To find out more about OpenVPN connections on a PC, first make an OpenVPN connection to any location with your VPN app. (Image credit: Microsoft) OpenVPN: under the hood Why does this matter? The VPN app passes the settings to OpenVPN using standard commands, and if you can find them, they'll give you every detail about the connection and how it's set up. If you're unsure, right-click the file, select Properties, Details, and you should see it's copyrighted 'OpenVPN Project' and originally called OpenVPN.exe. NordVPN has 32 and 64-bit openvpn-nordvpn.exe files in its C:\Program Files\NordVPN\\Resources\Binaries folders, for instance, and Turbo VPN includes vpncore.exe in its C:\Program Files (x86)\TurboVPN\Driver32 folder. Some providers build a special version of the file or just rename it. It's often called openvpn.exe, and, for example, by default the ExpressVPN Windows app has a copy in its C:\Program Files (x86)\ExpressVPN\expressvpnd\windows folder. You might be able to find this OpenVPN file in your VPN app folders. It's this app that sets up the connection and handles all the tricky low-level stuff. Then it usually saves those settings to a file, and passes them to a command line app from the official OpenVPN project. What actually happens is the VPN app looks at the location you've chosen, your app settings, and anything else which defines how the connection should work. When you hit your VPN's Connect button, it's easy to assume the app then creates, manages and eventually closes the OpenVPN connection for you. (Image credit: NordVPN) How does OpenVPN connect? But peeking under the OpenVPN hood can often give you the answer, and in this article we'll explain exactly what you need to do. What's the name or IP address of the server your app is trying to reach? If the app doesn't give you a choice of UDP or TCP connections, what's it using by default? Is the provider really using its own DNS server, or just redirecting you to a public service? It might take a few minutes of detective work with Task Manager and other tools, but there may be ways you can find out.Īnd if an OpenVPN connection fails, understanding why is often a real challenge as app error messages can be misleading. Maybe you're looking for more details on the connection. Ever wondered if a VPN really is giving you the 256-bit encryption it's advertised, for instance? The app may not clearly tell you, but if you can figure out where to look, especially on desktops, there are other ways to find out. Choose it from a Protocols list on the Settings page and that's it, the app sets up OpenVPN automatically, every time you connect, and you don't have to care about any of the low-level technical details.Įxcept, well, sometimes you might care. Most VPN apps make it easy to use the OpenVPN protocol.
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