Setting up a VPN server??

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Dan03

New Member
Ive followed several tutorials to set up a VPN on my home computer, but when I try to connect from my laptop in another country it says cannot establish connection. I really have no idea why.

Im a bit of a computer newbie, can anyone suggest what might be wrong? The VPN is listed on the home computer but when I try to log in using the new windows username and password I created for this I can not. I opened the port for the vpn but Im not sure if I have some kind of router firewall, anti virus firewall etc. or not. A friend set up my router so Im a bit lost about that kind of thing.

Any suggestions? Thanks so much!
-Dan
 
What software are you using? What OS and what vpn server?
Which port did you forward?
What did you configure on the server?

I'd try connecting to the vpn server from your internal network first. That rules out any problems that might be caused by external networks (your isp) and problems with your router/ port forwarding.
 
Sorry, im using Vista on the host computer and windows 7 on the connecting client. What software you ask? Im not sure what this means, Im just using the control panel and choosing to set up a new connection, setup a vpn bla bla.

Anyway it seems the problem might be on my router, i dont think i have setup the port forwarding and protocol 47 there, but after searching the net i cant find any good information on how to do so. My router is a ZyXEL P-660HW-T1v2, does anyone know how to forward the port and change thep protocol for this? Ive checked portforward.com but i cant find anything about windows vpn somehow, maybe im just missing it smoehow.

Thanks!
 
Gre protocol 47 usually isn't something you can forward. The router either handles it. Or it doesn't. Maybe you have a vpn forwarding option. Find that.

How did you setup the vpn server on the host computer? What steps, options etc. Didn't even know windows had a vpn server.
 
I used a guide similar to this one
http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f44/how-setup-vpn-zyxel-p-335wt-217049/
although my guide only mentioned how to open the port on the windows firewall not the router firewall, which i am guessing in my problem. this guide shows how to change the router settings for the authers router but i chcked mine and it is very different, im also guessing my ip address might be different so im not sure exactly what to put.
 
There is no mention what so ever about hosting a vpn server on a windows machine on that link... They have a zyxel router which is functioning as a vpn server. And it is sitting behind another zyxel router which needs port forwards.

That's why i asked what server vpn software you're using. Can you answer this?
 
Ahhh, that explains. You need to forward the ports to your internal address. You can find this by typing ipconfig into a cmd window (google it ;)). And my first suggestion still stands. Test the vpn inside your internal network. While inside your lan connect using the internal ip.
 
How do I do that? :) Sorry im a bit of a newbie to this kind of thing. also I beleive I need to enable protocol 47 according to all the guides but im worried my router doesnt support it so i might need another option.

I would try your suggestion to try on an internal network but im not in the same country as the server right now, am accessing the server computer via teamviewer (remote access software).

Actually my main reason for this vpn is to use my home IP address to access the internet, id set up a proxy but i need to use it for software as well as browsers. Im sure there must be an easier way but right now the onyl way i know is through microsoft :(
 
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Routers usually just supports GRE and they forward it normally. If it doesn't work you need a new router. The programs don't have connection settings?
 
Ahh, this is never ending... I think I found out how to setup the router to accept the incoming connections, and made sure that the windows and avg firewalls are both turned off but still I can not connect. I took a screenshot of the settings, is this not correct?

Seriously, is there no easier way to use the internet through my uk ip than this? :(

It gave me an option for pptp type of port forwarding so I guess that means it is capable of the gre thing, i put the ip as you can see which i can only assume is correct... I also tried my external ip address on the host and still not working.
36047930407068803483.png
 
It gave me an option for pptp type of port forwarding so I guess that means it is capable of the gre thing
Click to expand...
Just an assumption. Being able to forward a port and being able to handle GRE are totally different things.

I have seen zyxel routers where you have to forward a port through the NAT layer. And also open a port in the firewall on the router. Anything like that under the security or advanced tab?

Also have you been able to forward that RDP port to a computer? It's obviously configured wrong right now. You can only port forward to an internal computer.

Seriously, is there no easier way to use the internet through my uk ip than this?
Click to expand...
You're dealing with VPN which isn't really common in home setups. So consumer router suppliers often don't really pay too much attention to that part.

What you could also do is setup a ssh server. You can tunnel ports through there. Winsshd for the server and tunnelier for client are free to use. But that would mean every program on your computer would either have to use the Internet Explorer connection settings or have an own connection settings window.
This would probably solve your port forward stuff. But it's a bit more complicated to understand the workings.
 
Ok, so you want to setup a VPN Server, 1st you have to think what OS, Internet Connection (and method, i.e. router or modem on a pc) and a few other things.
 
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