VPN Forum access and IP addresse Tests

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 02:39 PM

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 6, 13:41 EEST

Some general questions about what VPN / NordVPN can do

Hello
I have been considering getting a VPN for use at home, possibly also a full paid membership. But at the moment I am totally confused as to how exactly VPN works and exactly what it does.
I can't seem to find any information that is easy enough for me to understand. I have limited computer Knowledge. I do understand the basic idea of VPNs hiding my IP address. But I want to understand a bit more about exactly what you can do with them: For examples:-
_(i) One thing that I would like to do is to be able register in different forums and web sites with both different usernames and different IP addresses. In other words, I want to use a specific IP address with each specific usernames when logging into a Forum or web site. I do not know if that is possible.
_(ii) Another thing that I would like to do is to possibly have the option for the IP address to change randomly every time I refresh , or move to another section in a website, or Thread, or article in a web site or a Forum. So this would mean that nobody could see what parts I am reading or how I am "moving around" the site or forum. So nobody could see a trend in the information which I am accessing. I do not know if that is possible.
_ (iii) I don't always want to hide my IP address. So I want to be able to switch easily and quickly from using the internet with my real IP address or a different one
Can you answer any of these questions ?

For info:
I have several computers in my Family with Operating systems of XP , Vista and Windows 7.
( All my computer work is for private personal projects. I am not involved in any business or paid work directly involving computers or software. (I give some free help on Internet Help Forums) )

Thanks
Alan Elston
Hof
Baveria
Germany

.
NordVPN6 (NordVPN)
Sep 7, 02:00 EEST
Hello, Alan,

Thank you for your letter.

A VPN is the best way to conceal your activity online. When you use a VPN, your data connection is encrypted, so ISPs, governments, NSA spies, and other third parties cannot see which websites you visit, what you download, or whether you use services such as Skype or a P2P application. NordVPN protects your privacy and prevents others from monitoring and controlling your online communications and browsing activity. With NordVPN, your location stays private and you can switch freely between multiple global VPN server locations.

NordVPN servers protect your IP address and hide your true location. You can choose from more than 5000+ Servers in 60+ Countries worldwide. With VPN, you can also hide Internet traffic data from your Internet service provider, as well as the government, NSA, and hackers. Even better, our fast and secure servers let you enjoy anonymous web browsing at the highest possible speeds.

For more information, you should read our beginners' guide to Virtual Private Networks:
https://nordvpn.com/what-is-a-vpn/

To answer your other questions, you can connect to the same server every time to get the same IP address so it would be possible to do the things mentioned in your first question.

As for the second one, unfortunately, that would not be possible as the IP that you get when connecting to our servers is static, you would not be able to change it every time you go to a different page on the Internet automatically.

Furthermore, if you want to get your normal IP then it is as simple as disconnecting from our servers and then reconnecting if you would need a different IP again.

Let us know if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,
Gonzalo Moruga
Customer Success Team
NordVPN.com

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 6, 08:38 UTC
Hello
I am following the instruction here
https://hide.me/de/vpnsetup/windowsvista/openvpn/#step
At step 3, I click on „Konfigurationsdatei „ ( https://imgur.com/vl84o4m)
But that link takes me to a „Serverliste" ( https://imgur.com/dHHqU4G)
So I am stuck. I do not know what to do next????
Alan
Hallo
Ich folge den Anweisungen hier
https://hide.me/de/vpnsetup/windowsvista/openvpn/#step
In Schritt 3 klicke ich auf „Konfigurationsdatei" ( https://imgur.com/vl84o4m)
Aber dieser Link führt mich zu einer „Serverliste" ( https://imgur.com/dHHqU4G)
Also stecke ich fest. Ich weiß nicht, was ich als nächstes tun soll ????
Alan

Betreff: [hide.me Support] Re: [Technical] Website support request
Datum: 2019-09-06T11:13:24+0200
Von: "Nathan (hide.me Support)"
An: "Doc.AElstein@t-online.de"
Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 6, 09:13 UTC
Hello Alan,
For Windows Vista you can check this article here: https://hide.me/en/knowledgebase/hid...dows-xp-vista/
As mentioned in the article, if you are using free membership you can set up VPN connection using SoftEther protocol and this setup guide here: https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsxp/softether/
You just have to use one of the free VPN server address above, for example free-nl.hide.me to connect to our servers in the Netherlands.
With free plan you can connect to 5 of our VPN server locations: the Netherlands - in this case in the "Server name or address" field enter free-nl.hide.me
for Singapore enter free-sg.hide.me ; for Canada enter free-ca.hide.me and for US-East free-us-east.hide.me and US-West free-us-west.hide.me
The OpenVPN protocol is only available to our Free members through our own VPN client apps here and we no longer provide our native VPN client for Windows XP and Vista.
You can check this article here: https://hide.me/en/knowledgebase/where-can-i-download-openvpn-configuration-files/
We also recommend to upgrade to newer version of the operating system to be able to receive security patches and regular updates from Microsoft and also to use our latest VPN app.
If you would like to test OpenVPN setup I can activate a temporary paid membership on your account, free of charge, so you can download configuration files and complete OpenVPN setup. Just let me know your hide.me username you registered with and when would you like us to activate 1 day Premium trial.
If you would like to continue using free membership you can use SoftEther setup. If you need any further assistance feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture LimitedX2V-

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 6, 10:01 UTC
Hello Nathan,
Thanks for the quick response and information.
I shall take another detailed look over the next few days. (Just now I am
bisy with something else).

I have several computers in my Family with Operating systems of XP , Vista
and Windows 7.

I have been considering getting a VPN for use at home, possibly also a full
paid membership. But at the moment I am totally confused as to how exactly
VPN works and exactly what it does.
I can't seem to find any information that is easy enough for me to
understand. I have limited computer Knowledge. I do understand the basic
idea of VPNs hiding my IP address. But I want to understand a bit more
about exactly what you can do with them: For examples:-
_(i) One thing that I would like to do is to be able register in different
forums and web sites with both different usernames and different IP
addresses. In other words, I want to use a specific IP address with each
specific usernames when logging into a Forum or web site. I do not know if
that is possible.
_(ii) Another thing that I would like to do is to possibly have the option
for the IP address to change randomly every time I refresh , or move to
another section in a website, or Thread, or article in a web site or a
Forum. So this would mean that nobody could see what parts I am reading or
how I am "moving around" the site or forum. So nobody could see a trend in
the information which I am accessing. I do not know if that is possible.
_ (iii) I don't always want to hide my IP address. So I want to be able to
switch easily and quickly from using the internet with my real IP address
or a different one

( All my computer work is for private personal projects. I am not involved
in any business or paid work directly involving computers or software. (I
give some free help on Internet Help Forums) )

The idea of a one day trial sounds a good idea. But I need to wait until
_a) I have a day free, so as to be able to test it thoroughly
and
_b) I need to try and understand more about VPNs in the meantime and find
out if it is possible to do the sorts of things that I have mentioned
above.

Thanks again.
Alan Elston
Hof
Baveria
Germany

( P.S: My hide.me username which I registered today is
TheDocIsHere
)

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 6, 12:18 UTC
Hello Alan,
Our service works in a way that when you connect your device to our VPN server all your traffic is encrypted and your real location hidden.
That means that no one can see what you download or upload to the internet (including your Internet Service Provider) and depending on the VPN server that you connect to, your address will change.
So for example if you connect to our Canada VPN server you will get a Canadian IP address and to everyone on the internet it will look like you are accessing the internet from Canada.
When you connect your device to our servers, you can browse and use it as you normally would and once you're connected to our VPN, the data transfer will go through the VPN tunnel and your IP is now hidden behind our servers.
You can check for more information how our service works and what it is mostly used on our website here and here for example: https://hide.me/en/features/
You are assigned IP address randomly, you may get the same server but IP address can change when we have several servers in that location.
If a load is high on one server a load balancer automatically connects you to a VPN server that has the least connections. All servers will provide you with the best bandwidth available as we have a Load Balancer. This is used to distribute the server load between the servers in that location in order to ensure the best performance for our users.
So it is possible that you get the same IP address when you reconnect; then you may need to reconnect a couple of times to get a different address.
But with our Premium plan you can manually reserve a different IP address from the pool of addresses on that server in your Connection Settings.
You can easily connect and disconnect at your convenience with our VPN client apps or other setups. OpenVPN setup requires a little more work and since you're using old operating systems not many options are available to you. Please note that Microsoft will also end the support for Windows 7 after January 14th 2020 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-7-support
When you will have time please check these articles and with free membership you can continue using SoftEther setup on your Windows XP and Vista devices and for Windows 7 you can download our VPN client from here.
When you would like to try and set up OpenVPN on your devices just let me know and I will activate temporary Premium membership on your account.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture Limited
Visit our community and share your experience:
https://community.hide.me

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 7, 06:49 UTC
Hi
Thanks for the reply and extra info
I will look again at all this when I have time, hopefully in the next week
Alan

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 7, 07:33 UTC
Hi Alan,
You are more than welcome and feel free to contact me if there is anything else I can help you with.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture Limited
Visit our community and share your experience:
https://community.hide.me

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 9, 08:51 UTC
Hello Natham
I have read through the articles that you suggested and I think I
understand most of it.

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 04:43 PM

But I am afraid that I am still not completely sure how to "get started"

I have 3 questions:
_1 ) If I understand correctly what you wrote in your last contact; then for a computer with Windows 7 operating system, my start point would be here: https://hide.me/en/software/windows
Is this correct?

_2) I am not sure how to "get started" , for example , with a computer with Vista Operating system: You mention "SoftEther setup" . I have been able to Google some information on SoftEther. But I am rather confused as to how
that fits in with a VPN from hide.me. In other words, I have no idea how to "get started" with a computer with
Vista Operating system: What do I download and from where. I am basically looking for a "computer idiots guide" to getting started with your VPN on a Vista computer.
Can you tell me what my first step or steps would be try out a VPN connection on a Vista operating system machine?
(I think I would prefer to get the more difficult option of Vista ( or XP ) working first: It would not be so helpful if I practiced on the simpler Windows 7, and then, after taking full membership option found that I had difficulty getting a VPN on one of my older machines… )

_3) "VPN client" ..???
_3) (i) You have used the term "our VPN client" in your last Email….. On the internet this term, "VPN client", is used very imprecisely and vaguely, and appears to mean many different things depending on who uses it and in what context. Could you please elaborate on what you are referring to by "our VPN client"
_3) (ii) I have read that my "Router"###, "does not have the VPN client feature", and so "cannot connect directly to a VPN service". ( https://vpn-anbieter-vergleich-test....d-vpnanbieter/ ). Is this relevant?
_.__________________

Some other info that might be relevant…
_ My wife is likely to buy a new laptop soon. This will most likely have Windows 10 operating system. But I still have and want to keep using many older computers and laptops in my family. So my final aim is to have at least one machine with the VPN possibility on XP. Vista, Win7, Win 10. So at least 4 machines in total with a VPN possibility.

_ Currently , I only have time in the morning before work to look at this stuff. So I was thinking of practicing first with a single Vista attempt. Then the next or over next weekend I could try out your one day offer for the temporary Premium membership to see if I can achieve with it what I finally want to do.

_My Internet system:
I have two separate possibilities
_(i) I have a small USB "Internet Dongle", ( from Congstar/ German Telekom). I only occasionally use this when travelling. It is often rather slow, and I probably will not want to use it much when wanting to use a VPN connection.
_(ii) My main house internet: "My Router"###
Most of my time on the internet is done at home... This comes from a standard fixed copper telephone line, from the main German Telecom company, "Deutscher Telekom". I pay monthly for a flat rate. The telephone cable comes through our house wall and connects to a small box, a "Router" : ' It is a German Telecom ( Deutscher Telekom)
"Speedport W405V TypA " ( https://www.telekom.de/hilfe/downloa...port_w504v.pdf ).
I believe that the system is a so called "IP-basierten Anschlüssen" / ( "IP-based connection" ).
( Note also that there was some change made in July of this year by the German Telekom network, which meant that I no longer needed to have a "DSL-Splitter" placed in between the incoming telephone cable and the Router).

_._______

Thanks
Alan Elston
Hof

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 9, 12:51 UTC
Hello Alan,
We have our own VPN clients on our website here: https://hide.me/en/software
However there are alternative ways of setting up a VPN connection, you can find all our setup tutorials that do not require our software on https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/
You can establish VPN connection manually using your operating systems built-in VPN client and one of our setup guides from our tutorial section.
For example, for Windows 7 you can use this guide here: https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windows7/ikev2/
You can download all our latest VPN apps from this link, https://hide.me/en/software
Our own VPN client means our own VPN application that is solely our product and it was developed by us.
Please note that SoftEther standalone client/application is not our own product, OpenVPN and SoftEther standalone clients which are still viable for Windows XP/Vista are third party products - none of those are developed by us.
OpenVPN and SoftEther are open source projects and you can check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVPN
And more information on SoftEther project you can find here https://www.softether.org/
Both OpenVPN and SoftEther security wise are one of the best protocols available and you can check this article here: https://hide.me/en/blog/best-vpn-protocol/
________________________________________
Regarding your first question, that is correct, for Windows 7 you can download our own latest VPN client from here: https://hide.me/en/software/windows
Our own VPN client means our own VPN application that was developed by us.
And after install you only need to login with your hide.me username and your hide.me password.
For Windows Vista we no longer provide our own VPN application and you only need to follow the steps from SoftEther setup guide here: https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsvista/softether/
As mentioned in Step 1 of the setup guide you need to download SoftEther standalone client from their website here: http://www.softether-download.com/en...duct=softether
Regarding router - you can setup VPN connection on your router but it depends if your router has such VPN client capabilities. As you noticed, not all routers support VPN client functionality. Some have only VPN server functionality. That means you can connect to it, but not with it to a VPN server.
With our Premium subscription you can connect 5 devices at the same time and next weekend or when you will have time just let me know and I'll activate Premium membership for a few days on your account so you can test VPN setup in more detail over the weekend.
I hope this helped and if you have any other questions or you'll need any assistance just let me know.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture Limited
Visit our community and share your experience:
https://community.hide.me

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 10, 04:54 UTC
Thanks, Nathan.
I think that all helps to get things clearer in my mind.
It appears that a lot of that information at those links is useful and
relevant to me.

I will try to read through them all in the next few days.

Alan

Betreff: [hide.me Support] Re: [Technical] Website support request
Datum: 2019-09-10T08:20:31+0200
Von: "Nathan (hide.me Support)"
An: "Doc.AElstein@t-online.de" doc.aelstein@t-online.de

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 10, 06:20 UTC
Hi Alan,
You're welcome and should there be anything else I can help you with don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture Limited
0

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 11, 09:41 UTC
Hello Natham
This is just some feedback that might be of interest .

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 04:46 PM

[FONT=Arial] [SIZE=3][color=Maroon]

I have made a start at getting a VPN client on one of my older my Laptops ( Acer Aspire 4810TZG with the original Vista Operating system installed )

OpenVPN
I could not make any progress on this. I hit the same problem that I did right at the start of looking at VPN stuff: The notes from hide.me do not tie up with the info at OpenVPN:
If you follow this route: …. https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/ : https://imgur.com/la9kx1i
https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsvista/ : https://imgur.com/lTTJ6HN … then you get the Setup tutorial here: https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsvista/openvpn/
Those tutorial notes do not tie up with what you find at the openVPN site, ( https://openvpn.net/community-downloads/
At the openVPN net site you see this: https://imgur.com/0qzmHly . According to the hide me tutorial notes you should see this: https://imgur.com/IxiHHrq
In addition, in the notes, and in the tutorial video, it does not show clearly what you should actually download.
So an attempt at getting OpenVPN client fails at the first Step.
It does not appear that the hide me notes and tutorials for getting an OpenVPN client are any use… possibly they are out of date and/ or OpenVPN have made changes in the meantime since the hide me notes and tutorials were written.

SoftEther VPN
Following the hide me notes and tutorials choosing the SoftEther Option, ( which you also noted in your last Email ) , I have more success. The tutorial form hide me ties up exactly with what one finds at the softether-download site.
The hide me notes for getting the SoftEther VPN "Client" are very clear and easy to follow…
I followed all the steps and I seem to have success!!
( I did get some extra info appear as well , which I am not sure what it
means, .. yet.. : https://imgur.com/hhyGYKf )

One thing that is a bit strange: I think I chose the USA server. But when I
check my apparent IP address, then I see IP 103.254.155.15 in Singapore? :
https://imgur.com/WNorGZz, https://imgur.com/GXYM65g

_.__________________________________________

I then went to a help forum where I have "Moderator powers", and so can see
the "secret" personal data collected from a visitor.
I did a test post , and then looked at the recorded IP address: This
confirms that I am shown at the Singapore IP address:
https://imgur.com/jIe7foe
http://www.excelfox.com/forum/showth...1477#post11477

So I am making progress!

I will continue looking at this VPN stuff tomorrow

Thanks for your continued support
Alan

Betreff: [hide.me Support] Re: [Technical] Website support request
Datum: 2019-09-11T19:27:51+0200
Von: "Nathan (hide.me Support)"
An: "Doc.AElstein@t-online.de"

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 11, 17:27 UTC
Hello Alan,
Thanks for the feedback and you are more than welcome! From the screenshots you were connected to our Singapore servers and everything seems to be in order. If you want to connect to US servers you need to type free-us-east.hide.me in the Host field.
Regarding the other screenshot unfortunately my German is not really that great and if you would like I can forward your ticket to our German support agents to clarify that part but our VPN service hides your identity and encrypts your network traffic and for that reason your connected device becomes unreachable from any other device other than our VPN server (like a safe bubble on the web).
Regarding the OpenVPN setup, as previously mentioned in our conversation, for this setup configuration files are needed, you can check this article here: https://hide.me/en/knowledgebase/whe...uration-files/
But since OpenVPN protocol for free users is available only within our own/native VPN applications you won't be able to find configuration files in your Members area and for this setup paid membership is needed.
For this reason, when you're ready - over the weekend or when it suits you just let me know and I will activate temporary Premium membership on your account for a few days so you can complete the OpenVPN setup as well.
I hope this helped and if you need any further assistance feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
NathanO

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 10, 04:54 UTC
Thanks, Nathan.
I think that all helps to get things clearer in my mind.
It appears that a lot of that information at those links is useful and
relevant to me.

I will try to read through them all in the next few days.

Alan

Betreff: [hide.me Support] Re: [Technical] Website support request
Datum: 2019-09-10T08:20:31+0200
Von: "Nathan (hide.me Support)"
An: "Doc.AElstein@t-online.de" doc.aelstein@t-online.de

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 10, 06:20 UTC
Hi Alan,
You're welcome and should there be anything else I can help you with don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Customer Relations Manager
eVenture Limited
0

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 11, 09:41 UTC
Hello Natham
This is just some feedback that might be of interest .

[color=lightgrey][size=1] Sincerely,
Nathan

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 12, 11:48 UTC
Hello Nathan
Thanks for the reply, and thanks for your patience!

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 04:48 PM

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 04:57 PM

My window 7 machine would not connect for a long time. ( At one point I did see this, https://imgur.com/MxaZ7aV , but mostly it simply did not connect)
After many attempts to connect, I was connected for a short time, but then I got this error: https://imgur.com/YvhI3rh
After this, attempts to re connect failed again mostly, or worked just fora short time, or I seemed to have a connection, but none of my Internet worked unless I disconnected hide.me. ( https://imgur.com/TnQXwGc , https://imgur.com/mt9CIbZ )

On my Vista machine, I continually kept getting any of these , making it impossible to use any connection for more than a short period of time.: https://imgur.com/V1LEGbe https://imgur.com/B282Nei

_.______________

( My account still seems to be the free version : https://imgur.com/wcXUVvz , https://imgur.com/yetDFRg , https://imgur.com/SBOYdTI )

_.____

I will take another look tomorrow

Alan

Betreff: [hide.me Support] Re: [Technical] Website support request
Datum: 2019-09-14T17:29:06+0200
Von: "Nathan (hide.me Support)"
An: "Doc.AElstein@t-online.de"
Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 14, 15:29 UTC
Hello Alan,
I have activated temporary Premium membership on your account for the next 3 days and you can check your membership status in the Members area here: https://member.hide.me/en/
You only need to Logout from your VPN client and log in again with your TheDocIsHere username (not to be mistaken with your email) and your hide.me password to start using your Premium account.
Regarding connection issues, if you are having difficulties connecting please restart your computer and try using a different protocol. Start your VPN client, don't connect just yet, go to Options in the upper right corner (cog wheel icon) click on Protocol tab and please change the protocol to SSTP.

Hide me App settings.jpg : https://imgur.com/bcFulOe
Hide me App settings.jpg

Hide me App settings SSTPjpg https://imgur.com/EnSRTNx
hide me App Settings SSTP.jpg

It seems fallback protocol activated as our VPN app wasn't able to connect using automatic protocol and if you're receiving a message to install the TAP driver, don't worry as that driver is needed for connecting via OpenVPN and SoftEther VPN protocols.
Since those VPN protocols are not present in Windows by default, they need to be installed separately;
Have no worries as this driver is safe and will only install a virtual network adapter used for SoftEther or OpenVPN protocol (the same way as Windows does)
Our VPN client is configured to use OpenVPN as the default Fall back protocol (in case the configured VPN protocol cannot connect).
The second screenshot is a kill switch notification. When you enable this option and the VPN connection drops, your internet connection will disconnect and you will not be exposed.
it will disable your Internet connection in case your VPN connection drops and the client isn't able to reconnect to our VPN servers. It will alert you of this with a pop-up across the screen to re-enable your connection.

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 04:58 PM

Regarding SoftEther issues please try this and make these adjustments and click on the Advanced Settings in the lower right corner from the screenshot in Step 5 of the SoftEther setup guide ( Advanced Setting of Communication)
and from the next screen enable these features as in the screenshot below:
a) Increase the Number of TCP Connections to 8
b) check the box/enable next to "Use Half-Duplex Mode
c) check the box/enable next to Disable UDP acceleration

Adjusted Advanced Settings SoftEther.jpg : https://imgur.com/sVa5Jkh
https://imgur.com/YuxW14m , https://imgur.com/TtS20Vi
Adjusted Advanced Settings SoftEther.jpg 05_berlin hide me adj adv set.jpg 02_berlin hide me adj adv set.jpg

TCP based protocols such as SSTP and SoftEther might work better for you.
________________________________________
You can also setup your connection using OpenVPN protocol and this setup guide here: https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsvista/openvpn/
You can find configuration files needed in your Members area here, https://member.hide.me/en/server-status simply choose location you wish to connect to and click on "+ More Details " and download OpenVPN configuration file for your device.
Premium membership is now active for the next 3 days, please try it when you will have time and let me know if it is working better.
Sincerely,
Nathan

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 15, 14:14 UTC
Hello Nathan.
Thanks for the reply and for connecting me to the premium for a few days…

So this is the results from my experiments today, Sunday.

_ My Vista Operating System Lap top ACER Aspire 4810TZG
Initially I did not change anything on my Vista machine, ( which still was/ is set up to use hide.me via the "SoftEther way".
Today, Sunday, it only seemed to have the problems mentioned from yesterday, Saturday, a few time initially. After that it had settled down.
So, initially I have not made the adjustments that you mentioned in your second screenshot in your last Email. For this machine. But I may look at them later on this machine.

I logged out and logged in using my TheDocIsHere password, as well as the page you mentioned, ( https://member.hide.me/en/user/login ) and I can see that I have premium temporarily.
( Also if I now look at the Choose Server ( https://imgur.com/LFsdqCJ ) , then I see that I have more location
options available : https://imgur.com/HfNhoHP )

_ Windows 7
I restarted the computer, but initially made no changes to anything to do with hide.me.
Immediately after restart, the hide.me window came up, and you can clearly see that the change to premium is shown: https://imgur.com/aMU1waN
Initially I tried what I had tried yesterday.
Today, Sunday, all seems well, and a connection was made immediately after hitting " connect "( " Verbinde VPN " on that last screenshot)
So initially I have not made the changes you suggested in the first screenshot in your last Email. But your instructions look very clear, so I will investigate them later, either if I encounter problems, or even if not, I will make the changes just as part of more detailed experimenting later..

Now that my Win 7 machine is up and running on hide.me again, I have restarted my "Robot" code. So I have that running in the background again.
(It is automatically visiting some Forums, via the hide.me connection.)

_ XP laptop ( Old LG x-120 )
( This is an old machine that has always been slow at just about everything! )
I have also noticed over the last few days that the continual disconnecting/ re connecting problems were particularly bad on this machine.
I continually get "time out errors" when using this machine via hide.me.
Today, Sunday, it was almost impossible to use hide.me on this XP machine, as I continually got time out errors.
( As soon as I disconnected hide.me , I immediately got internet working
normally)
So I tried the adjustments that you mentioned in your second screenshot in your last Email.
( ( This was then original Advanced Settings: https://imgur.com/e9PWaH3 )
This was my Advanced Settings after I made the adjustments: https://imgur.com/g6DEDhT )
I then tried, disconnecting, re connecting, restarting the computer etc.
But I was never able to get internet to work today, Sunday, using hide.me on this XP machine on any existing connections, including those that had worked a few days ago: ( This is the same XP machine which I originally
used in testing and had a working connection using hide.me initially as I reported on 12 September )
However, I notice after a computer restart that my Advanced Settings have reverted back to the original. So, possibly I need to add a new connection and then on that change the Advanced settings?

In any case, I started again with adding a new connection, initially usingthe original Advanced Settings. This connected OK, but once again I could get no working internet. As before I get time out errors.
So I added a new connection, (using the same Server ( us-east.hide.me ) , but this time I made the Advanced Setting Adjustments. This connected OK,
but once again I could get no working internet. As before I get time out errors.

I added two more connections, using the berlin server, ( which I expect is one of the nearest to me). One had the original Advanced Settings, and the other your suggested alternative Advanced Settings ..

Initially I got a working internet with the first connection to the connection with the original Advanced Settings. I then got no working connection to the connection with your suggested alternative Advanced Settings. Then, shortly later, later I could not get any connection to either to give me a working internet. I was back to the problem of "time
out" errors..

.
( I have been using browsers of Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. I also tried clearing browsing data, but that has had no effect on the problem )

_.____________________________

OpenVPN
I think that now that I am on premium.. this should "work", … so I decided to try on the Vista machine, ( which today was successfully working with hide.me, using SoftEther )
and also The XP machine, ( which I have not been able to get working constantly / consistently with hide.me over the past couple of days using SoftEther )

_Vista
I followed this… https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsvista/openvpn/
As in all the previous attempts, I am stuck at Step 1, because clicking on this : https://imgur.com/afFlTK7 , does not
take me to the place suggested in the instructions.
_ XP
I followed this:.. https://hide.me/en/vpnsetup/windowsxp/openvpn/
Same problem as with the Vista attempt: I cannot find the download for the OpenVPN client
_.________________________-

So my current issues are:

_ I cannot get internet to work always with a hide.me connection on my XP machine, currently almost never.
_ I cannot find the OpenVPN Client download: It is not at the link suggested in the hide.me Instructions.( or I may have missed something obvious…). .. Possibly those instructions are out of date? .
( I think I have now understood that I also need to download some configuration files, which are available to me whilst I have premium. But the problem is that I am not finding the OpenVPN client download).

_.________________

Thanks for the continued support.
Alan

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 16, 13:17 UTC
Hello Nathan.
Further to my last Email ( Sunday) ,
.... regarding the OpenVPN client files for Vista and XP ..
… could these be a possible source for them? ( I found them after a short
Google search for "OpenVPN client download" )
http://www.frostvpn.com/downloads/Openvpn_ALL_32.exe
http://www.frostvpn.com/downloads/Openvpn_XP_32.exe

I have not attempted to download them myself yet, as I am a bit apprehensive of downloading when I do not have any information about the source.

_.________________

Today, Monday, I have only had time to look briefly at the VPN stuff
On my Vista and Win 7 machines all the VPN stuff is working OK
My first connection on the XP machine lead to a successful working . I then disconnected and tried a few times to make re connections to different servers (with both the original and your suggested adjusted
Advanced Settings). The connections appeared to be successful, but internet did not work: as yesterday, Sunday, I got time out errors. I tried deleting Browser History and restarting the lap top etc…etc, but still I
could not get internet to work via a hide.me connection. So it just worked once, after the first connection..
Alan

Nathan (hide.me Support)
Sep 16, 18:05 UTC
Hello Alan,
You can download the OpenVPN client normally from their official website, they have only changed the layout of their website. There's no need to download from other sources.
When you click on the download link for the official OpenVPN Client from Step 1 in our OpenVPN setup guide it will take you to their website here: https://openvpn.net/community-downloads/
It is mentioned on the website that OpenVPN 2.4 installers will not work on Windows XP.
The last OpenVPN version that supports Windows XP is 2.3.18, which is downloadable as 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
You can download 32-bit version here: https://build.openvpn.net/downloads/...-I001-i686.exe
And 64-bit version you can download from here:https://build.openvpn.net/downloads/...001-x86_64.exe
I have extended your Premium membership for another 3 days so you can test OpenVPN setup.

Regarding connection issues on your XP computer, perhaps something is interfering with your connection, maybe security software if you're using it but you can try restarting your router and your computer to check if it resolves these issues.
You mentioned if you need to add a new connection and then change the Advanced setting, that is not necessary- you only need to press OK to confirm it, first on the Advanced section and then on the main screen of SoftEther client.
Make sure that your firewall is not blocking the following ports or turn off the router's firewall:
SSTP / SoftEther require port 443
IKEv2 requires UDP ports 500 and 4500
PPTP requires TCP port 1723
L2TP requires UDP 1701, 500 and 4500
OpenVPN requires TCP/UDP 4000-4100

To connect to VPN, you have to allow ports through firewall for each respective protocol.
Please try it in the meantime and you can test Premium membership for a few more days, you can check your membership status in your Members area here.
Sincerely,
Nathan

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 17, 13:15 UTC
Hello Nathan

Thanks for extending the premium trial period.
I will not have much time in the next few days , but will try to make some
progress with the VPN stuff .

OpenVPN download ( XP).
Thanks for the heads up on that:- I carelessly missed that reference to the XP downloads. The info for the download is "hidden" in a lot of other stuff which I do not understand, so I did not read it all as carefully as I
should have.

Forgive me for being stupid or missing the obvious again , but I am not seeing any mentioned download for Vista

It also is not 100% clear to me which downloads are required for Windows 7.

In my opinion, that OpenVPN community download page is not much use for a beginner. It seems to assume that you already know all about OpenVPN , and that you have it already downloaded it, and that you already use it and that you are just looking at that page for a general discussion and update on the current stand of things. There is no clear download list for the Client

My guess is that maybe need this for Windows 7,
https://swupdate.openvpn.org/communi...2.4.7-I603.exe
, but I am not sure.

Possibly the download for Windows 7 is also the one for Vista?

Can you clarify the position on OpenVPN client downloads please, that is to say the link to get them, for Vista and Windows 7 , ( and also Windows 10 as my wife has just bought a new laptop, so I will try to include that in my testing soon as well )

_.__________________

XP ( via SoftEther VPN Client )
Regarding firewalls.. Most of my XP machines have no virus protection.
Mostly virus protection and firewalls are deactivated on my old XP
machines. ( I realise that this is not very sensible, but I accept the risk on these older machines. I have a few machines and they are old, and cheap to replace, so I just take the risk ). I am assuming that having no firewall active should simplify the situation regarding using VPN ?
(If I understand correctly, using a VPN protects me to some extent? )

On the XP machine that I have been testing on, I have been getting connections apparently OK today, but I have not been able to get any internet working: So the same problem as in the last few days: Timeout error.
I have frequently tried restarting both the lap top and my router, also tried disconnecting VPN, re connecting VPN , etc.. but that has never had any positive effect.
As previously, as soon as I disconnect the SoftEther VPN, then my internet starts working almost immediately.

I am not sure how to check the firewalls settings that you mentioned, but as I have no active firewall, they are possibly not an issue?
_.________________________________

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 05:05 PM

**DocAElstein** · 02-09-2017, 05:10 PM

As previously mentioned if you're receiving a message to install the TAP driver, don't worry as that driver is needed for connecting via OpenVPN VPN protocol and it will only install a virtual network adapter used for OpenVPN protocol.
Since that VPN protocol isn't present in Windows by default, it needs to be installed separately. Regarding connection issues and accessing your members area, for additional security it is possible that you experienced certain temporary limit if you tried unusual action and regarding configuration files, I have checked and there were no issues at the time and configuration files are there and accessible normally, I'm sorry to hear you've had to take a longer route but I'm glad to hear you were able to access it and configure it normally.
You can download other configuration files and copy them to your OpenVPN config folder (by default C:/Program Files/OpenVPN/config/ ) and confirm that you allow it and you can switch between the locations when you right click on the OpenVPN icon from your system tray.
On your new laptop you can also you can also install OpenVPN standalone client, the method is basically the same but you can check this guide here: And for Windows 10 download this OpenVPN file - https://swupdate.openvpn.org/communi...I607-Win10.exe
Sincerely,
Nathan

Doc.AElstein@t-online.de
Sep 20, 07:00 UTC
Hello Nathan
I have just found this message in my out box. I am not sure if it was sent
as intended on wednesday. So ignoore it if you have already recieved
it..................

Thanks for the extra info.
It still seems a bit of a spaghetti muddle to me in finding where to get
the correct download, but I guess that is inevitable as things get changed/
updated.. So your info is helpful.

Tap stuff
I remember you telling me about the stuff, but was not sure if it applied to the screenshot in my last EMail So thanks again, - slowly all is becoming clear to me
( Today I got another variation of such a screenshot whilst installing OpenVPN on my some machines. This time it asked if I wanted to install a tap thing, so I did.. https://imgur.com/e7h7lMd

(This part of the instillation seemed to take a long time today ). )
As far as I can tell, the instillations that I did today of OpenVPN, all included an installation of a tap thing. However, as I report later, there were problems with attempts to use OpenVPN which may be something to do with tap stuff… , I am not sure…

XP stuff
I have tried installing and using both OpenVPN and SoftEther on a second XP machine of mine. The results are similar to the result over the last few days with another XP machine. With OpenVPN all seems fine. With SoftEther,
the connections to hide.me appear to work, but internet does not work: I get time out errors. (As before, immediately after I disconnect the SoftEther/hide.me connection, then the internet works normally)

userpass.txt (OpenVPN) (minor problem/strange phenomena)
I looked further into OpenVPN today, trying to install it on two Vista machines, one Win7 machine and one new Win 10 machine. (As part of this you need to modify the text file so that it shows your password)
I had a strange problem when trying to modify userpass.txt to have my password in this userpass text file: The strange thing was that it would not let me save the modified file. It claimed that the file was not there,
although clearly it was. : https://imgur.com/jBsEwqK
But I found a way around that problem: This work around worked: I saved the modified file somewhere else, ( on my desktop).. Then I deleted the unmodified copy in the config Folder. I then moved the modified file from
the desktop to the config Folder
So, this is strange, but probably not a problem. I do note in passing that I did not have this strange phenomena occurring in the successful instillations of OpenVPN on two XP machines

OpenVPN instillations today, ( Wednesday). Vista , Win 7 , Win 10
The instillations appeared to go OK. I think in all of them some Tap thing was installed..
( I tried 2 Vista machine instillations. On one of them, an extra instillation was offered to be done, which I accepted. This was for the instillation of some .Net thing:
https://imgur.com/f5sOu99 ,
https://imgur.com/YXBgnyg ,
https://imgur.com/EEPYDGz )

Initially no connection worked on any machine , that is to say an attempt to connect always fails: https://imgur.com/X3DZK9R , https://imgur.com/rOSM183
. This was the case for all the 4 instillations of OpenVPN that I tried today: two Vista machines, the Windows 7 machine and the new Windows 10 machine.
But later, on my Win 7 machine something strange happened. I was not using it at the time, but suddenly on its own the tray icon turned green. After that OpenVPN started working normally on that Win 7 machine. But sometimes
later, connections failed
So currently I have OpenVPN working on my XP machines and sometimes on one Windows 7 machine.
It does not work for me on Vista or Windows 10.
I have attached the log from successful connections in XP and Windows 7, along with the logs from failed Windows 10 and Vista machines .
A couple of things I noticed: when a connection is made, in the log this line is shown as red always in Vista, Win 7, and Win 10:
WARNING: this configuration may cache passwords in memory -- use the
auth-nocache option to prevent this
It is never shown in red in XP. In Win 7 it is always shown red whether the connection is successful or not.
In XP I have never seen any lines shown in red.
On the failed connection, the last but one line is shown in red.
For Vista this is:
All TAP-Windows adapters on this system are currently in use.
For Win 10 this is:
There are no TAP-Windows adapters on this system. You should be able to create a TAP-Windows adapter by going to Start -> All Programs -> TAP-Windows -> Utilities -> Add a new TAP-Windows virtual ethernet adapter
.

This is a typical error pop up that I get when restarting my Windows 10 or Vista machines : https://imgur.com/3bsPybl
That translates in English to something like:
"OpenVPNServiceInteractive" is not started.
Tasks that require Administrative access may not work

SoftEther on Win 7 and Win 10. ( and another Vista)
I tried a few SoftEther instillations today. All went well and I have now hide.me via SoftEther working on Vista , Win 7 and in Win 10 machines. ( I still cannot get it to work on any XP machine)