Getting VPN Service

To use Tunnelblick you need access to a VPN server -- your computer is one end of the tunnel and the VPN server is the other end. There are several ways to get access to a VPN server:

• Your employer may provide a VPN server so you can work from home or the road securely.
• You can set up your own VPN server at home, and use it to access your home network and the Internet securely when at a remote location. The VPN server could be a program running on a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer, or on your home router.
• You can get (free or for a fee) access to a VPN by using a VPN service provider.

Employer-provided VPN Servers

Your employer should supply you with an OpenVPN configuration file (.ovpn or .conf file), along with the appropriate certificate and key files, or with a Tunnelblick VPN Configuration (.tblk, which includes the certificate and key files within it).

Follow the instructions from your employer or in Installing Tunnelblick 3.1 & 3.2 to install Tunnelblick and configurations.

Set Up Your Own VPN Server

This is more complicated. It involves creating your own OpenVPN configuration file (or modifying the sample file provided by Tunnelblick) and creating your own certificate and key files for encryption. (Tunnelblick versions 3.3 and higher include 'EasyRSA' to help you with creating certificate and key files.) There are tutorials about doing this -- try searching the Internet for "set up openvpn server".

If you want to set up a computer to act solely as a router/bridge/firewall, consider ZeroShell. Untangle has a free VPN component.

If you have a router running DD-WRT, you can use OpenVPN on DD-RT. There is a tutorial.

VPN Service Providers

Another way to get access to a VPN server is to use a VPN service provider, an organization that makes its VPN servers available (free or for a fee). Some provide you with a customized, and possibly renamed, version of Tunnelblick.

If you are a VPN service provider that recommends or uses Tunnelblick exclusively for Mac OS X, contact project owner Jon to get yourself added this list. (The list was last updated 2011-11-27.)

Disclaimer: The products, services, and links on this page are not endorsed or recommended by the Tunnelblick developers or Google (host of this website). They are offered solely for the convenience of those wishing to use Tunnelblick.

PLEASE USE THE TUNNELBLICK DISCUSSION GROUP FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS