Windows

Overview

This article will show you how to secure your Microsoft Windows with Acreto Secured Connection. To create an additional layer of security we will use the OpenVPN application.

Configuring Windows 10

Use these steps to set up a VPN on a computer running Windows 10.

You can set up a manual OpenVPN connection by using the OpenVPN application.

1. Download the OpenVPN GUI application

https://swupdate.openvpn.org/community/releases/openvpn-install-2.4.8-I602-Win10.exe

2. Open the installer file

3. Follow the setup wizard

4. Once the application is installed, download the configuration

Add a thing named laptop on Acreto Ecosystem - check how to do it

Open the laptop thing details:

Save the file as-is, or change the name to acreto-thing.ovpn

5. Go to the folder where the configurations are downloaded

6. Click and drag to select the OpenVPN configuration downloaded

7. Right-click on them and select Copy

8. Find the OpenVPN config folder

Right-click the OpenVPN GUI shortcut on your desktop and select Open file location.

9. Once you’re there, click the parent OpenVPN folder in the address bar

10. Extract the configuration file you need to this directory:

c:/Program Files/OpenVPN/config

11. Open the OpenVPN config folder

12. Paste the copied configuration files in the folder

13. Click Continue to allow the files to be extracted to the folder

14. Note: How to prevent possible DNS leaks (optional)

If you are using Windows 10, add an extra line in the configuration files.

To do that, open the downloaded .ovpn configuration file with any text editor and paste this line:

block-outside-dns

Don’t forget to save the file before proceeding to the next steps of this tutorial.

15. Run OpenVPN

Now that the configuration files have been loaded into the proper folder for the application to detect them, let’s open the OpenVPN GUI app itself.

Double-click the shortcut on your desktop.

16. Allow the application to make necessary changes to your device

17. The application will start running in the system tray

It’s the area near your clock:

It might also be in the hidden system tray area:

18. Right-click on the application icon, hover over one of the servers, and click Connect

19. The connection log window will pop up

You don’t need to provide any passwords.

20. In a few seconds, the application will connect, and its window will disappear.

The system tray icon will turn green and indicate that you are connected when you hover over it:

21. Check Internet access and IP

Browse to https://www.myip.com/ and verify your IP and network (should be different than your ISP)