How to Stop/Pause/Resume an Amazon Web Services VPN Connection

With the explosion of VPN providers over the last few years, it’s been made easier for customers to accidentally hit the “wrong” connection when trying to connect to a private network. Hit the wrong one and you could end up on a public network somewhere, or worse still, expose your computer to eavesdroppers and data thieves. This is why it’s essential to know how to stop/pause/resume a VPN connection. That way, you can be certain that you are connecting to the right VPN and don’t expose your personal information to unnecessary risks.

Here we’re going to discuss how to stop/pause/resume an Amazon Web Services VPN connection.

How to Stop a VPN Connection on Mac

While most VPN providers implement something similar on their platforms, Mac users might find some extra steps involved. The majority of VPNs don’t provide a native Mac client, so third-party apps are required to connect. That being said, you can use Secure Shell to stop/pause/resume a VPN connection.

SSH is a popular security tool among Mac users, and for good reason. Not only does it provide an easy-to-use console for remote administration, but it also comes with a built-in VPN client. You can use the SSH Client for Mac to easily establish a VPN connection to Amazon Web Services and other supported providers.

To stop a VPN connection, enter this in the terminal window:

ssh -o Connector=no -i your_identity_file user@vpn_server && && password

Then simply hit enter.

How to Pause a VPN Connection on Mac

Once you’ve stopped a VPN on your Mac, you can unpause it by entering this in the terminal window:

ssh -o Connector=no -i your_identity_file user@vpn_server && && pause && && password

Then simply hit enter.

How to Resume a VPN Connection on Mac

Once you’ve paused a VPN on your Mac, you can resume it by entering this in the terminal window:

ssh -o Connector=no -i your_identity_file user@vpn_server && && resume && && password

Then simply hit enter.

The above steps should get you there, but if you’re having trouble, here’s a detailed video tutorial that you can follow along with. It’ll walk you through the process step-by-step:

How to Stop a VPN Connection on Windows

Windows users have it pretty easy when it comes to stopping VPNs. The built-in Windows 10 VPN client is pretty straightforward. Just head to Settings –> Network & Sharing Center –> Change VPN Settings –> Select the connection you want to stop –> Unselect it.

How to Pause a VPN Connection on Windows

Windows users can pause VPNs just like Mac users can. It’s quite simple, just head to Network & Sharing Center –> Change VPN Settings –> Select the connection you want to pause –> Uncheck it.

How to Resume a VPN Connection on Windows

Once you’ve paused a VPN on your Windows machine, you can resume it by entering this in the command line:

ipconfig /flushdns

Then simply hit enter.

The above steps should get you there, but if you’re having trouble, here’s a detailed video tutorial that you can follow along with. It’ll walk you through the process step-by-step:

How to Stop/Pause/Resume an Amazon Web Services VPN Connection

So you’ve established a VPN connection to Amazon Web Services and you’ve stopped/paused it using the instructions from one of the tools previously mentioned. Great! But what do you do now? How do you get back to that point? Do you need to start all over again?

Luckily, there’s an easy answer for this. If you want to stop/pause/resume an Amazon Web Services VPN connection, all you need to do is hit the “Reset” button on the AWS Management Console.

You’ll see a small icon in the upper-right corner of the console, which looks like this:

When you click it, you’ll be presented with a confirmation screen, as shown below:

Just hit the “Reset” button to cancel out all DNS resolving, firewall adjustment, and other settings made during the previous session. Then you can start over again from scratch. Sweet!

That’s pretty much all there is to it. You can’t go wrong. Now, you might be thinking that this is great when you need it, but what happens if you want to stop/pause/resume the VPN connection accidentally?

Well, in that case, you’ve got some serious trouble on your hands because you won’t be able to connect to the private network then. But wait, there’s more!

If you’re using a mobile device, especially one running on Android, you might want to check out the AWS App. Available from the Google Play Store, the AWS App allows you to easily configure VPN settings on the go. Just scan the QR code with your smartphone’s camera and you’ll be presented with a configuration screen. From there, you can choose your VPN provider, connect to their servers, and adjust the settings as needed. All without having to go through a bunch of extra steps.

There’s also an Amazon Web Services VPN app for iOS users, though it doesn’t have the same degree of configuration flexibility as the Android version.

So if you’re really a fan of the console, you can’t go wrong with the AWS Management Console. But otherwise, the other apps mentioned previously give you all the flexibility you need to connect to any VPN server you desire.