VPN -So the thing I'm concerned about is this

Ive decided the time has come to subscribe to a Paid VPN , and learned a lot just reading through the posts here. As some one who has never before used a VPN , and is a relative novice regarding the technical side of things , I have a concern that I would like to ask advice about from you guy's here .

Where I live the only viable internet connection option is via a Wireless CDMA provider , on the whole the speeds are acceptable , but some times there can be a problem and my internet connection just drops off and then automatically comes back on within a few seconds.



So the thing I'm concerned about is this ...

If I am surfing the internet while connected to a VPN server and my internet connection is momentarily disconnected , then automatically reconnected , could I then be connected to my normal IP and not the VPN server , thus allowing my original IP and location to be seen , or would my now reconnected internet connection just be again reconnected to the VPN server ? .


I use both Windows and Mac computers


I hope ive explained my concerns clearly .


Any advice or comments please

 

I know 1 VPN provider that has software with this function VPNTunnel.se
maybe there are some workarounds for the classic openvpn client.. scripts and etc but i dont know them.

What the software does is when you get disconnected... the programs you listed in the software wont be able to browse the internet unless the VPN Connection is active

 

Thanks for the advice

I was thinking that may be I would be restricted to certain VPN providers who provided some sort of included software arrangements to over come the possible problem outlined in my concern, the thing I don't want is to be surfing the internet via a VPN server , pop out to get a coffee and come back to find that my internet connection has dropped off and automatically reconnected its self ( which happens a lot ) and now I'm surfing content that's restricted in my home country using my local IP address

 

Mullvad offers a client that will prevent surfing if the connection drops. It also has a nice tray icon that will show either a green checkmark, or red x.

P

 

Thanks for the info , I'll check it out .

I'm now wondering if there's some sort of software that can be purchased / free , that would do the same while using any VPN , if the internet connection is cut , then it stays disconnected until its manually reconnected to the VPN server by the computer operator .

 

Yes, definitely. Comodo Personal Firewall (among others, presumably) can be configured to do that. See this post: Creating a FW rule to prevent leaks on VPN drop.

 

OpenVPN-based services are typically configured to be very persistent. Your client tests the VPN connection periodically. If it's down, the client will keep trying until it reconnects (or you shut it off). If your provider has properly configured the system, nothing will leak while the VPN is disconnected, unless you terminate the client. That's when it's important to have non-VPN connectivity blocked by a firewall. Without firewall protection, it's wise to reboot rather than just terminating the VPN client.

 

Thanks for the advice, its appreciated

Any one know if there's a software product that can be used on my Apple Mac ?

 

Macs basically run Unix. A quick google tells me that there's a simple GUI for ipfw. There are probably better tools.

 

Thanks for that I'll check it out

I'm wondering why I don't see too many other posts about this possible problem of having your original IP details reviled when your internet connection drops and then reconnects its self using your normal IP ,possibly with out you instantly noticing it .

 

Please share what you find. I haven't seen much on Wilders about using VPNs on Macs.

It comes up occasionally, but it's been awhile.

 

i dont know about softwares used in vpn connections provided by the vpn services but i too use vpn connections and also have short period disconnections, when your internet is disconnected, the vpn connection (pptp/l2tp) is also disconnected after couple of seconds(and at this time no application can make any connection until its completely disconnected) so if you set your vpn to auto reconnect X number of times after X amount of time usually right after your internet connectivity is back you have your vpn up and ready as well.so your concern would be the time between your internet access being active again and your vpn reconnected which if you set the timer to lets say every 10 seconds then...
you can set those timers by right-clicking on your vpn connection and select properties,options and then redialing options.

 

This is a good program for Windows users;

VPNCheck Pro;

http://www.guavi.com/vpncheck_pro.php

But If you ever run into problems the developers is quite active, that you can communicate and work out problems...

 

Thanks very much guy's for the very useful information , I'm still looking for a software package for use on a Mac, ive checked out - GUI for ipfw , and it looks a bit complicated


rolex

 

Casper, I have been looking around for a similar solution for hours now tonight. I read through this thread already you linked. I am not on Comodo but on OA Pro. I tried playing with some of the things you did with Comodo but not having any luck matching up what you guys did there with OA. I actually just bought the license for OA with that deal they had. It's only 9 bucks, but I am trying to find another way around it without losing the money I just spent.

To you or anyone for that matter, has anyone been able to do the same thing Casper suggested in Online Armor?

I am looking for the same exact solution, I absolutely can not afford a detection or leak once I get things squared away. I have seen in other packages they have an IP Binding Block built in, but it isn't reliable, and it was a complete false sense of security. I need a solution that will be sound and never have to worry. Eventually I will get to nested VPN's, but I need to sound up my initial entry point first.

Fox - ironically I just stumbled upon that site you mention plus:
Lifequard
http://vpnlifeguard.blogspot.com/p/english.html

OpenVPN Watchdog
http://openvpnchecker.com/

VPNNetMon
http://vpnetmon.webs.com/

ForceIPNetBind
http://www.r1ch.net/stuff/forcebindip/

and the one you mentioned:
VPNCheck
http://www.jothodesign.com/vpncheck/

I haven't had a chance to read through them all yet, which I will probably do in the morning. I was curious if anyone has used any of these, and has thoughts on them?

I don't care if I eventually use a firewall or an App. What I do care about is having anything leaked EVER. I just can't afford to take one accidental slip, so setting it up right the first time is the most important thing to me. I am not concerned with other apps, and Utorrent as much. For me, it's really about the web browser seizing immediately on a drop.

Thanks

 

I have been playing with VPNCheck a little bit and not a fan. If the VPN drops, it just blows you out of your browser all together. Wouldn't be fun if you were involved with a lengthy email or a post and lose it all instantly because the VPN dropped.

It also goes by monitoring traffic at second intervals that you can setup. I don't understand the technology of how fast a browser can output in comparison to the software checking the connection, and the VPN going down, but it sounds like that is a possibility for a leak if the timing is perfect. However, I really have no idea if this would be true.

Much rather find something that will bind the network card and just halt all traffic rather than get blown out of the browser. I will play with the rest tomorrow...looks like I might just have to go back to Comodo after all. So much for my new OA license at that super groovy price

 

Thanks for the report , it will be interesting to hear how you get on playing with the rest .


rolex

 

Also just an FYI Zemana AntiLogger detected VPNCheck as a keylogger. Not sure if it (VPNCheck) is a false positive, but I have never had Zemana go off before until I installed this program.

 

If your VPN provider has set redirect-gateway, all traffic will use the VPN tunnel. If the VPN tunnel stops working, there will be no Internet connectivity. If you kill the VPN client manually, you will regain Internet connectivity, but not through the VPN tunnel (obviously). If you have set firewall rules to allow only the VPN client to access the Internet, but nothing else, you can make the mistake of killing your VPN client and still have no traffic leakage. But you'll need to open the firewall in order to reconnect the VPN, which might let something else through.

Better, in my opinion, is using a router/firewall such as pfSense. I use pfSense VMs in VirtualBox, and work in Ubuntu VMs. The pfSense VMs run OpenVPN connecting to providers' OpenVPN servers. pfSense is set up to route LAN (which the Ubuntu VMs use) to the OpenVPN tunnel. But OpenVPN itself is running on pfSense, so it has full Internet access. If the VPN goes down, the Ubuntu VMs have no Internet connectivity. But it's back as soon as OpenVPN on pfSense reconnects. There's also the advantage that the Ubuntu VMs are relatively isolated from the host, and from each other.

 

I'm still on the hunt for software that is for Mac computers, ive checked this list ...

Lifequard


OpenVPN Watchdog


VPNNetMon


ForceIPNetBind


VPNCheck

and it seems that they are all for Windows machines .

 

I forgot, use Viscosity, it's the best Mac client for OpenVPN;

http://www.thesparklabs.com/viscosity/

I also asked this question regarding having it work with a dropped connection which you can do...

http://www.thesparklabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=443&p=1413#p1413 (3. Using The Routing Table - I used this method, it's simple and it works)


Have fun!

 

DasFox , that's just what I'm looking for

Thanks for your advice , its much appreciated


rolex

 

It's a good client for OSX, just follow that post on their forum so you can lock it down in case the VPN drops, then it will keep you off line until you get the VPN back up...

Have fun!