Help a Linux novice set up a VPN connection

December 11, 2012 7:25 AM

I'm a Linux novice and need some hand-holding in setting up a VPN connection.

I'm running Ubuntu 12.04, and trying to use the GUI for the tool that's built-in (OpenVPN, I believe) to set up a few VPN connections. My service provides a number of PPTP VPN hostnames that look like this:

pptp-ny2.anonvpn.com
pptp-uk1.anonvpn.com

None of these appear to have a static IP address associated with them.

My questions: in filling out this form -

1) What goes in the "Gateway" field?
2) Where does the associated hostname go?
3) What, if anything, do I need to do with the IPv4 settings?
4) Are there Terminal commands that need to be entered along with the configuration via the GUI?

I've read the other postings on this, and am still stumped - thanks for your patience, hivemind.

posted by ryanshepard to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

1. gateway is pptp-ny2.anonvpn.com (or the other one, you decide if you want a new york or a uk ip)
2. not sure what you mean
3. try it without (if you have problems, post a screenshot of that tab)
4. no

Problems? Run sudo tail -f /var/log/messages before you try to activate the VPN, then show us the NetworkManager lines.
posted by devnull at 7:46 AM on December 11, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks - I was confused because, in the linked screenshot, the "Gateway" field looks to be populated by an IP address. devnull, I'll give your instructions a try and report back.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:01 PM on December 11, 2012