OpenVPN VPS: PPTP VPN Server
Recommended setup of your VPN service is using to use OpenVPN for greatest security. See: OpenVPN VPS - Getting Started Guide
As of Jan 14th 2013, myhosting.com’s OpenVPN VPS
template includes a secondary PPTP server. This enables you to quickly connect
to your VPN VPS using nearly any device (most devices support PPTP natively) include a mobile device including iPhone, iPad, Android and many
more.
WARNING: It is highly
recommended that you use OpenVPN clients to connect to your VPN VPS as it is
much more secure. Unless you’re using a mobile device or a device that does
not support OpenVPN, it is highly recommended you consider OpenVPN instead to
achieve a much greater level of security in terms of encryption of your data.
See our OpenVPN Getting Started Guide for details >>
Mobile PPTP VPN Server Setup
If you did not order the myhosting.com OpenVPN template, then you'll need to install and setup PPTP manually. See details on here.
After receiving your VPS, there are a few things you’ll need
to do to setup your PPTP server.
Set your PPTP VPN User Password
Your PPTP VPN already has a user created, but for security
reasons, the password is randomized. As such, you’ll need to reset this
password.
Log into Webmin to manage your PPTP VPN Users and Settings
1)
Log into Webmin, Webmin is installed on your VPS
and you can access it using a browser. All of the login details you require can
be found on the “VPS Management” tab
of your control panel.
a.
Log into: https://yourIPaddress:10000
using the below information.
(Be sure to replace “yourIPaddress” with your VPS IP address found in your
panel)
i.
Username: root
ii.
Password:
**found in your control panel
(see screenshot below)**
iii.
Log in screen for webmin appears like:
Refresh Webmin Modules to see PPTP VPN Server
1)
Once logged in, you’ll need to refresh the
modules so it can see that PPTP is running:
2)
When the refresh completes, refresh your
browser.
Modify the default user for the PPTP VPN Server in Webmin
1)
Then, in Webmin, navigate to “Networking” > “PPTP VPN Server” > “PPP
Accounts”
2)
On the “PPP
Accounts” screen you’ll see the pre-created user “vpnuser”. Click on this
user.
3)
On the Edit
PPP Account screen in the password section, set the radio button to “Set to:” and enter the password you
would like to use in that field. Remember to make the password fairly complex
as this account will be used to access the VPS using VPN and a complex password
is always important.
4)
Click “Save”
to save your new password.
5) Lastly,
reboot your VPS by clicking “System”
> “Bootup and Shutdown” and
clicking the “Reboot System” button at
the bottom of the page, and finally confirming the reboot.
This is necessary because the PPTP VPN
server will not properly work without at least one reboot after installation.
It also restarts the PPTP service which allows your password change to take
affect. In the future, you will only need to “Apply Changes” within Webmin for a password change or new user
creation to take affect.
PPTP Server Setup Complete!
After a minute or two, your VPS will have completely
rebooted. You can now create a VPN connection from any mobile device using:
Connection Login Details
· Location/Server/host: Your VPS IP address
·
Username: vpnuser
·
Password: **the
password you specified in the above setup**
Create a PPTP VPN Connection on your Mobile Device or other
Once your PPTP VPN Server is setup per the above
instructions, you can now create a connection from any device that supports
PPTP which is most devices ;) and particularly mobile devices.
WARNING: It is highly
recommended that you use OpenVPN clients to connect to your VPN VPS as it is
much more secure. Unless you’re using a mobile device or a device that does
not support OpenVPN, it is highly recommended you consider OpenVPN instead to
achieve a much greater level of security in terms of encryption of your data.
See our OpenVPN Getting Started Guide for details >>
Setting up an iPhone VPN connection
1)
Click on your Settings Icon
2)
Tap “VPN”
3)
Tap “Add
VPN Configuration…”
4)
Enter your VPN connection details:
Description: **Anything you wish to name the connection**
Server: **your VPS IP address**
Account: vpnuser
Password: **the VPN user password you created during setup. If you don’t remember
you can repeat the instructions above to reset it**
5)
Save your configuration by tapping “Save” at the top right.
6)
Your new connection should now be selected, if
it is not tap it to select it.
7)
Tap the VPN
toggle to initiate the connection to your VPN. After a few moments, the
connection should succeed and your screen should appear as below!
8)
To test your connection, open up Safari or
Chrome on your iPhone and perform a google search for “my IP”. Google should
then inform you of the IP you are connecting from. This IP should match that of
your VPS with myhosting.com.
You have now completed your VPN connection! Browse at will
good sir or madam!
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