Today, with all the variety of means of access to the World Wide Web on the market of modern IT technologies, so-called VPN clients have become very popular, allowing you to create virtual private networks and bypass many restrictions that exist, say, in local networks, set by the same system administrator. But let's figure out what it is.
So what is this software? In essence, this is a specially designed application that allows you to create a tunnel connection to public networks that is different from the standard one.
This type of program itself has a lot of advantages and is quite easy to install and configure. Here you need to have a minimum set of knowledge of Windows operating systems.
The advantages of this software compared to a conventional connection
If we talk about the operation of such an application, the VPN client for Windows is somewhat reminiscent of the operation of anonymous proxy servers that were popular at the time, since it has the ability to change the actual IP address of the client computer terminal, which, in turn, increases the level of access security to the World Wide Web.
However, a VPN client can be a good find, say, for an employee of some serious company or organization, who during the working day wants to look at funny pictures, read jokes, etc., but only so that the boss does not find out about it through system administrator. In this case, the same free VPN client for Windows 7 or 8 can work as a kind of anonymizer that hides traces of the user’s Internet surfing from prying eyes, not to mention protecting information stored on the computer through external access.
Based on this, any program of this type can be characterized both as a means to remain unrecognized on the Internet, and as a kind of somewhat reminiscent of an ordinary firewall.
Stages of installation and configuration of the program
It goes without saying that today you can find quite a lot of applications of this type. However, installation and configuration for almost all of them are identical. As a rule, you first register on the manufacturer’s website (not always, however), then download the installation distribution itself, after which the actual installation of the program into the system occurs, followed by setting up a personal profile and, finally, setting up a VPN client and connecting through its environment. We will now see how this is done.
using the example of SecurityKISS
The free SecurityKISS program is a free VPN application that can be used on any Windows operating system.
The application is installed quite simply, just like other programs. As for the settings, everything is simple here. To get started, you can find out your IP address, although this is not necessary. Such information can only be useful when you need to see if it has changed since the connection was established.
After starting the program, you must click on the icon in the lower right corner, indicated by two system blocks, after which the user will be asked to select a region (country) and an active server from the list provided. A small recommendation: it is better to choose a server and country that is geographically located closer to your region. Now everything is simple. All that remains is to press the Connect button.
After about 10 seconds, a connection will be established, and as a result, a message will appear stating that you are in an encrypted tunnel.
Let’s make a reservation right away: absolutely all programs that are a VPN client require an existing connection to the Internet or via a local network. Without this, they simply will not work.
Settings for Windows 7
Now let's see how to configure a VPN client for Windows 7, based on the fact that the program itself, say, is already installed. Now it’s a matter of settings in the environment of the “OS” itself.
From the network and Internet menu in the “Control Panel”, select the item to view the network status and tasks, after which you use the creation (configuration) of a new connection.
In the new window, you must select the line indicating the connection to the workplace. You will be asked which connection method to use in this case.
Select "My Internet Connection". Now you will need to enter the server address, and fill in the location and name as desired. Yes, at the bottom you definitely need to check the box next to the line to ignore immediate connection, it should only be with the setting. Finally, enter your registration login and password.
After all these procedures, you need to go to the section for changing network adapter settings, which is located in the Network and Sharing Center. In the properties, select the security tab, where you must set the tunnel protocol type VPN and maximum encryption, and save the changes by clicking the OK button. Next, a connection request window will appear, where you will need to activate it. The connection status will be displayed in the system tray.
Settings for Windows 8
If we talk about how to set up a VPN client for Windows 8, the procedures here are almost identical, only after specifying the type of connection to be used, you will first need to select the line “Delay setting up an Internet connection”, and then the “Create” button after first entering all the registration data , as described above.
As you can see, almost all the steps taken to configure the client are the same in both systems, with the exception of only one point. In addition, the names of the sections themselves may vary slightly, but this is not the main thing.
Should you use a VPN connection?
That, in fact, is all that concerns installation in the Windows OS environment. As is already clear, there is nothing particularly complicated in both of the described cases. However, each user must first take into account that the configuration is carried out only in the case of an existing connection. Well, which option to give preference to, everyone decides for themselves. In principle, both methods are good. True, in the first case with the SecurityKISS program the situation is simpler, but in the free version there is a restriction on the use of traffic. For one session - 300 MB. When you reach the limit, you will need to disconnect and reactivate the connection. Not very convenient, of course, but for quickly visiting light-weight Internet resources this is quite enough.
In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that some VPN servers selected by the user for connection can themselves accumulate information about the user and his activities on the Internet, recording it in their logs. So it turns out that, on the one hand, we have privacy and unrecognizability, and on the other, complete tracking of surfing.
However, even if you use Windows settings with the Open VPN application, even if not right away, you can still get to the bottom of the truth. It is enough that the system administrator can easily connect to the user’s remote “Desktop” or computer terminal, view the list of installed programs and track changes in network connection parameters. The user won't even know about it.
