VPN client/server ( Windows ) RMD ..

[gilesgoat]

Ok this is a thing that maybe some of you may know.

Now NO, I DO NOT need VPN "to browse internet pr0n" or shit like that ( I already do it OK without VPN ).

I need to "Connect point A with point B" and that's it, client on "B", server on "A".

Until some years ago I was using the pure window RRAS ( yes bit crap BUT DID WORK FOR FREE ) until win10/11 fucked something up

Now I tought that "in the world of OpenSource/Free SW" I could have found something "that just work" for free.

But it seems I am not able to find it and nowadays "VPN" seems mostly to mean "I have PAID SUBSCRIPTION" for some shit service I use to log in there to browse weird pr0n all day.

This is not what I want also I want a solution that is "Local" ( i.e. *I* run locally the server/client on the machines ) , "reliable", "easy to use/set up".

As I said "RRAS may sound crap" .. but it did work as a charm with PPTP until .. until we moved to fibre, had to change the router, upgraded to win10 ..

And it seems I haven't been able to make it work any more since.

"Worst case" ( or best ? ) case scenario I may even consider putting up a linux machine with a server "just for that".

I am open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[edit] - also forgot to say we got a (*&£*$&£&"^ "BT Business Broadband" router, that I tried my best to configure as was the other one before that was working.

[Little stoned kiwi]

https://www.zerotier.com/
https://openvpn.net/

[gilesgoat]

https://www.zerotier.com/
https://openvpn.net/

If I read correctly BOTH of those are NON Open Source NOR really free plus at least the zerotier seems they want you to connect to their OWN "centralised server" so if I I want to "connect A to B" it seems the reality is "both A and B connect to 'central server' X and then X routes a to b" ..

Which is NOT what I want.

[edit] - to say something good about Windows, the way RRAS works is that is a client AND/OR a server at the same time.

In essence PPTP at least is "Nothing much more than PPP over Eth" with some little extra extensions so it's not exactly rocket science, it should not take more than a "small .exe" to run.

The advantage of Windows RRAS is that it used to be able to use "windows autentication" if necessary, to authenticate logins and/or could have simply go with "standard means" including crap like MS-CHAP or such ( or better ).

[zip accident]

Is this the same question?

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread. ... e-Internet

[Whiteball]

Maybe not exactly what you want to do?

If I just want files available between two computers I use syncthing

https://syncthing.net/
https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing

[Little stoned kiwi]

If your server is running a Windows Sever edition you can setup a PPTP connection. Is it open? No, it's Microsoft's.
Perhaps the firewall or router provides VPN services. Do you trust them?
A 100% open-source solution where you can, though never will, invest time to audit the code and ensure it meets your high standard. Do you trust that?

[WiteWulf]

I use Tailscale on all my devices. It's a fantastic opensource frontend to OpenVPN that creates a private VPN mesh. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

It can either provide remote access to the individual host it's running, on you can configure it to act as an "exit node" to all the other hosts (not necessarily running Tailscale themselves) on that subnet.

https://tailscale.com

[WiteWulf]

BTW, OpenVPN *is* free and opensource, the product at the website openvpn.net is *not*

This is what you want if you want to source/components:
https://github.com/OpenVPN/openvpn

But, like I said, Tailscale is my solid recommendation.

[Whiteball]

I've used tailscale too and it is indeed very good so would second that recommendation.
Free for personal/hobby use with 1 user and a bunch of devices otherwise it is a paid for solution though.

[WiteWulf]

Yeah, the one user thing is fine: if you want multiple ppl to use your network you just share credentials, so long as you don’t want granular access control.

[Harlequin]

Does anyone here have any experience of and opinions on SoftEther, which also appears to be free for professional use?

[WiteWulf]

I'd never heard of SoftEther before today. Doing some Googling, although multi-platform, it appears to primarily be of interest to Windows users for some reason.

On paper it has a compelling feature set, but doesn't seem to get written up in any of the places online I'm familiar with. Give it a go, see how you get on!

[gilesgoat]

OK THIS IS INSANE ...

Cause soon we'll have a switchover to "all digital" ( they tell us analog telephones won't exist any more ) took advantage managed to talk to someone at BT that incredibly knew something about and tells me "well actually the BT ROUTER/MODEM CAN *NOT* WORK AS A VPN SERVER and/or let VPN traffic IN" ..

So they suggested me the following "option", it seems you can set it in some "totaly bypass mode" where it just moves traffic in/out wihtout any contol/etc. and on the other side of that place another router/firewall capable to do VPN.

They even suggested me "a model that would work" that is this "NightHawk Netgear" ... quick look .. 600 QUIDS !!!!

So I had a bit of a search my own .. I may have found "something else more reasonable" that should do the work and is this : TP-Link AX5400 which I am not sure about the firewall/mapping but does have a PPTP/LTP2 "embedded server" and even has instructions about how to make it work for Windows/Mac. ( always liked TP-Link, I think they are some "Cisco in disguise" ).

BUT .. as you can see it's NOT a Fibre MODEM .. and I can't yet find an "integrated solution" .. i.e. something that allows me to run a VPN server and also be a Fibre modem as well.

I keep seeing prices going from 600 to even 1000 quids for such things ..

IS THAT NORMAL ??!!! Is that the price of a fibre modem ??!!

[Dio]

Sounds like bollocks from your 'informed' person.

The BT home hub router has a DMZ and port forwarding (or ipv6 pinholes, if you're feeling brave) so you should be able to set up any VPN server on that. But you'd need a static IP to get to it, or some way to find out what the current IP address of the router is. It does support dynamic DNS for that.

It does also have its own native incoming VPN support "for most VPN software".

That's all just from looking at the config menus though, I haven't used any of that myself.

Unless this 'BT business router' is substantially more shit than the home one I guess. Which would be odd.

[gilesgoat]

Sounds like bollocks from your 'informed' person.

The BT home hub router has a DMZ and port forwarding (or ipv6 pinholes, if you're feeling brave) so you should be able to set up any VPN server on that. But you'd need a static IP to get to it, or some way to find out what the current IP address of the router is. It does support dynamic DNS for that.

It does also have its own native incoming VPN support "for most VPN software".

That's all just from looking at the config menus though, I haven't used any of that myself.

Unless this 'BT business router' is substantially more shit than the home one I guess. Which would be odd.

I do have a static IP that's not the problem and I already done the usual port forwarding ( port 1723 IIRC ) can't remember if you need also PORT 500 but I tried it all.

However something seems to go odd, you get the point it does the initial PPPT authentication, you get connection to the net and after some seconds all falls off.

Tried even "port clamping" the only option that is and NOTHING seems to work.

We have a BT Business Hub that apparently is even more shit than the "home" hub.

I tried all shit I can think of but nothing seems to work .. the thing is with DSL and the OLDER router ALL was working FINE, it's since we moved to fibre that shit happens.

[edit] - and you can NOT select any "protocol" or such, you can only say "this thing goes to port XYZ" and that's it.