In this day and age of internet revelry, A VPN is a must-have for your digital security. Although a network, this virtual product has invaded the consumer security market as a useful service. Moreover, if things pan out the way predicted, the VPN market is expected to expand into billions. We firmly believe that a VPN is capable of ensuring online safety and privacy for users by securing data traffic under encryption. Learning to install IPVanish on a router will prove that.
The VPN market is fraught with numerous vendors. Thus, we often come across deserving candidates. One such vendor that impresses us is IPVanish. That’s because, unlike others, the service comes with a pre-flashed router that can strengthen your network and not only your device. Hence, this article will cover how to install IPVanish on a router. Scroll down to learn more.
What is a VPN router?
Before we delve further into our topic, let us discuss what is a VPN router. To be fair — A VPN router, like its namesake, is a router (a networking device) that runs a VPN client or firmware. Hence, any device connected to such a product will have an active VPN connection. Even if you do not have a subscription on your device, if it is on the same network as a VPN router, the data traffic will involuntarily travel through a virtual tunnel. Thus, this router provides a VPN service on a network scale.
It is not another type of router and doesn’t have different hardware or operating process. The only distinction is that it follows the VPN protocols instead of the routing table. Any such router operates on the same principles as its counterpart. The difference lies in how they forward data packets, though. While regular routers rely on routing tables to send data through the ISP and then various gateways until it reaches the destination, this router utilizes the VPN network.
It encapsulates data and tunnels it through the ISP, using VPN servers as relay points before arriving at the target. Hence, it is much more secure and provides better privacy. If used correctly, a VPN router can be a game-changer, irrespective of the target audience. Thus, both the corporate and individuals love and rely on this product.
Reasons to install IPVanish on routers
IPVanish is a top-tier VPN service that has come far since its inception back in 2012. It comes with a pre-flashed VPN that is ready to plug and play. However, today’s article will aid users in installing IPVanish manually. Although we have to warn our readers that setting up a VPN on any router isn’t for beginners—one needs to have sufficient confidence and knowledge. Otherwise, the risk of bricking the device is too high. Further, one shouldn’t blindly go about it. Users should go to the official IPVanish website for more information.
Ways to install IPVanish on a router
The following are detailed steps showing the IPVanish installation on a router.
1. Using the VPN service on a pre-flashed router
As the name suggests, a pre-flashed router doesn’t need further work. The router comes equipped with VPN capabilities as it is already running a suitable firmware. The pre-flashed VPN router comes with OpenVPN protocol and AES-256 bit encryption. The running firmware is DD-WRT. IPVanish is in a partnership with FlashRouters, and it sells its router through its platform. It is recommended to install IPVanish by using a pre-flashed VPN. It will not only save time, but it will also prevent any unwarranted accidents. To install IPVanish by using pre-flashed routers, you’d need to:
- First, purchase a VPN router and IPVanish subscription combo from FlashRouters.
- Unpack the box and connect the router to your network.
- Now, turn it on and use your device to log into the router.
- Then log into your VPN account.
It’s that simple. The most popular IPVanish pre-flashed routers are:
- Netgear R6400
- Linksys WRT3200ACM
- ASUS RT-AC 5300
2. Manually install IPVanish on a router
This process needs careful execution and is not advisable for beginners. To manually set up IPVanish for your router, you first have to consider a few things:
- Type/Brand of the router — You have to assess whether it is possible to run a VPN on your router. Either go to the official IPVanish website, or the router vendor’s homepage to learn more. However, you’d need to remember the brand and model number of the router.
- Supported firmware — Similarly, not all firmware can run universally. Some routers support DD-WRT, while others support Tomato. Others may run ASUSWRT. Hence, go to the firmware’s website to learn which routers they work with.
- IPVanish subscription — You will need a VPN plan before setting up a router. Go to the IPVanish website and purchase a subscription. It will render a username and password, so please note it down for further use.
With the conditions fulfilled, follow these instructions to install IPVanish on your router manually.
- First, log in to the router you want to run the VPN.
- You have to connect the router to the network and a computer to access its login page.
- Use the computer to browse the default router address. It differs according to brand. ASUS routers would have a different address than TP-Link, for example.
- Now enter the router username and password. In most cases, the users know the default password that is written at the back of the box.
- Once you successfully enter the router interface, locate the Advanced setting tab and click on it.
- Go to the VPN segment.
- Now select the VPN Client tab. Most routers support OpenVPN. Hence, you can download the server files and configuration files in advance from the IPVanish website.
- Import the relevant files into the firmware interface.
- Other settings that you need to worry about are as follows:
- Automatic start at boot time: Set to Yes
- Interface Type: TUN
- Protocol: UDP or TCP depends on the user and requirements
- Server Address and Port: Import the OpenVPN server file here
- Port: Both 1194 and 443 support OpenVPN traffic, so choose accordingly
- Redirect Internet traffic through a tunnel: Set to Yes, as it will protect the whole network via tunneling
- Kill switch: Yes for the best security
- Now set up your VPN account accordingly by using your VPN credentials. You can find it on your IPVanish account.
- Lastly, verify the VPN connection status and initiate the service.