This is part 2 of 3 in a series. This series is actually for an English class assignment, but I decided to put it on my main blog instead of my second blog (http://antani02.blogspot.com/).
==DISCLAIMER==
Use these methods at your own risk. If your workplace has an Acceptable Use Policy that forbids employees from bypassing the filter, then think before making the decision to do so.
VPN is one way to bypass a filter, it basically routes you to the internet through your home network, which is basically what SSH does. A notable difference is that with SSH, you don’t have access to the computers on your home network in the same way as VPN. With VPN, it puts you in the LAN that your router is in. You can use printers in the LAN, and even connect to them by local IP address (192.168.x.x). You can also access computers by IP address. This makes it more visible why VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
With SSH, you are still going through the router, but aren’t placed in the LAN.
This post will focus on configuring VPN on a DD-WRT router. First though, I will explain some things to remember if you are considering installing DD-WRT.
First, check the DD-WRT database of compatible routers (Here). If you attempt to install it on an incompatible router, it may become permenantly bricked. If you don’t know, ‘bricked’ means a device that has been rendered completely useless (like a brick), usually as a result of messing around with the firmware. Also, read the installation instructions on the DD-WRT wiki (Here). I would also recommend reading and saving (Ctrl-S on most browsers) that page and any relevany pages, such as the Peacock Thread. Saving the pages is a good idea in case you screw up the router and cannot access the internet.
So, now that you have DD-WRT installed and configured, you are ready to move on to the VPN server configuration. You can now access the web interface (Default IP address is 192.168.1.1) through your web browser. To do this, type 192.168.1.1 into your address bar.
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You will see a page like this:
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I have put 4 red dots on the ‘Services’ button. Click this button, and you may get a password prompt. If you have set a username and password, enter it. If not, the deafult DD-WRT username and password is:User: root
Password: admin
After you type that in, you will be directed to another page. On this page, you may notice there is now a bar with a blue background under the other one. I have pointed it out in this image:
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- For server IP, use 192.168.1.1, or whatever the IP address is (If you changed it).
- For client IP, put an IP address that starts with whatever the first 3 numbers of the Server IP is. For the fourth number, put any number up to 255. Remember the number you put here, as it will be used for client configuration.
- For chap secrets, put a username and password in this format:
username * password *
I used ‘root’ as the username, and it worked for me.
- Set the radius server radio button to “Disable”
Click “Apply Settings” at the bottom of the page, and the server’s configuration is finished!
Check out my next post for the VPN Client configuration (I have methods that you can use for both Windows and Ubuntu).