How to Set Up a VPN in Berkeley

This past year has seen more than its share of devastating events, many of which have had a significant impact on our daily lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw people’s daily routines altered, with many going to extraordinary lengths to stay inside, maintain social distance, and live their lives normally. But even before the pandemic, in the course of the previous year, more than 125 million of us were subject to a barrage of health and safety warnings to ‘shelter at home’. This has inevitably led to many of us feeling safer at home than out socially, which has had a significant impact on the way we live our lives.

It seems that no matter where we turn, life has thrown up some kind of adversarial curveball designed to challenge and defeat us.

Even during routine office hours, employees are now cooped up in their desks, as people are afraid to come into contact with others for fear of contracting the virus. This has led to a rise in demand for remote working, including remote working for staff who previously would have travelled to work each day. But these technological advancements come at a cost – a significant cost – to our personal privacy, as businesses and government entities alike are keen to have a foothold in our personal lives.

One such intrusion that has created significant concern is the increasing trend of workplace surveillance, particularly as we know that those who undertake such activities as a profession can become highly skilled and expert at surreptitious observation and collection of data without alerting the subject of the surveillance.

The good news is that, at least in theory, there are effective ways to protect our privacy and secure our data while still being able to work remotely. One such way is via a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

A VPN is an effective way to secure your personal data while you’re on the move, whether you’re in a public space or in your private, home office. A VPN masks your physical location, encrypts your data, and routes it to your intended destination, all whilst preserving your anonymity.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can set up a VPN in your Berkeley residence. We’ll cover the essentials of what you need to know, including what devices you may need.

Hardware

If you’re planning on using a VPN, you’ll need some sort of hardware to support it. Fortunately, you don’t need to break the bank; almost all modern devices are capable of supporting a VPN client.

What you do need to ensure is that your hardware is capable of supporting the protocol(s) you intend to use and that it complies with the security requirements of the protocol(s).

Software

You’ll also need some sort of software to establish and maintain a VPN connection. Fortunately, there’s also a range of free and open-source software that can be used to support VPNs.

OpenVPN is one of the most popular and well-supported VPN protocols, and you’ll find a version of it on almost all platforms. You can download and install it directly from its website, and in most situations, you’ll be good to go.

Services

You’ll also need to consider the services you intend to use to establish and maintain a VPN connection. You’ll need a server to store and process your data, and you’ll need a way to connect to it.

To ensure that your data is always available, you can use one of the many reputable VPN services, all of which offer a free tier that you can use to test their servers before committing to a paid plan. By doing so, you’ll provide the company with the proof that their service is capable of handling your personal data and securing your transactions. You can find a list of reputable VPN services here.

Security

As we’ve established, a VPN is an effective way of securing your personal data while you’re on the move. However, that doesn’t mean it’ll always be 100% secure. In fact, the opposite is often true; a VPN can be highly insecure if it’s not set up properly.

To avoid this, you must ensure that your VPN is as secure as possible by following a few basic guidelines.

Firstly, make sure that your VPN server is physically located in a secure location. This may mean that you need to rent a dedicated server or purchase a standalone device that’s specifically designed for this purpose. Ensure that it’s kept in a well-lit and unoccupied location that’s free from potential hackers.

Secondly, ensure that your VPN client is running the latest version available. The software should be updated frequently and automatically, so make sure you check for updates as soon as you launch it.

Thirdly, make sure that your VPN uses strong, complex encryption. Different encryption algorithms may offer different levels of security, so make sure you select one that provides the level of security you need. Some algorithms are more complex than others, so you may need to do some research to find out what is best suited to your needs.

Fourthly, make sure that your VPN provides you with adequate security in case there’s ever a breach of security. You should know how to react in case there’s ever a breach of security, so ensure that you’re aware of all your VPN’s security-related settings and the underlying infrastructure. Make sure you’re conversant with information technology (IT) policies and legislation, as well as security procedures.

Fifthly, make sure that you use strong passwords & security questions. Passwords should be 8 characters or more and contain a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols. Make sure you don’t use passwords that are easily guessed by others. If you use the same password for multiple websites and accounts, it’ll be easy for hackers to steal your personal data, as they’ll have access to all of the sites that you use.

Questions you might ask include:

How do I set up a VPN on my laptop/Mac?

On a Mac or a laptop, you can use the built-in VPN capability to connect to a server.

All you need to do is open the Network preferences panel and click the VPN tab. From here, you’ll see a list of the various VPN protocols offered by the software you’re using. Choose the one you need from the list and click the Save button.

On a Mac, you’ll need to download and install the network configuration tool Free VPN Proxy by Vidyard. After the installation is complete, you’ll see the icon for the VPN app in the menu bar. Just click it to connect to the VPN server of your choice. (Note: you can also set up a VPN through the Amazon web browser.)

On a Windows machine, you’ll need to download and install the open-source IPSec tool called StrongVPN. After the installation is complete, you’ll see the icon for the StrongVPN app in the taskbar (at the bottom of your screen). Just click it to connect to the VPN server of your choice. (Note: you can also set up a VPN through the Amazon web browser.)

How do I set up a VPN on my tablet/iPad?

Most tablets and iPods are capable of supporting a VPN client, so you don’t need a separate computer to set one up. (You may need an Apple TV to access some services.)

You can simply download and install a VPN app from the App Store to get started. Some of the more popular and well-supported apps are:

• Cyberghost – One of the more popular free VPNs, supported on almost all platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux;
• Razer Tunnel – A free app designed especially for gamers, with an excellent security rating; and
• Vega Tunnel – A free app dedicated to security and privacy, with end-to-end encryption that’s also open-source, allowing you to maintain full control over your data.

Once you’ve set up your VPN app on one of your devices, you can use the same credentials (username and password) to connect to it from other devices. This is also known as ‘multifactor authentication’ or MFA for short. (In most cases, you don’t need to do this; you can simply click the Connect button to connect to the VPN server without having to input a password.)

To be precise, here’s the list of devices officially supported by the VPN apps mentioned above: