WIN 10 L2TP VPN setup guide

L2TP VPN setup guide – Windows 10:

The guide below will take you through the steps required to configure the native L2TP client on Windows 10. We also support OpenVPN solution for Windows. See the guide here if you would prefer to install OpenVPN.

Pre-requisite:
Before you start, please ensure that you are not connected to another VPN already, and that you do not have any other unblocking solutions (such as Hola) installed on your machine. If you have a Hola extension on your browser, you need to remove it (it will still be active even if its disabled). There is a video here to guide you through the setup.

Each step explained with image for reference, please follow each step carefully for successful setup.

Steps:

1) From the lower right corner click on “Action Center” icon. 

2) Then press on “VPN”.

3) This will open “Network & Internet” settings window. Click on “Add a VPN connection”.

4) On Add a VPN connection pop-up window add each information as below.

 4.1 VPN provider:  Windows (built-in)

4.2 Connection Name: Give any specific name as per your choice.

4.3 Server name or address: Add server address from the list that you would like to connect with.

4.4 VPN type: select “L2TP/IP sec with pre-shared key”.

4.5 Pre-shared Key: happiness

4.6 Type of Sing-in info:  Select Username and password option.

4.7 Username & Password: copy & paste the username and password from the ‘my account’ section of our site (note all credentials are case sensitive). Check all selected data once again and press “Save”.

5) Now you can see your VPN connection setup has been created.

6) We are almost there to establish the connection.  Couple of more steps to go before you start enjoying your VPN. Right-Click on the monitor or Wi-Fi icon on the bottom right-hand corner. Then Click on “Open Network and Sharing Center”

Click on “Change adapter settings”.

7) Right click on the VPN connection and go to “Properties”.

8) Go to “Security” tab. Here select “Allow these protocols” and check the top 3 boxes.

  • Unencrypted password
  • “Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)” and deselect all others.
  • Microsoft CHAP version 2

Click ‘OK’. Now your L2TP VPN connection is created, and all traffic will be encrypted.


9) To connect to L2TP protocol click ok Network icon (Wi-Fi or wired) and click on the desired VPN connection.

This will open your “Network and Internet” settings. Click on desired VPN connection and press on “Connect” button.

OR

If you get an error at this point, you will need to make the registry change below.

Note: A one-time registry change is required if the VPN server and/or client is behind NAT (e.g. home router). You must reboot your computer when done. It is good practice to backup the registry first.

For Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10

Open a command prompt (CMD) as administrator, and copy and paste the red text below. Then re-boot your machine.

REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent /v AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule /t REG_DWORD /d 0x2 /f

After the machine has been re-booted, connect to the VPN: Click on the wireless/network icon in your system tray, select the new VPN entry, and click Connect. If prompted, enter Your VPN Username and Password, then click OK.

Once you have completed these steps, you should be able to connect to the VPN, and see content from the location you have connected to (ie you should see the US Netflix catalogue if you are connected to the USA VPN Server).  If you still see local content, we recommend that you complete the steps here to stop DNS leaking.

**Note – ALL CREDENTIALS ARE CASE SENSITIVE AND MUST BE ENTERED EXACTLY AS THEY ARE ON THE WELCOME EMAIL THAT YOU RECEIVED

Get more from Netflix

Did you know that the amount of content that you get in your Netflix catalogue varies depending on the country that you’re in? For example, USA Netflix has 3 X more content than Australian Netflix, and 2 x more content than the UK catalogue.

In addition to this, Netflix has a nasty habit of releasing the latest blockbusters to the USA catalogue months before other catalogues around the globe.

 

To illustrate this, just look at this table comparing Netflix catalogues in different countries

  USA Netflix Aus Netflix
Launch Date April, 1998 March, 2015
Cost $7.99/Month $9.99/Month
Movies 4339 1599
TV Shows 1326 445

With VanishedVPN, we give you access to the larger USA catalogue from wherever you are in the world by making Netflix think you are in the USA.

We are 100% confident that our solution will continue to work undetected that we offer a money back guarantee should our service be blocked . We are the only unblocking service in the world to offer this.

How to access USA Netflix from Outside the U.S.

Vanished VPN allows you to fool Netflix into thinking that you are in the USA, and this enables you to access all the additional films & TV programs in the USA catalogue. Simply follow these instructions:

  1. Sign up for a VanishedVPN subscription if you don’t already have one (we have a 7 day money back guarantee) & configure your device using our setup guides.
  2. Connect to our USA VPN
  3. Sign in to Netflix on your device as normal, and enjoy up to 3x more content.

We are not the only VPN to offer this Service, but unlike the others, our solution has been solid for the past 3 years (where others are often blocked and unavailable for weeks or months). We’ve also been recommended by lifehacker because of this.

Using a VPN is completely legal. It is not going to get you in trouble with authorities.

If you want to make your life super easy, why not purchase one of our preconfigured Invizbox mini routers. Just plug this box into your modem / router, and connect devices like Smart TV, PS4 ATV etc, and they will automatically run over the VPN, and be able to access up to 3 x more Netflix content.

Netflix guarantee

We guarantee that you will be able to access the USA Netflix catalogue. If our servers are blocked, and we are unable to restore service within a week, we will refund your last months payment. We are the only VPN provider in the world to offer this guarantee.

Netflix

Save Money on Booking a Holiday

Travel websites charge you different prices by using your location to artificially inflate the price shown in your country. Using VanishedVPN you can connect to our global network of servers to get the best price available.

You could be paying less for your next booking.

Many of the top travel websites like booking.com, Expedia, Kayak and TripAdvisor use your digital location to artificially change the price you pay based on the country you are in. This practice has been used by the travel industry to charge you more for hotels, car rental, flights and many more travel related products.

Using VanishedVPN you can connect to and of our different servers around the world to find the best price for your holiday. So, you can forget about Price Comparison websites and go direct to the best websites to book the cheapest flight, hotel or anywhere that a travel company has a global site.

How do Travel Websites know which country I am in?

Travel and holiday websites use many different methods to locate the country you are in when making your booking.

  1. Cookies
    Many websites use cookies to track your activities, especially when searching for holiday bookings. Travel websites will sometimes use this data if you are performing several searches and quickly increase the price shown.
  2. Your IP address
    When connected to the internet, your IP address is a big indicator of where you are in the world.
  3. GPS
    When browsing on a mobile device websites can use your GPS location and alter the prices shown based on the country your are in.

Some useful questions and answers:

  • Can you guarantee I will save money?
    If you book car hire, hotels, guesthouses or flights you will more than likely be able to save some money when booking if you hide the location you are in at the time of booking. However, we cannot give you a 100% guarantee that you will save money on each and every booking you make.
  • Will VanishedVPN find the best deals for me?
    No, VanishedVPN is a tool you can use to connect to a website from a different country. When you choose one of our VPN servers in a different country, this will give you a chance to save money by hiding your location from a website.
  • Is using a VPN legal?
    Yes, using a VPN is legal and is recommended to ensure that your connection to the internet is secure and encrypted. VanishedVPN provides exactly that – a secure and encrypted connection to the internet. You can chose which VPN server you connect to.
  • Is this complicated to use?
    No. Once you have a VanishedVPN subscription, you can download our app to make connection to a VPN server as easy as clicking a button.

Save on booking.com

Just by connecting to our USA VPN, we’ve saved $438 USD on a week hotel booking !

Save Money On Travel

Raising Money for the Australian Bushfire crisis

In January 2020 we will be donating 25% of all new orders to Australian bushfire charities.

We have all be moved by the devastating bush fires that are currently sweeping our country. As an Australian business, we want to support the firefighters who are continuing to battle against the odds to prevent further destruction.

We also want to support those who have been impacted by the fires already. Those who have lost their homes and businesses, the families of the 20+ Australians who have tragically lost their lives, and the millions of animals who have been killed by these fires.

Rather than running a traditional ‘January sale’ promotion, we have decided to donate 25% of new orders in January to the following charities:

Victoria’s Country Fire Authority
NSW Rural Fire Service
Australian Red Cross

We encourage our customers & suppliers & Friends to also support as much as you can. You can find a full list of charities supporting Australia’s bushfire victims here.

Phil Bishop – Managing Director – Vanished VPN PTY LTD

Raising Money for Australian Bushfire charities

The essential apps for Digital Nomads

Being a digital nomad is a much desired goal for many people. Travel the world and work as you go. If you get the formula right, the world is your oyster with unlimited potential. Working from exotic locations around the globe, moving from place to place whenever you desire. I’ve been working this lifestyle for so long now that I can’t think of any other way to work. If you are looking to live and work like this, there are thousands of blogs and websites that show you how to become a digital nomad, and so many more that list the essential apps you need to make this lifestyle a success. This is our list of the essential apps for digital nomads that you should be using and how to be secure.

Protect yourself from WIFI hackers
Protect yourself from WIFI hackers

1: VanishedVPN – get a plan now

One thing that so many of these digital nomad websites and blogs seem to miss out on is security. If you want to take this lifestyle seriously and make it a success, security should be your number one priority. It seems so easy to connect to free wifi networks at places like Starbucks, McDonalds or the zillion other cafes, bars and hotspots you can now find world wide. But, how many of these have generated a message on your device of “unsecured network” when you try to connect. This should send chills down your spine, as it means you are open to abuse. A simple man-in-the-middle attack, for example, can be so easy to execute on these networks, and you should protect yourself. This is where VanishedVPNcomes in. A VPN provides a secure, encrypted connection from your laptop, mobile phone or tablet to one of our servers around the world. With a VanishedVPN connection all browsing, and communications from your device are secure, and private. If you want to be a digital nomad, you should not be without this.

Plus, the added benefit of using VanishedVPN is that wherever you are in the world, you can connect to our country specific VPN servers to unblock geolocation content and watch TV, Netflix USABBC iPlayer and sports (UFCFormula 1Premier League etc).

Cloud storage for the digital nomad
Cloud storage for the digital nomad

2: Cloud storage

Which ever service you use (DropboxGoogle DriveiCloudSugarSync etc) cloud storage is going to be absolutely essential to your chosen lifestyle. Not only does it provide access to all your files from any device, it keeps your valuable documents safe and sound, and easily accessible in case of a lost or broken device. No longer will you have to carry around external hard drives, or even have to worry about a hard drive failure. The only drawback is you need an Internet connection to access your online-only files.

Trello - the app for an organised digital nomad
Trello – the app for an organised digital nomad

3: Trello

In terms of organising your shit, Trello is the one to turn to. With Trello you can create numerous boards for each project you have, and organise them however you like. The flexibility allows you to keep track of any personal or business task or project from simple to-do lists to project management tasks. You can collaborate by inviting other users to access a board that you set up. This makes working with clients so much easier as they can drop in, add their thoughts & requirements to a board you have created and easily drag-and-drop cards between lists to keep track of things and even prioritise items. Whats more, it’s free.

The cloud app every digital nomad should be using.
The cloud app every digital nomad should be using.

4: Google Docs

You are going to need a set of apps to write documents, build spreadsheets and create presentations. Google Docs is the perfect way to do this, with all your documents stored online in your own Google Drive, and what’s more, you can export to multiple different formats such as PDF or Microsoft Office compatible documents. One big advantage is you can share documents so you can collaborate with other people.

Stay connected as a digital nomad with your friends family and clients.
Stay connected as a digital nomad with your friends family and clients.

5: WhatsAPP

From travelling the world, to so many different countries, I have found WhatsApp to be most invaluable. From keeping in touch with friends and family, to setting up group chats with clients, WhatsAPP is the essential communication tool for any digital nomad. Plus, with the added feature of video and/or audio calling over wifi, if you have an internet connection you can have face-to-face meetings with your clients to build confidence. Plus, all communication is encrypted so it’s secure.

The best email for a digital nomad.
The best email for a digital nomad.

6: Gmail

One of the best email accounts you can have. There are many others out there to use, but Gmail is rock solid, easy to use and comes with cloud storage and access to Google Docs, and it’s free. You can use you own email client, Outlook, MacMail, the Gmail app on your laptop, mobile phone or tablet. When all else fails, just log in to http://gmail.google.com.

Cloud based contacts, calendar and reminders for digital nomads.
Cloud based contacts, calendar and reminders for digital nomads.

7: Contacts, Calendar and reminders

You will need cloud based contacts, calendar and reminders apps. Which ever one you chose this will be your life saving app in terms of keeping track of what you need to do, and when you need to do it. Whether you use a native system (such as Apple iCal and reminders) or use the suite of apps provided by your Google account. Just make sure you can synchronise this data across all of your devices, so no matter where you are or what you are doing, you know where you should be and what you should be doing.

Secure password managers for digital nomads.
Secure password managers for digital nomads.

8: Password Management App

We are not going to recommend a specific app for this for the simple reason that they all come with pros and cons. Security should be one of your highest priorities, regardless of whether you are a digital nomad or not. Password management is problematic at best. Use a suitably secure password made up of uppercase, lowercase characters with numerics and special characters, and use a different one for each and every service you log into. I have at least 40 passwords I need to remember, and with each one be different, the more I add, the more complex it becomes. A password management app can solve this problem by using unique, complex passwords for each of your logins. All of this is securely encrypted and stored, and locked behind a single password. Great. The con is, lose that one password and that’s it. You are locked out of everything.

Without a decent mirrorless camera, you are not a digital nomad.
Without a decent mirrorless camera, you are not a digital nomad.

9: A decent mirrorless camera

If you are travelling around the world you will want a better camera than the one in your phone. You must invest in something that will be light-weight, compact but versatile. The moment you start taking travel photos you are going to realise you need a camera with multiple lenses, and your phone camera is not really going to cut it. The top four brands to chose from are Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fuji. With a decent body and at least two lenses you are going to want to spend around £2k for a kit. But trust me, it will be worth it. Along with your decent camera you are going to want a subscription to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom plan to manage and edit your pictures like a pro. Trust me on this one, you want these on your laptop, you need these on your laptop.

Noise cancelling headphones are essential for any digital nomad.
Noise cancelling headphones are essential for any digital nomad.

10: Noise cancelling headphones.

Whether you do or in ear, or over ear, noise cancelling headphones are going to save your life. There are many brands out there, but we recommend either Bose, Sony or Bang & Olufsen. If you get a pair that will connect to your voice assistant and let you make phone calls even better.

The essential apps for Digital Nomads

How to watch UEFA Champions League Football

The UEFA Champions league pitches the top clubs of Europe against each other in group and knock stages each season. Recently, coverage of Champions League football has moved to premium services like BT Sport, but you can view streams live & free by using your Vanished VPN Service.

There’s a couple of options that we recommend to view Champions league live streams and highlights:

Stream live Champions League games on Matchtv.ru (Russia)

1 – Get Vanished VPN

2- Connect to our Russia VPN

3- Visit Matchtv.RU where you’ll find the live streams. We recommend using a chrome browser as it can translate this site, and also allows you to chrome cast to the big screen.

Stream live Champions League games on Sonyliv.tv (India)

1 – Get Vanished VPN

2- Connect to our India VPN

3- Visit Sonyliv.com where you’ll find the live streams.

Stream live Champions League games on B/R Live (U.S.)

Turner Sports has acquired the U.S. broadcasting rights from Fox and will broadcast the games on its B/R Live streaming service.

Subscriptions are available per match (3 USD), month (9 USD), or year (80 USD).

To stream:

  1. Get Vanished VPN
  2. Connect to our U.S. VPN
  3. Head to B/R Live.
  4. Start watching!

Champions League live stream on fuboTV and Sling TV (U.S.)

Score another seven-day free trial with fuboTV or Sling TV!

  1. Get Vanished VPN
  2. Connect to our U.S. VPN
  3. Visit fuboTV or Sling TV and use the free trial. You may need a U.S. credit card.
  4. Tune in to the games!

Watch Champions League live on BT Sport (UK)

BT Sport recently secured the UK rights to show live Champions League matches, on a deal that runs through 2021. A selection of games requires no subscription. Nice !

Here’s how to stream BT Sport securely with Vanished VPN:

  1. Get Vanished VPN
  2. Connect to our UK VPN
  3. Sign in at BT Sport (a subscription is required for some games) or use the BT Sport app.
  4. Enjoy the match!
Champions League

Premier League football

The English Premier League (EPL) is arguably the most popular football league in the world watched by millions every week.

In this section, we will give you some recommendations of sites which provide EPL streams, and tell you how you can access them using your Vanished VPN subscription.

Firstly, you will need to sign up for a VanishedVPN subscription , setup the VPN on your device (find the guide for your device in our knowledge base).

1 – Hotstar.com

Our first recommendation is Hotstar.com (connect via our India VPN). They have live streams available for all EPL matches in HD (up to 720p). To view EPL, you will need a premium membership (which is approx $3 per month, and has a 30 day free trial). This will allow you to view all premium content on the site including the latest films (in HD) and HBO (including GOT, Silicon Valley, Modern Family etc). Awesome value.

Note – This site is normally restricted to India residents, but we have unblocked it for you.

Once you are signed up, we recommend that you check out a few of the streams, and perhaps work out which device you will stream from , and how you will share to your TV  if that’s what you intend to do.

Once the EPL streams are available, you will find them under the Sports menu (normally 5 mins before kick off).

To access Hotstar:

1 – Get Vanished VPN

2- Connect to our India VPN

3- Visit Hotstar.com and go to the Sport / Football section

2 – Sling.tv (connect via our USA VPN)

SLINGTV is a US based service which allows streaming of channels which would normally only be available to US residents via cable. These channels include NBC Sports which shows the EPL games. Most live games are available (not all). Subscription for the ‘blue’ package is $25 (US) per month. Quality is good.

To access Sling:

1 – Get Vanished VPN

2- Connect to our USA VPN

3- Visit Sling.tv and sign up for the free trial

3 – Matchtv.ru (connect via our Russia VPN)

Matchtv.ru deserves a mention here as they provide live streams of some of the EPL matches on their free channel. We recommend that you use a chrome browser to access this site, as it can be configured to translate the page (handy if you don’t speak Russian).

To access Matchtv.ru

1 – Get Vanished VPN

2- Connect to our Russia VPN

3- Visit Matchtv.ru and sign up for the free trial

Note – This is a guide to sites we’ve tried. We are not responsible for the content or access to these sites. If you have issues, we are not able to offer support, as they are 3rd party sites.

Premier League

How to watch UFC

UFC continues to grow in popularity, but it is getting harder to find live streams of the big fights.

By using Vanished VPN, you can access the big fight streams Live.

ESPN+ now have the rights to stream UFC. This channel is normally blocked if you are not in the USA, but by connecting to our USA VPN, you can bypass the blocks, and access ESPN+ content. This is a subscriber channel, and they charge $4.99 per month. They also have a 7 day free trial. It is possible to re-use this if you have more than 1 email address.

  1. Get a Vanished VPN subscription if you don’t already have one
  2. Connect to our USA VPN
  3. Go to ESPN+ & sign up for a free trial
  4. Go to ESPN.com/watch/espnplus & enjoy the fight (we recommend using a chrome browser with an incognito window).

We think ESPN+ is worth the small subscription fee, as it carries a lot of sport, including F1, Boxing, FA Cup football, NBA & NHL to mention a few.

Our 2nd recommendation for accessing UFC is the Russian site Matchtv.ru. Just connect to our Russia VPN, and visit Matchtv.ru, where you will find most of the big fight streams live & free.

We recommend that you use a Chrome browser to view this site, as it can be configured to translate the Russian text on the page for you.

UFC

How to watch Cricket

Over the past few years, Cricket Australia have been selling the TV coverage rights for many forms of the game to premium channels like Fox. This means that there is less cricket available via traditional, free  TV & streaming channels like Seven & Nine.

By using VanishedVPN, you can access live streams of all of your favourite Cricket, so you don’t miss a ball.

Just connect to our India VPN, and check out either Sonyliv.com or Hotstar.com , where you will find all of the cricket streams.

For tips on how to sign up to Hotstar premium, follow our guide here.

Cricket

How to watch premium Pay per View Boxing

Boxing continues to be big business , and with every big fight, comes a bigger purse, mostly paid for by the fans who normally have to access the streams via pay per view channels.

By using Vanished VPN, you can access the big fight streams for free. Just connect to our Russia VPN, and visit Matchtv.ru , where you will find most of the big fight streams live & free.

We recommend that you use a Chrome browser to view this site, asa it can be configured to translate the Russian text on the page for you.

If You can’t find the match on Matchtv.ru, you can also use the hack below to watch for free on DAZN Canada.

You can tune in to the fight live on DAZN. A 30-day free trial is available.

To watch:

  1. Get Vanished VPN
  2. Connect to our Canada server
  3. Head to DAZN Canada and sign up. You may need to enter a valid Canadian postal code (e.g., G1X 2W1, V9N 9C5). If you don’t have a Canadian credit card, you can also pay by PayPal, Apple in-app payments, or a pre-paid gift card.
  4. Enjoy the fight!
Boxing