NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Luxky
Sep 03, 2019Aspirant
Can Nighthawk R7000 router hide the IP address using OpenVPN?
Hi all, I recently bought a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 (R7000-100CNS) router with the purpose of using its VPN support to hide my IP address. I configured the VPN on the router and on Windows 10 as in...
- Sep 14, 2019
Re-read your subject header again "Can Nighthawk R7000 router hide the IP address using OpenVPN?" and post. Are you trying to hide the IP Address that your ISP provider assigns to your DSL/Cable modem, also known as the Public IP Address? If so, the a personal VPN (the VPN server in the Nighthawk) is not what you are looking for. What you need is a commercial VPN, like NordVPN or Express VPN.
Below is two scenario. Which one are you trying to do?
When I travel to foreign countries and U.S. States, like Japan, Korea, California, New York, etc, I use VPN to create a secure tunnel back to my home VPN server (Nighthawk). So, when I "cruise" the internet, websites think I am in the US or in the U.S. State I live in, because my public IP address is pointing to my home cable modem. (very effective when using service providers like Netflix or Amazon Video streaming video to many foreign countries) Also, all my data packets leaving and entering my computer is encrypted, so if someone intercepted my data packets from the hotel hotspot, they would have a heck of a time decrypting data.
If I was at home, in the US, and I wanted to hide my public IP address that is pointing to my home, I would need a different solution. That solution is to connect to a commercial VPN. The website would send the data to the Public IP address of the commerical VPN provider, which could be in another U.S. State or country. The VPN provider would then route the data, through a secure tunnel, back to my computer. If for some reason someone intercepted the data packet prior to arriving to the commercial VPN provider, deconstructed the data packet, the destination IP, would point to the commercial VPN vendor and not to my home.
DEROS
Sep 10, 2019Tutor
I had the same issue as you. What I did was used the non-windows files, that are normally used for Apple computers. The nonwindows files configures OPENVPN to use TUN. When you connect, all those errors disappear except for the warning about cache. However, that is a simple fix. You just need to add auth-nocache to the configuration file. I believe there is something wrong with TAP. I am not sure if it is OpenVPN, Windows 10, or Netgear that is preventing a proper connection.
- LuxkySep 13, 2019Aspirant
Thanks Deros for your response. I tried to download and install non-windows files. However, OpenVPN couldn't connect on Windows 10.
- DEROSSep 14, 2019Tutor
Re-read your subject header again "Can Nighthawk R7000 router hide the IP address using OpenVPN?" and post. Are you trying to hide the IP Address that your ISP provider assigns to your DSL/Cable modem, also known as the Public IP Address? If so, the a personal VPN (the VPN server in the Nighthawk) is not what you are looking for. What you need is a commercial VPN, like NordVPN or Express VPN.
Below is two scenario. Which one are you trying to do?
When I travel to foreign countries and U.S. States, like Japan, Korea, California, New York, etc, I use VPN to create a secure tunnel back to my home VPN server (Nighthawk). So, when I "cruise" the internet, websites think I am in the US or in the U.S. State I live in, because my public IP address is pointing to my home cable modem. (very effective when using service providers like Netflix or Amazon Video streaming video to many foreign countries) Also, all my data packets leaving and entering my computer is encrypted, so if someone intercepted my data packets from the hotel hotspot, they would have a heck of a time decrypting data.
If I was at home, in the US, and I wanted to hide my public IP address that is pointing to my home, I would need a different solution. That solution is to connect to a commercial VPN. The website would send the data to the Public IP address of the commerical VPN provider, which could be in another U.S. State or country. The VPN provider would then route the data, through a secure tunnel, back to my computer. If for some reason someone intercepted the data packet prior to arriving to the commercial VPN provider, deconstructed the data packet, the destination IP, would point to the commercial VPN vendor and not to my home.
- LuxkySep 16, 2019Aspirant
Hi Deros,
Thank you very much for your clear explanation.
The two scenarios you mentioned are in my mind, but hiding my public IP address is my first target.
Do you think hiding a public IP address will work on routers with NordVPN or ExpressVPN support without monthly payment for theses services? Or you meant I have to pay to use these commercial services? In this case, I have to register and pay for each device I use to connect to the internet. I want to use a router because I was told that a router can cover the entire home.
Thanks again.