OpenVPN GUI setup guide for Windows 8

This guide demonstrates how to install the community edition of OpenVPN for Windows.

If you are using IVPN to protect your privacy/anonymity this software does not offer any DNS leak protection, you may wish to install the scripts from www.dnsleaktest.com to implement DNS leak prevention. In addition if the VPN connection is dropped for any reason, traffic may leak unencrypted through your default gateway. You may want to configure firewall software to mitigate this risk. For these reasons we recommend installing the IVPN client.

  1. Download the latest OpenVPN installer from the OpenVPN community downloads page. Ensure that you download the correct version for your architecture i.e. 32 or 64 bit (If you’re not sure see here).

  2. Run the installer and answer the required prompts to install the software. Select the default set of components to install. If you have not installed OpenVPN before you may be asked to install the TAP drivers. Check the box “Always trust software from OpenVPN” and click Install.

  3. Download the OpenVPN configuration files.

  4. Extract the zip file and copy the contents of the ivpn-openvpn-config folder (the .ovpn files) to the config folder within the OpenVPN installation directory (Usually C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenVPN\config on 32-bit systems and C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config on 64-bit systems).

  5. Right click on the OpenVPN shortcut on the desktop and choose Properties, switch to the Compatibility tab and enable Run this program as an administrator.

  6. Start the OpenVPN GUI by double-clicking the shortcut on the desktop. You must allow the application to run as administrator if it requests permission (This is required to update the local routing table).

  7. Right click on the OpenVPN system tray icon (two small monitors in bottom right corner, click the up arrow if icon is hidden) and select the server you wish to connect to and click on Connect. Enter your account ID that begins with letters ‘ivpnXXXXXXXX’ or ‘i-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX’ and any password when prompted.

    Only your account ID is used for authentication and is case-sensitive. The password field can be left empty or set to anything if your client software requires a non-blank password.

  8. When the tray icon turns green you are connected to the IVPN network. Right click to disconnect.

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