Page 5 – Testing and modifying your VPN Server
Want Proof That You’re Connecting Through Your VPN?
There are a number of sites that will show your IP address, but let’s pick one. Visit whoer.net both before and after connecting to your VPN, and you should see your IP address change.
Oh, I Need to Add More Users to my VPN
No problem. Algo includes easy scripts to add users. Just modify the config.cfg file from the installation process, and add or remove to your heart’s content. Refresh the user list by running this command:
algo update-users
What About My Trusted Networks List?
This one’s a bit trickier. You could modify the .mobileconfig file with a text editor, but you have to be very careful about that. The safest option is to destroy your existing Algo installation and start fresh. It’s a fairly quick process, since Algo is so slim and fast to install.
Do I Need to Update Algo?
Again, the easiest method here is to destroy your server instance and reinstall. Just make sure you download and build the latest version of Algo.
You made a bit of an error. Earlier, you said you said No to whether you wanted the CA certificate retained, but at the end you said that you could update users—using a method that requires the CA certificate to be retained.
Thanks! Set up my own vpn server.
Thanks, Jamie! We all do our best 😀
I’m really enjoying your articles, Jeff (and Melissa, and Bob etc.). Great user-ccentric technical articles are something I’ve really missed as they’ve become less common on most Apple sites these days. This is something I really appreciate about TMO.
It’s what I do, Ducky. It’s what I do 🙂
Interesting. Thanks
@geoduck: I have good news for you! DigitalOcean has data centers in other regions than the US. Specifically, they have data centers in Amsterdam, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Toronto, and Bangalore. Installation is so simple that you can destroy your existing droplet and create a new one in a matter of minutes, so changing locations from day to day isn’t too strenuous.
The one issue with this is the location of the server. I’m specifically looking for a server outside of the US, and other Five-Eyes countries. I like existing services because I can run my Mac through Germany, one day, the Netherlands the next and have my phone going through Singapore. If my personal VPN server is set up in the US, then it’s a fixed target in a vulnerable location.