Recently, the world has been going through an extremely tough phase, altering living and working for everyone. In this modification, the use of technology has played an important role, from working online to playing games, staying connected with your family and loved ones to paying bills, each and everything has been possible because of technological advancements. In the era of globalization, staying up-to-date with the latest information and development made in the technical world holds much weightage.
People were available on the internet for gathering, searching, and researching information and pictures, even before the pandemic. In some way or the other, everyone used to go through an issue of not being able to access a particular website/page because of the Internet Positive Notification (Kurniadi, 2015).
VPN to the rescue
To deal with this problem, ethical hackers and other computer experts came up with the idea of making software called VPN. It stands for Virtual Private Network, which is software used to connect the router with a safe and secure internet connection (Johnson, 2020 ). The purpose of this software is to maintain secrecy by forming a private network. If you are using a public internet connection this software save your data while it is unsafe to use.
Before getting into the setup of a VPN on the server, the users must identify the utility, dos and don’ts, types, selection of the VPN, and much more. If you need a good VPN to use with a router, we recommend Surfshark. It supports the OpenVPN protocol that makes it easy to setup on routers. So you can use Surfshark 6 months free offer to test its features on routers.
Necessity of VPN
The necessity of a VPN service is to protect and shelter user’s personal and confidential information like bank details and more, and other browsing habits (Symanovich, 2021). There are a lot of benefits of connecting the VPN to your router like it will protect all your smartphones to other smart appliances on a secure connection (Eddy, 2019). This anonymity secures a lot of your activities like downloading, online shopping, emails, and more. VPN diverts the traffic through a highly coded tunnel to the server that is operated by the company of the VPN, and due to this, the actual IP address of the user is hidden and difficult to trace.
How useful is it?
People use VPN in a lot of ways to protect their identity and personal information while downloading, hide their activities and avoid them from being tracked, avoid any geographical restrictions on content that is online on certain websites, VPN can let you access your home computer even when you are traveling. There are certain drawbacks that VPN software has. A VPN will not hide your traffic completely; for that, one needs to download another application and set it up (Eddy, 2021). Another thing is just because you are using a safe and effective network doesn’t mean that one does not abide by the online security rules and policies because once a router is connected to a VPN, it has access to a lot of information from your device (Eddy, 2021 ). There is a limit to which the VPN will safeguard your content and ensure privacy, and this depends upon the policy of individual VPN software companies.
The Set-Up
There are a lot of things one should research while choosing a virtual private network, like their metrics, the number of devices that are allowed to connect, and more. But once the VPN is decided, it’s time to set it up properly (Ray, 2021).
- The first and foremost step to set up a VPN is IP Router Login. Go to your router’s IP address and then to the configuration panel. There are different ways to reach the panel for Windows users and macOS users.
- The next step is to look for the VPN client tab via advance settings, the location of the tab changes as per the software. If the client tab is not visible, it means that the router is not compatible with VPN, but numerous routers that are VPN compatible and one can get those (Anonymous, 2021).
- Look for the guidelines mentioned in the client tab of the VPN and follow the instructions to achieve the desired results.
- Once the mentioned steps are followed, check that your connection is now VPN protected. There are websites and apps which can help you check whether the VPN is working or not. If one still wants to cross-check and be more confident about their digital security, searching on Google “What is my IP?” is the best way. If the answer is not your actual location, your work is done (Brame, 2018).
How to set up a (VPN) Virtual Private Network on a router
To set up a VPN on your router you need to do the following things –
- The first things to be done are the opening of the router configuration panel.
You can access this panel by typing your router’s IP (Internet Protocol) address in the browser of the device, it will similar to a URL. To find your router’s IP address, you should follow these steps –
Windows 10 users:
- Click and open the “Start” menu and type in and click on “Command Prompt.”
- A new window will appear where you need to type “ipconfig” and click the “Enter” button.
Your router’s IP address can now be seen on the screen. It will be present on the “Default Gateway” line on your screen.
MacOS users:
- Click and open the “System Preferences” option from the Apple menu.
- Click on the “Network” option after it.
- Click on the option of “Wi-Fi, then click on the “Advanced…” option, and then you can select the “TCP/IP” option.
You will now find your router’s IP address that will be present on your screen next to the “Router” option.
- Check for a VPN client tab. It is generally found below the advanced settings option of your router. It depends on your router’s model and brand; this section can be present in some other place. Click the buttons to find it and click on it. If you are not able to find it, this has only one meaning that your router is not VPN-compatible. This doesn’t mean the end; it is possible to make routers VPN compatible with some kinds of the firmware.
- After finding it, you should carefully read your VPN client’s guidelines for setting up the VPN. There are different guidelines for different routers. You must check it.
- After this, you must ensure that your connection is VPN-protected. To achieve this process you will need to search “what is my IP” in Google and check if it shows a different location than your original place. If this is not the case, check for any mistakes in carrying out the instructions correctly, or else you can contact with contact customer support.
- After this, you can enjoy your VPN router!
How to fix the issue of your router is not VPN-compatible?
When your router is not already VPN client-compatible, you can easily set up with third-party firmware that will fix this issue. You can do this as follows –
- Start with finding the router’s IP address. Also, you can directly go to Step 3 if you already did it.
Windows 10 users:
- Click and open the “Start” menu and type in and click on “Command Prompt.”
- A new window will appear where you need to type “ipconfig” and click the “Enter” button.
Your router’s IP addresses can now be seen on the screen. It will be present on the “Default Gateway” line on your screen.
MacOS users:
- Click and open the “System Preferences” option from the Apple menu.
- Click on the “Network” option after it.
- Click on the option of “Wi-Fi, then click on the “Advanced…” option, and then you can select the “TCP/IP” option.
You will now find your router’s IP address that will be present on your screen next to the “Router” option.
- Now, Access your router. To do this you will need to enter IP from Step 1 in your browser, it will be like a URL. It will bring a prompt that will need your router’s username and password. If they are unchanged, you will get them in the router’s manual.
- Get firmware for the router. You can check if the router is supported by checking the DD-WRT website. Use should use the search box and find the model of your router.
- You need to download the bin files from the DD-WRT website according to your specific router. It is an important process and it may lead to damage to your warranty.
- Then you need to find the firmware install page generally present under the “Administration” option.
- You will need to upload the DD-WRT bin file. Ensure it is the correct file for your browser and upload it.
- You will need to set a new username and password. Default settings for DD-WRT IP are 192.168.1.1. Enter this in the browser like a URL; here you will need to set a new username and password.
- Please ensure that your router is connected to the internet.
- Prepare the device for installation. Go to the VPN tab in Services and click on the “Enable” bubble to “Start Open VPN Client.”
- Now follow the steps given in How to set up a VPN router.
This is the complete set of your VPN to your router.
Using VPN can be challenging, but there is a lot that can be done if someone knows how to use and manage a Virtual Private Network. Once you are done with the right VPN provider and signed with them, it becomes very easy for someone to access information, shows, content, and other services available exclusively in a particular country. For instance, you want to access all the content and information for the US, and you are not there. By signing up for a VPN, one can access everything, from games to movies and shows. The only important thing is to select the best VPN to get an IP address for America (Husain, 2021). In this digital era, when everything is done using online mediums, opting for safe and secure ways to do them digitally has become the need of the hour. Virtual Private Network is not a full-proof way to secure the information, but it is still one of the best available options in the market (Still, 2020).