Set Up and Edit VPN Connections in Windows 8
Updated: June 7, 2016
Applies To: Windows 8
You can use this topic to learn how to create a virtual private network (VPN) connection on a client computer or device that is running Windows 8.
You can also learn how to edit and delete existing VPN connections.
You can use VPN connections to other networks, such as your organization’s network, only when you have permissions to do so from your organization.
VPN connections allow you to connect to a remote network across the Internet in a secure manner. If you are not a member of an organization that requires or allows remote connections, you do not need to create VPN connections.
This topic is intended only for use with computers and devices that are running Windows 8. These instructions do not apply to earlier or later versions of the operating system.
This topic contains the following sections.
Prerequisites
Following are the prerequisites for creating a VPN connection and for connecting to your organization network by using the VPN connection.
To create a VPN connection, you must know the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the VPN server to which you want to connect. For example, if you work for an organization named Contoso and the Contoso VPN server is named VPN1.contoso.com and has an IP address of 10.0.0.25, you must have this information ready when you create your VPN connection to the server.
To connect to a VPN server at your organization, you must know your user name and password. If you do not know your user name and password, you should talk to your organization Help Desk before attempting to connect to the organization network.
To connect to a VPN server at your organization, you must have permission from your organization to do so. If you are unable to connect to your organization network by using a VPN connection, you should talk to your organization Help Desk to find out if you have permission to connect from a remote location.
To connect to a VPN server at your organization, your computer or device must be connected to the Internet.
If your organization requires you to use a smart card to connect with VPN, you must have a smart card reader and a smart card connected to your computer or device before you attempt to connect to your organization. If your organization uses virtual smart cards, you must have a virtual smart card installed on the computer or device.
If you are unable to create a VPN connection by using this topic and if your computer or device is joined to your organization’s domain, it is possible that your organization does not permit creation of VPN connections on your computer. If this is the case, you should talk to your organization Help Desk to find out if you have permission to create VPN connections to connect to your organization network.
Create a new VPN connection
You can create a new VPN connection from Start or the Desktop.
You can use the following sections to create a new VPN connection.
Create a new VPN connection from the Desktop
You can use the following procedure to create a new VPN connection from the desktop of your Windows 8 computer.
To create a new VPN connection
In the task bar, locate and right-click on the Network icon. Click Open Network and Sharing Center. Network and Sharing Center opens.
In Network and Sharing Center, in Change your networking settings, click Set up a new connection or network. The Set up a Connection or Network wizard opens.
In Choose a connection option, click Connect to a workplace, and then click Next.
In How do you want to connect, click Use my Internet connection (VPN).
If the wizard asks whether you want to set up an Internet connection, make your selection to set one up now or postpone until later.
In Type the Internet address to connect to, in Internet address, type the IP address of the VPN server to which you want to connect. In Destination name type a friendly name to help you identify the VPN connection later. For example, if you work for an organization named Contoso, type Contoso VPN connection. Also select any check boxes that are appropriate for your situation.
Click Create. The VPN connection is created and the Networks side bar opens to show you the network connections that are configured on the computer.
Connecting by using your VPN connection
After you have created a VPN connection, the easiest way to access it from the desktop is to left-click the network icon in the system tray. The left-click opens the Networks side bar and displays your VPN connection. To connect, left click the VPN connection, and then click Connect, In Network Authentication, type your user name in the format DOMAIN\User name, and then type your password.
Create a new VPN connection from the Start screen
In WindowsВ 8, you can use the Get Connected Wizard to create a VPN profile. To launch the wizard, type vpn in Settings, and then click Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection.
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FigureВ 1: Launch the Get Connected Wizard
In the wizard, you will provide the Internet address of the Remote Access VPN server to which you will connect, and a name for the new connection. You can use an IP address or the fully qualified domain name of the Remote Access server.
To find your server settings, on a computer running Windows 8 with a VPN already configured, view the connection properties as shown in Figure 8. The destination name is the text that will be used for the VPN connection name (profile name), as shown in Figure 2.
You can click Remember Credentials to save your credentials on the first successful connection attempt. This creates a new REF _Ref324847461 \h Discovery Profile, which the client can use to connect to the VPN.
FigureВ 2 shows the only information that you need to create a VPN profile. During the first successful connection attempt, authentication and tunneling protocols are automatically negotiated between the VPN server and your computer, and are configured for user name and password-based VPN deployments. After these protocols are negotiated, you can edit the settings in Connection Properties.
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FigureВ 2: Get Connected Wizard Screen 1
Connect to a corporate network by using an existing VPN connection
To connect with an existing VPN connection
Open Charms by moving the cursor to the top or bottom right corner of your computer screen. It can also be accessed by using the Win+C keyboard shortcut.
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FigureВ 3: Charms Bar
Click Settings, and then click the network icon that is displayed in the right corner of the screen, as shown in Figure 4.
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FigureВ 4: Network icon location
In Networks, click the VPN connection that you want to use, and then click Connect.
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FigureВ 5: Connect to VPN
When you click Connect, a new connection is negotiated with the server by using the saved credentials. If you did not previously select Remember Credentials while creating the connection, you will be asked to provide credentials.
When you select Remember my credentials when you create your connection, you won’t be asked for the credentials in further connection attempts. To clear the cached credentials, right-click the connection, and then select Clear Cached Credentials , as shown in the following figure.
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FigureВ 6: Specify VPN connection credentials
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FigureВ 7: Clear cached credentials
Edit connection properties
To edit a connection that you have already configured, right-click the connection, and then select Connection Properties.
To access Connection Properties, in the Networks, click View Connection Properties.
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FigureВ 8: Connection Properties
Connection Properties has four tabs as shown in FigureВ 8. Click each tab to perform the following tasks:
General
Change the VPN server host name or IP address. Additionally, configure an interface to public network.
Options
Configure point-to-point protocol (PPP) settings and enable or disable caching of credentials.
Security
Configure tunnels, authentication, and encryption settings.
Networking
Configure transports (or protocols). The most common protocols are TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6.
Delete a connection
On the Start screen, click Search in Charms, type vpn, and then click View Network Connections under Settings.
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FigureВ 9: View Network Connections
Right-click a VPN connection, and then click Delete, as shown in FigureВ 10.
How to Set Up Your Own VPN Server in 15 Minutes
If you use Habr, chances are, you’re conscious about privacy on the web. As governments and corporations tighten their grip on people’s online activities, the issue of keeping your browsing data to yourself becomes more and more relevant.
Numerous tech websites say VPN is no longer a geek-only thing, and regular people should use it, too (Fast Company, Mashable, PCMag). But as a tech-savvy person, you know there isn’t a service you can trust as much as the one you host and manage yourself.
With this post, you’ll deploy your own instance of Outline VPN on AWS.
What is Outline?
Outline is an open-source project backed by Jigsaw, a Google subsidiary focused on information security and privacy. Outline consists of three parts: a Docker-based server software, Outline Manager for creating and deleting users, and the client app for several platforms. Sources for all those components are available on GitHub.
Strictly speaking, Outline is not a traditional VPN, but a ShadowSocks-based proxy. However, since it forwards traffic to the remote server and encrypts data en route, i.e. does two things usually expected from a VPN service, I’ll refer to Outline as a VPN (it seems like everyone does so).
Hosting
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll host Outline with Lightsail, an amateur-friendly part of AWS. The lowest-tier plan costs $3.50 (less than ₽250) a month and gives you 512 MB of RAM, a 20-gigabyte SSD, and 1 TB of data transfer—enough resources to run a VPN service.
EC2 is good for when your project needs scalability and you’re prepared to configure (and pay for) every service, including computing, data transfer, etc., individually. For small projects, like a personal VPN server, EC2 is confusing and, most importantly, too expensive: the cheapest EC2 instance will cost you $3.87 a month, data transfer not included.
The only good reason to use EC2 instead of Lightsail is if you haven’t used the AWS free tier (Lightsail is not eligible for it).
Getting Started with Lightsail
Create a new Lightsail instance. You’ll be presented with a list of locations. Select whichever one that suits you most. Changing availability zone is only relevant if you launch several instances in one region and are worried about fault tolerance; otherwise, leave the default value.
Select Ubuntu 18.04 LTS as the operating system.
Create the instance, wait for it to launch, and then open its settings. On the Networking tab, create a static IP address (it’s included in the price of the instance).
Connect to the server using SSH. You can use the browser-based client on the Connect tab in settings.
Once connected, install software updates.
️ It’s highly recommended to configure swap. See this guide.
Install Docker
Outline server software relies on Docker, but Ubuntu ships without it installed. Fortunately, it can be installed in a matter of seconds.
️ Don’t forget to log out and reconnect to the server for settings to apply!
Install and Configure Outline
Run the following command to install server software:
Once installation is complete, you’ll see two important things: server management key and a set of ports you need to open. Go back to server settings and configure firewall on the Networking tab.
Download and install Outline Manager from the website. The app is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. On the setup page, select “Set up Outline anywhere” and paste the server management key.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll see the server management screen where you can add and remove user keys, and view data transfer stats. Create a key, rename it if you want, click the share button on the right, scroll down in the popup window, and copy the access key.
Connect to Your Server
Download the Outline Client app. As of today, it supports macOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. In the app, click or tap the plus button, paste the key, and connect to the server.
Your traffic is now secure.