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--- vpn:setup_an_openvpn_server [2016/10/19 13:23] – created peter
+++ vpn:setup_an_openvpn_server [2019/12/04 22:14] (current) – removed peter
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-====== VPN - Setup an OpenVPN Server ======
-===== Introduction =====
-To access the Internet safely and securely when connected to an untrusted network such as an external WiFi connection.  A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network|Virtual Private Network]] (VPN) allows you to traverse untrusted networks privately and securely as if you were on a private network.  The traffic emerges from the VPN server and continues its journey to the destination.
-When combined with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Secure|HTTPS connections]], this setup allows you to secure your wireless logins and transactions.  You can circumvent geographical restrictions and censorship, and shield your location and any unencrypted HTTP traffic from the untrusted network.
-[[https://openvpn.net/|OpenVPN]] is a full-featured open source Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN solution that accommodates a wide range of configurations.
-===== Step 1: Install OpenVPN =====
-Install OpenVPN.  We will also be installing the **easy-rsa** package, which will help us set up an internal CA (certificate authority) for use with our VPN.
-To update your server's package index and install the necessary packages type:
-<code bash>
-sudo apt-get update
-sudo apt-get install openvpn easy-rsa
-</code>
-===== Step 2: Set Up the CA Directory =====
-OpenVPN is an TLS/SSL VPN.  This means that it utilizes certificates in order to encrypt traffic between the server and clients.  In order to issue trusted certificates, we will need to set up our own simple certificate authority (CA).
-To begin, we can copy the **easy-rsa** template directory into our home directory with the **make-cadir** command:
-<code bash>
-make-cadir ~/openvpn-ca
-</code>
-Move into the newly created directory to begin configuring the CA:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/openvpn-ca
-</code>
-===== Step 3: Configure the CA Variables =====
-To configure the values our CA will use, we need to edit the **vars** file within the directory.  Open that file now in your text editor:
-<code bash>
-vi vars
-</code>
-Inside, there are variables that can be adjusted to determine how your certificates will be created.  We only need to worry about a few of these.
-Towards the bottom of the file, find the settings that sets field defaults for new certificates.  It should look something like this:
-<file bash ~/openvpn-ca/vars>
-. . .
-export KEY_COUNTRY="US"
-export KEY_PROVINCE="CA"
-export KEY_CITY="SanFrancisco"
-export KEY_ORG="Fort-Funston"
-export KEY_EMAIL="me@myhost.mydomain"
-export KEY_OU="MyOrganizationalUnit"
-. . .
-</file>
-Edit the values to whatever you'd prefer, but do not leave them blank:
-For example
-<file bash ~/openvpn-ca/vars>
-. . .
-export KEY_COUNTRY="UK"
-export KEY_PROVINCE="JE"
-export KEY_CITY="St. Helier"
-export KEY_ORG="ShareWiz"
-export KEY_EMAIL="admin@example.com"
-export KEY_OU="Community"
-. . .
-</file>
-While we are here, we will also edit the **KEY_NAME** value just below this section, which populates the subject field.  To keep this simple, we'll call it server in this guide:
-<file bash ~/openvpn-ca/vars>
-export KEY_NAME="server"
-</file>
-When you are finished, save and close the file.
-===== Step 4: Build the Certificate Authority =====
-Now, we can use the variables we set and the easy-rsa utilities to build our certificate authority.
-Ensure you are in your CA directory, and then source the vars file you just edited:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/openvpn-ca
-source vars
-</code>
-You should see the following if it was sourced correctly:
-Output
-<code>
-NOTE: If you run ./clean-all, I will be doing a rm -rf on /home/john/openvpn-ca/keys
-</code>
-Make sure we're operating in a clean environment by typing:
-<code bash>
-./clean-all
-</code>
-Now, we can build our root CA by typing:
-<code bash>
-./build-ca
-</code>
-This will initiate the process of creating the root certificate authority key and certificate.  Since we filled out the vars file, all of the values should be populated automatically.  Just press **ENTER** through the prompts to confirm the selections:
-Output
-<code>
-Generating a 2048 bit RSA private key
-..........................................................................................+++
-...............................+++
-writing new private key to 'ca.key'
------
-You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
-into your certificate request.
-What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
-There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
-For some fields there will be a default value,
-If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
------
-Country Name (2 letter code) [UK]:
-State or Province Name (full name) [JE]:
-Locality Name (eg, city) [St. Helier]:
-Organization Name (eg, company) [ShareWiz]:
-Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) [Community]:
-Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) [ShareWiz CA]:
-Name [server]:
-Email Address [admin@example.com]:
-</code>
-We now have a CA that can be used to create the rest of the files we need.
-===== Step 5: Create the Server Certificate, Key, and Encryption Files =====
-Next, we will generate our server certificate and key pair, as well as some additional files used during the encryption process.
-Start by generating the OpenVPN server certificate and key pair. We can do this by typing:
-**NOTE**:  If you choose a name other than **server** here, you will have to adjust some of the instructions below.  For instance, when copying the generated files to the **/etc/openvpn** directroy, you will have to substitute the correct names.  You will also have to modify the **/etc/openvpn/server.conf** file later to point to the correct **.crt** and **.key** files.
-<code bash>
-./build-key-server server
-</code>
-Once again, the prompts will have default values based on the argument we just passed in (server) and the contents of our vars file we sourced.
-Feel free to accept the default values by pressing **ENTER**.  Do not enter a challenge password for this setup.  Towards the end, you will have to enter **y** to two questions to sign and commit the certificate:
-Output
-<code>
-. . .
-Certificate is to be certified until May  1 17:51:16 2026 GMT (3650 days)
-Sign the certificate? [y/n]:y
-out of 1 certificate requests certified, commit? [y/n]y
-Write out database with 1 new entries
-Data Base Updated
-</code>
-Next, we'll generate a few other items.  We can generate a strong Diffie-Hellman keys to use during key exchange by typing:
-<code bash>
-./build-dh
-</code>
-This might take a few minutes to complete.
-Afterwards, we can generate an HMAC signature to strengthen the server's TLS integrity verification capabilities:
-<code bash>
-openvpn --genkey --secret keys/ta.key
-</code>
-===== Step 6: Generate a Client Certificate and Key Pair =====
-Next, we can generate a client certificate and key pair.  Although this can be done on the client machine and then signed by the server/CA for security purposes, for this guide we will generate the signed key on the server for the sake of simplicity.
-We will generate a single client key/certificate for this guide, but if you have more than one client, you can repeat this process as many times as you'd like.  Pass in a unique value to the script for each client.
-Because you may come back to this step at a later time, we'll re-source the vars file.  We will use **client1** as the value for our first certificate/key pair for this guide.
-To produce credentials without a password, to aid in automated connections, use the **build-key** command like this:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/openvpn-ca
-source vars
-./build-key client1
-</code>
-If instead, you wish to create a password-protected set of credentials, use the build-key-pass command:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/openvpn-ca
-source vars
-./build-key-pass client1
-</code>
-Again, the defaults should be populated, so you can just hit **ENTER** to continue.  Leave the challenge password blank and make sure to enter **y** for the prompts that ask whether to sign and commit the certificate.
-===== Step 7: Configure the OpenVPN Service =====
-Next, we can begin configuring the OpenVPN service using the credentials and files we've generated.
-==== Copy the Files to the OpenVPN Directory ====
-To begin, we need to copy the files we need to the **/etc/openvpn** configuration directory.
-We can start with all of the files that we just generated.  These were placed within the **~/openvpn-ca/keys** directory as they were created.  We need to move our CA cert and key, our server cert and key, the HMAC signature, and the Diffie-Hellman file:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/openvpn-ca/keys
-sudo cp ca.crt ca.key server.crt server.key ta.key dh2048.pem /etc/openvpn
-</code>
-Next, we need to copy and unzip a sample OpenVPN configuration file into configuration directory so that we can use it as a basis for our setup:
-<code bash>
-gunzip -c /usr/share/doc/openvpn/examples/sample-config-files/server.conf.gz | sudo tee /etc/openvpn/server.conf
-</code>
-===== Adjust the OpenVPN Configuration =====
-Now that our files are in place, we can modify the server configuration file:
-<code bash>
-sudo vi /etc/openvpn/server.conf
-</code>
-==== Basic Configuration ====
-First, find the HMAC section by looking for the **tls-auth** directive.  Remove the ";" to uncomment the **tls-auth** line.  Below this, add the **key-direction** parameter set to "0":
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-tls-auth ta.key 0 # This file is secret
-key-direction 0
-</file>
-Next, find the section on cryptographic ciphers by looking for the commented out **cipher** lines.  The **AES-128-CBC** cipher offers a good level of encryption and is well supported.  Remove the ";" to uncomment the **cipher AES-128-CBC** line:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-cipher AES-128-CBC
-</file>
-Below this, add an **auth** line to select the HMAC message digest algorithm.  For this, **SHA256** is a good choice:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-auth SHA256
-</file>
-Finally, find the **user** and **group** settings and remove the ";" at the beginning of to uncomment those lines:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-user nobody
-group nogroup
-</file>
-===== Push DNS Changes to Redirect All Traffic Through the VPN (Optional) =====
-The settings above will create the VPN connection between the two machines, but will not force any connections to use the tunnel.  If you wish to use the VPN to route all of your traffic, you will likely want to push the DNS settings to the client computers.
-You can do this, uncomment a few directives that will configure client machines to redirect all web traffic through the VPN.  Find the **redirect-gateway** section and remove the semicolon ";" from the beginning of the **redirect-gateway** line to uncomment it:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-push "redirect-gateway def1 bypass-dhcp"
-</file>
-Just below this, find the **dhcp-option** section.  Again, remove the ";" from in front of both of the lines to uncomment them:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-push "dhcp-option DNS 208.67.222.222"
-push "dhcp-option DNS 208.67.220.220"
-</file>
-This should assist clients in reconfiguring their DNS settings to use the VPN tunnel for as the default gateway.
-==== Adjust the Port and Protocol (Optional) ====
-By default, the OpenVPN server uses port 1194 and the UDP protocol to accept client connections.  If you need to use a different port because of restrictive network environments that your clients might be in, you can change the port option.  If you are not hosting web content your OpenVPN server, port 443 is a popular choice since this is usually allowed through firewall rules.
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-# Optional!
-port 443
-</file>
-Often if the protocol will be restricted to that port as well.  If so, change proto from UDP to TCP:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-# Optional!
-proto tcp
-</file>
-If you have no need to use a different port, it is best to leave these two settings as their default.
-==== Point to Non-Default Credentials (Optional) ====
-If you selected a different name during the **./build-key-server** command earlier, modify the cert and key lines that you see to point to the appropriate **.crt** and **.key** files.  If you used the default **server**, this should already be set correctly:
-<file bash /etc/openvpn/server.conf>
-cert server.crt
-key server.key
-</file>
-When you are finished, save and close the file.
-===== Step 8: Adjust the Server Networking Configuration =====
-Next, we need to adjust some aspects of the server's networking so that OpenVPN can correctly route traffic.
-==== Allow IP Forwarding ====
-First, we need to allow the server to forward traffic.  This is fairly essential to the functionality we want our VPN server to provide.
-We can adjust this setting by modifying the **/etc/sysctl.conf** file:
-<code bash>
-sudo vi /etc/sysctl.conf
-</code>
-Inside, look for the line that sets **net.ipv4.ip_forward**.  Remove the "#" character from the beginning of the line to uncomment that setting:
-<file bash /etc/sysctl.conf>
-net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
-</file>
-Save and close the file when you are finished.
-To read the file and adjust the values for the current session, type:
-<code bash>
-sudo sysctl -p
-</code>
-==== Adjust the UFW Rules to Masquerade Client Connections ====
-Regardless of whether you use the firewall to block unwanted traffic (which you almost always should do), we need the firewall in this guide to manipulate some of the traffic coming into the server.  We need to modify the rules file to set up masquerading, an iptables concept that provides on-the-fly dynamic NAT to correctly route client connections.
-Before we open the firewall configuration file to add masquerading, we need to find the public network interface of our machine.  To do this, type:
-<code bash>
-ip route | grep default
-</code>
-Your public interface should follow the word "dev".  For example, this result shows the interface named eth0, which is highlighted below:
-Output
-<code>
-default via 203.0.113.1 dev eth0  proto static  metric 600
-</code>
-When you have the interface associated with your default route, open the **/etc/ufw/before.rules** file to add the relevant configuration:
-<code bash>
-sudo vi /etc/ufw/before.rules
-</code>
-This file handles configuration that should be put into place before the conventional UFW rules are loaded.  Towards the top of the file, add the highlighted lines below.  This will set the default policy for the **POSTROUTING** chain in the **nat** table and masquerade any traffic coming from the VPN:
-**NOTE**:  Remember to replace eth0 in the -A POSTROUTING line below with the interface you found in the above command.
-<file bash /etc/ufw/before.rules>
-#
-# rules.before
-#
-# Rules that should be run before the ufw command line added rules. Custom
-# rules should be added to one of these chains:
-#   ufw-before-input
-#   ufw-before-output
-#   ufw-before-forward
-#
-# START OPENVPN RULES
-# NAT table rules
-*nat
-:POSTROUTING ACCEPT [0:0]
-# Allow traffic from OpenVPN client to eth0
--A POSTROUTING -s 10.8.0.0/8 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
-COMMIT
-# END OPENVPN RULES
-# Don't delete these required lines, otherwise there will be errors
-*filter
-. . .
-</file>
-Save and close the file when you are finished.
-We need to tell UFW to allow forwarded packages by default as well.  To do this, we will open the **/etc/default/ufw** file:
-<code bash>
-sudo vi /etc/default/ufw
-</code>
-Inside, find the **DEFAULT_FORWARD_POLICY** directive.  We will change the value from **DROP** to **ACCEPT**:
-<file bash /etc/default/ufw>
-DEFAULT_FORWARD_POLICY="ACCEPT"
-</file>
-Save and close the file when you are finished.
-==== Open the OpenVPN Port and Enable the Changes ====
-Next, we'll adjust the firewall itself to allow traffic to OpenVPN.
-If you did not change the port and protocol in the **/etc/openvpn/server.conf** file, you will need to open up UDP traffic to port 1194.  If you modified the port and/or protocol, substitute the values you selected here.
-We'll also add the SSH port in case you forgot to add it when following the prerequisite tutorial:
-<code bash>
-sudo ufw allow 1194/udp
-sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
-</code>
-Now, we can disable and re-enable UFW to load the changes from all of the files we've modified:
-<code bash>
-sudo ufw disable
-sudo ufw enable
-</code>
-Our server is now configured to correctly handle OpenVPN traffic.
-===== Step 9: Start and Enable the OpenVPN Service =====
-We're finally ready to start the OpenVPN service on our server.  We can do this using systemd.
-We need to start the OpenVPN server by specifying our configuration file name as an instance variable after the systemd unit file name.  Our configuration file for our server is called **/etc/openvpn/server.conf**, so we will add **@server** to end of our unit file when calling it:
-<code bash>
-sudo systemctl start openvpn@server
-</code>
-Double-check that the service has started successfully by typing:
-<code bash>
-sudo systemctl status openvpn@server
-</code>
-If everything went well, your output should look something that looks like this:
-Output
-<code>
-● openvpn@server.service - OpenVPN connection to server
-   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/openvpn@.service; disabled; vendor preset: enabled)
-   Active: active (running) since Tue 2016-05-03 15:30:05 EDT; 47s ago
-     Docs: man:openvpn(8)
-           https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/Openvpn23ManPage
-           https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/HOWTO
-  Process: 5852 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/openvpn --daemon ovpn-%i --status /run/openvpn/%i.status 10 --cd /etc/openvpn --script-security 2 --config /etc/openvpn/%i.conf --writepid /run/openvpn/%i.pid (code=exited, sta
- Main PID: 5856 (openvpn)
-    Tasks: 1 (limit: 512)
-   CGroup: /system.slice/system-openvpn.slice/openvpn@server.service
-           └─5856 /usr/sbin/openvpn --daemon ovpn-server --status /run/openvpn/server.status 10 --cd /etc/openvpn --script-security 2 --config /etc/openvpn/server.conf --writepid /run/openvpn/server.pid
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: /sbin/ip addr add dev tun0 local 10.8.0.1 peer 10.8.0.2
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: /sbin/ip route add 10.8.0.0/24 via 10.8.0.2
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: GID set to nogroup
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: UID set to nobody
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: UDPv4 link local (bound): [undef]
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: UDPv4 link remote: [undef]
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: MULTI: multi_init called, r=256 v=256
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: IFCONFIG POOL: base=10.8.0.4 size=62, ipv6=0
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: IFCONFIG POOL LIST
-May 03 15:30:05 openvpn2 ovpn-server[5856]: Initialization Sequence Completed
-</code>
-You can also check that the OpenVPN **tun0** interface is available by typing:
-<code bash>
-ip addr show tun0
-</code>
-You should see a configured interface:
-Output
-<code>
-: tun0: <POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST,NOARP,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 100
-    link/none
-    inet 10.8.0.1 peer 10.8.0.2/32 scope global tun0
-       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
-</code>
-If everything went well, enable the service so that it starts automatically at boot:
-<code bash>
-sudo systemctl enable openvpn@server
-</code>
-===== Step 10: Create Client Configuration Infrastructure =====
-Next, we need to set up a system that will allow us to create client configuration files easily.
-==== Creating the Client Config Directory Structure ====
-Create a directory structure within your home directory to store the files:
-<code bash>
-mkdir -p ~/client-configs/files
-</code>
-Since our client configuration files will have the client keys embedded, we should lock down permissions on our inner directory:
-<code bash>
-chmod 700 ~/client-configs/files
-</code>
-==== Creating a Base Configuration ====
-Next, let's copy an example client configuration into our directory to use as our base configuration:
-<code bash>
-cp /usr/share/doc/openvpn/examples/sample-config-files/client.conf ~/client-configs/base.conf
-</code>
-Open this new file in your text editor:
-<code bash>
-vi ~/client-configs/base.conf
-</code>
-Inside, we need to make a few adjustments.
-First, locate the **remote** directive.  This points the client to our OpenVPN server address.  This should be the public IP address of your OpenVPN server.  If you changed the port that the OpenVPN server is listening on, change 1194 to the port you selected:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-. . .
-# The hostname/IP and port of the server.
-# You can have multiple remote entries
-# to load balance between the servers.
-remote server_IP_address 1194
-. . .
-</file>
-Be sure that the protocol matches the value you are using in the server configuration:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-proto udp
-</file>
-Next, uncomment the user and group directives by removing the ";":
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-# Downgrade privileges after initialization (non-Windows only)
-user nobody
-group nogroup
-</file>
-Find the directives that set the **ca**, **cert**, and **key**.  Comment out these directives since we will be adding the certs and keys within the file itself:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-# SSL/TLS parms.
-# See the server config file for more
-# description.  It's best to use
-# a separate .crt/.key file pair
-# for each client.  A single ca
-# file can be used for all clients.
-#ca ca.crt
-#cert client.crt
-#key client.key
-</file>
-Mirror the **cipher** and **auth** settings that we set in the **/etc/openvpn/server.conf** file:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-cipher AES-128-CBC
-auth SHA256
-</code>
-Next, add the **key-direction** directive somewhere in the file.  This must be set to "1" to work with the server:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-key-direction 1
-</file>
-Finally, add a few **commented out** lines.  We want to include these with every config, but should only enable them for Linux clients that ship with a **/etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf** file.  This script uses the **resolvconf** utility to update DNS information for Linux clients.
-<file bash ~/client-configs/base.conf>
-# script-security 2
-# up /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf
-# down /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf
-</file>
-If your client is running Linux and has an **/etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf** file, you should uncomment these lines from the generated OpenVPN client configuration file.
-Save the file when you are finished.
-==== Creating a Configuration Generation Script ====
-Next, we will create a simple script to compile our base configuration with the relevant certificate, key, and encryption files.  This will place the generated configuration in the **~/client-configs/files** directory.
-Create and open a file called **make_config.sh** within the **~/client-configs** directory:
-<code bash>
-vi ~/client-configs/make_config.sh
-</code>
-Inside, paste the following script:
-<file bash ~/client-configs/make_config.sh>
-#!/bin/bash
-# First argument: Client identifier
-KEY_DIR=~/openvpn-ca/keys
-OUTPUT_DIR=~/client-configs/files
-BASE_CONFIG=~/client-configs/base.conf
-cat ${BASE_CONFIG} \
-    <(echo -e '<ca>') \
-    ${KEY_DIR}/ca.crt \
-    <(echo -e '</ca>\n<cert>') \
-    ${KEY_DIR}/${1}.crt \
-    <(echo -e '</cert>\n<key>') \
-    ${KEY_DIR}/${1}.key \
-    <(echo -e '</key>\n<tls-auth>') \
-    ${KEY_DIR}/ta.key \
-    <(echo -e '</tls-auth>') \
-    > ${OUTPUT_DIR}/${1}.ovpn
-</file>
-Save and close the file when you are finished.
-Mark the file as executable by typing:
-<code bash>
-chmod 700 ~/client-configs/make_config.sh
-</code>
-===== Step 11: Generate Client Configurations =====
-Now, we can easily generate client configuration files.
-If you followed along with the guide, you created a client certificate and key called **client1.crt** and **client1.key** respectively by running the **./build-key client1** command in step 6.  We can generate a config for these credentials by moving into our **~/client-configs** directory and using the script we made:
-<code bash>
-cd ~/client-configs
-./make_config.sh client1
-</code>
-If everything went well, we should have a **client1.ovpn** file in our **~/client-configs/files** directory:
-<code bash>
-ls ~/client-configs/files
-</code>
-Output
-<code>
-client1.ovpn
-</code>
-==== Transferring Configuration to Client Devices ====
-We need to transfer the client configuration file to the relevant device.  For instance, this could be your local computer or a mobile device.
-While the exact applications used to accomplish this transfer will depend on your choice and device's operating system, you want the application to use SFTP (SSH file transfer protocol) or SCP (Secure Copy) on the backend.  This will transport your client's VPN authentication files over an encrypted connection.
-Here is an example SFTP command using our **client1.ovpn** example.  This command can be run from your local computer (OS X or Linux).  It places the **.ovpn** file in your home directory:
-<code bash>
-sftp john@openvpn_server_ip:client-configs/files/client1.ovpn ~/
-</code>
-Here are several tools and tutorials for securely transferring files from the server to a local computer:
-  * [[http://winscp.net/|WinSCP]]
-  * [[https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-sftp-to-securely-transfer-files-with-a-remote-server|How To Use SFTP to Securely Transfer Files with a Remote Server]]
-  * [[https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-filezilla-to-transfer-and-manage-files-securely-on-your-vps|How To Use Filezilla to Transfer and Manage Files Securely on your VPS]]
-==== Step 12: Install the Client Configuration ====
-Now, we'll discuss how to install a client VPN profile on Windows, OS X, iOS, and Android.  None of these client instructions are dependent on one another, so feel free to skip to whichever is applicable to you.
-The OpenVPN connection will be called whatever you named the **.ovpn** file.  In our example, this means that the connection will be called **client1.ovpn** for the first client file we generated.
-=== Windows ===
-== Installing ==
-The OpenVPN client application for Windows can be found on [[https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html|OpenVPN's Downloads page]]. Choose the appropriate installer version for your version of Windows.
-**NOTE**:  OpenVPN needs administrative privileges to install.
-After installing OpenVPN, copy the **.ovpn** file to:
-<code>
-C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config
-</code>
-When you launch OpenVPN, it will automatically see the profile and makes it available.
-OpenVPN must be run as an administrator each time it's used, even by administrative accounts.  To do this without having to right-click and select Run as administrator every time you use the VPN, you can preset this, but this must be done from an administrative account.  This also means that standard users will need to enter the administrator's password to use OpenVPN.  On the other hand, standard users can't properly connect to the server unless the OpenVPN application on the client has admin rights, so the elevated privileges are necessary.
-To set the OpenVPN application to always run as an administrator, right-click on its shortcut icon and go to **Properties**.  At the bottom of the **Compatibility** tab, click the button to **Change settings for all users**.  In the new window, check **Run this program as an administrator**.
-== Connecting ==
-Each time you launch the OpenVPN GUI, Windows will ask if you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Click **Yes**.  Launching the OpenVPN client application only puts the applet in the system tray so that the VPN can be connected and disconnected as needed; it does not actually make the VPN connection.
-Once OpenVPN is started, initiate a connection by going into the system tray applet and right-clicking on the OpenVPN applet icon.  This opens the context menu.  Select **client1** at the top of the menu (that's our client1.ovpn profile) and choose **Connect**.
-A status window will open showing the log output while the connection is established, and a message will show once the client is connected.
-Disconnect from the VPN the same way: Go into the system tray applet, right-click the OpenVPN applet icon, select the client profile and click **Disconnect**.
-=== OS X ===
-== Installing ==
-[[https://tunnelblick.net/|Tunnelblick]] is a free, open source OpenVPN client for Mac OS X.  You can download the latest disk image from the [[https://tunnelblick.net/downloads.html|Tunnelblick Downloads page]].  Double-click the downloaded **.dmg** file and follow the prompts to install.
-Towards the end of the installation process, Tunnelblick will ask if you have any configuration files.  It can be easier to answer **No** and let Tunnelblick finish.  Open a Finder window and double-click **client1.ovpn**.  Tunnelblick will install the client profile.  Administrative privileges are required.
-== Connecting ==
-Launch Tunnelblick by double-clicking Tunnelblick in the **Applications** folder.  Once Tunnelblick has been launched, there will be a Tunnelblick icon in the menu bar at the top right of the screen for controlling connections. Click on the icon, and then the Connect menu item to initiate the VPN connection.  Select the **client1** connection.
-=== Linux ===
-== Installing ==
-If you are using Linux, there are a variety of tools that you can use depending on your distribution. Your desktop environment or window manager might also include connection utilities.
-The most universal way of connecting, however, is to just use the OpenVPN software.
-On Ubuntu or Debian, you can install it just as you did on the server by typing:
-<code bash>
-sudo apt-get update
-sudo apt-get install openvpn
-</code>
-On CentOS you can enable the EPEL repositories and then install it by typing:
-<code bash>
-sudo yum install epel-release
-sudo yum install openvpn
-</code>
-== Configuring ==
-Check to see if your distribution includes a **/etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf** script:
-<code bash>
-ls /etc/openvpn
-</code>
-Output
-<code>
-update-resolve-conf
-</code>
-Next, edit the OpenVPN client configuration file you transfered:
-<code bash>
-vi client1.ovpn
-</code>
-Uncomment the three lines we placed in to adjust the DNS settings if you were able to find an update-resolv-conf file:
-<file bash client1.ovpn>
-script-security 2
-up /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf
-down /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf
-</file>
-If you are using CentOS, change the group from nogroup to nobody to match the distribution's available groups:
-<file bash client1.ovpn>
-group nobody
-</file>
-Save and close the file.
-Now, you can connect to the VPN by just pointing the openvpn command to the client configuration file:
-<code bash>
-sudo openvpn --config client1.ovpn
-</code>
-This should connect you to your server.
-=== iOS ===
-== Installing ==
-From the iTunes App Store, search for and install [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id590379981|OpenVPN Connect]], the official iOS OpenVPN client application. To transfer your iOS client configuration onto the device, connect it directly to a computer.
-Completing the transfer with iTunes will be outlined here. Open iTunes on the computer and click on iPhone > apps. Scroll down to the bottom to the File Sharing section and click the OpenVPN app.  The blank window to the right, OpenVPN Documents, is for sharing files. Drag the .ovpn file to the OpenVPN Documents window.