USA.Arizona.Phoenix_LOC1S1".


  
Viscosity will now confirm that the connection has been successfully imported.
5. From the Viscosity menu select the connection you wish to connect, and it should start connecting.
After a few seconds, you will be asked for a username and password.
Enter your VPN account username and password here, the same credentials that you use to login @ the VPN control panel
( http://vpn.hidemyass.com )
Check "Remember details in my Keychain", so you don't need to enter your login data again.
Click "OK".
In case you have installed Growl, as you should, you'll now see a notification window.
It confirms that the VPN connection has been successfully made.
Please note: The IP which is mentioned here, is NOT your IP! It's just a redirecting IP used by the server.
To verify your IP address, location and ISP, please go to a verifying website like http://ipaddress.com
You'll see that this data has changed, that means you're successfully connected to the VPN;
and all traffic will be routed through the VPN.

That's all! If you want to configure more servers for Viscosity, just repeat the tutorial with a different config file.

  
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How to Connect PPTP on Linux command line

This tutorial explains how to connect via PPTP protocol on Linux using command-line,

so you don't need to use any network managers of GUIs like KDE, Gnome, etc.


Check if ppp-generic module exists. If not, it will probably not work:
modprobe ppp-generic


Install necessary packages:
apt-get install pptp-linux pptpd ppp curl

Create PPTP configuration file:
nano /etc/ppp/peers/hmavpn


Enter this as content of the "hmavpn" file:
(replace 72.11.154.130 is the IP of the PPTP server you want to connect to, and MYHMAACCOUNTUSERNAME with your username)
pty "pptp 72.11.154.130 --nolaunchpppd"
lock
noauth
nobsdcomp
nodeflate
name MYHMAACCOUNTUSERNAME
remotename hmavpn
ipparam hmavpn
require-mppe-128
usepeerdns
defaultroute
persist

Enter VPN login credentials into chap-secrets file: ([tab] being replaced by a tab, username with your VPN account username and password with your PPTP password):
nano /etc/ppp/chap-secrets
username[tab]hmavpn[tab]password[tab]*

Create script to replace default routes - otherwise the VPN is not being used by your system:
nano /etc/ppp/ip-up.local

Enter this as content of the "ip-up.local" file:
#!/bin/bash
H=`ps aux | grep 'pppd pty' | grep -v grep | awk '{print $14}'`
DG=`route -n | grep UG | awk '{print $2}'`
DEV=`route -n | grep UG | awk '{print $8}'`
route add -host $H gw $DG dev $DEV
route del default $DEV
route add default dev ppp0

Make this script executable:
chmod +x /etc/ppp/ip-up.local

To connect to the VPN:
pon hmavpn

To disconnect from the VPN:
poff hmavpn

Check your current IP:
curl http://checkip.dyndns.org


Notes:

  • You can check via "ifconfig" if there is a ppp0 adapter. If there is, you are successfully connected.
  • All commands must be run with "sudo" if you're not logged in as a root user.
  • When you are connected but the VPN is not being used by your system, incorrect iptables / routing rules are responsible.
    Try running "route add default dev ppp0". I'll list other possible fixes here ASAP.
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