With the help of VPN on Windows, the internet user would be able to connect to a private secured network and thereby protect their data. Secured internet access would be sought by a lot of subscribers. When connecting to the internet, whether knowingly or unknowingly, the user’s data would be at risk and this risk comes in the form of hacking and snooping etc. Such illegal activities cannot be prevented and to recover from them would be a tough task. Most of the individuals and businesses would not be able to recover from such a loss. Hacking and other fraudulent activities cannot be stopped, but definitely they can be prevented using VPN on Windows.
Business organizations would be making use of VPNs for performing all their business transactions. In a business organization, there would be a lot of computers and laptops and in order to establish a VPN connection in that scenario, the person can contact their IT staff and get the process done. For individual users who do not know how to setup VPN on Windows, this article would provide a detailed step by step process for setting up VPN on Windows.
VPN on Windows – Setup
VPN subscriber should have obtained all the necessary VPN parameters before they go ahead with the VPN connection. Once the user has signed up with one particular VPN service provider, the company would send a welcome email to the subscriber which would contain all the VPN connection requisite details. Every single user account maintained with the company would have different user data i.e. details such as username, password, encryption bit protocol type, server address, server ID etc. All these details would be provided to the subscriber by the service provider. If the VPN does not provide it, then the subscriber should contact the provider and obtain all the details.
- The first step would be to setup a new VPN on Windows. Click on the Windows Home button and in the Search page, type VPN. The result would be this, “Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection.
- Click on it to initiate the VPN setup process. In the next page of “Create a new VPN connection”, details such as Internet address and Destination name would have to be entered. Internet address would be an address provided by the VPN service provider. It might be in the form of an IP address. Destination name is nothing but a name that the user wishes to give to their connection. It can be any name that the user can remember. Those who want to save the VPN connection and connect to the network afterwards can select the option of “Don’t connect now; just set it up so I can connect later”. Others can leave it unselected. After entering these two details, click on Next.
- In the following page, the user would have to enter the account credentials such as username and password of the account. VPN service providers would give away a one-time password for their new subscribers and this has to be changed by the user after establishing the first VPN connection. At the end of this page, click on “Connect”. Based on the option selected in the first page, the computer would decide whether to connect to the VPN or save it.
- In case of establishing the connection, the system would verify the username, password and other credentials and make the connection accordingly. Once connected, the status of the VPN connection would be displayed in the network icon.
- Once the connection is made, the entire internet activity of the user would be redirected through the VPN channel.
- VPN on Windows setup process is over.
VPN on Windows – Connecting and Disconnecting
After the setup process, the user would be able to find the new VPN connection on the list of Networks available in their laptop or computer. The user would be able to connect to the VPN network by clicking on the network. Disconnecting the VPN connection follows the same step.
VPN on Windows – Troubleshooting
If the VPN subscriber is facing problem with their VPN connection, they can check the details entered in the VPN setup and can also check for the status of their laptop or computer. If the settings of the computer do not promote new network connections, then they would not be able to connect to the VPN servers. Furthermore, the user can contact their VPN service provider and bring to notice the problems faced by them. The customer support staff would assist the user in resolving the issue and would make the connection work.
VPN on Windows setup process provided in this article is primarily focused on Windows 7 users. The setup procedure is more than similar for Windows 8 users. Windows XP VPN setup would be slightly different due to certain tweaks.
Windows based smartphones are also used by businesses and individuals. Thus, users who primarily connect to the VPN using their Windows based laptop or smartphone or computer should choose a VPN service provider who has the reputation of providing them.
Best VPN on Windows
List of Best VPN on Windows service providers are given below.
| Rank | Provider Name | Starting Price | Money Back Guarantee | Visit Provider Site |
 | ExpressVPN | $6.67/month | 30 Days |  |
| 2 | Hidemyass | $11.52/month | 30 Days | |
| 3 | IPVanish | $10.00/month | 7 Days | |
| 4 | VyprVPN | $10.00/Month | 7 Days | |
| 5 | StrongVPN | $10.00/month | 7 Days | |
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