Windows 7 was a massive hit and it is very likely that it would be around for quite some time now. You may own lot of devices with Windows 7 on it, maybe your home desktop or personal laptop. So, how would you know that different types of Internet connections that you are consistently on are safe? Supposed you get to a coffee shop, and want to use the Wi-Fi, do you know that the connection is secure? No. So, what to do? Stop using Internet connections in places other than your home or office. No. Because that would pretty much defeat the whole purpose of having a laptop or any such mobile device. That’s where Virtual Private Networks come into picture. They make sure that the connection that you are using is safe and it protects you from unwanted problems like landing in pages with insecure content etc.
In this tutorial, we will discuss how one can setup L2TP VPN connection with Windows 7. It is assumed that you are fairly familiar with Windows 7.
Step 1: Setup a new network
If you have setup any sort of connection before, you would know where to begin. You need to setup a new connection. This can be done by simply, clicking the network icon that appears in the lower right corner, and clicking ‘Network and Sharing Center’ in it. You would be presented with apage where you can setup new connection. Click ‘set up a new connection’. This will start the connection wizard.
Step 2: Setup the VPN connection
In the next page that appears, you would be asked to choose the type of connection. Choose ‘Connect to a Workplace’ and click ‘next’. In the next page, click ‘Use my Internet connection (VPN)’. Enter the details that are asked along the way. You would be asked the details for your ‘username’ and password. In the next page, you would have to enter the Internet address of the VPN server. The IP or address can be found in the configuration email which is sent to you at the time of registration at the VPN service. After you have entered all the details, you click ‘Create’. Don’t connect to the network yet. There are some changes to be made to the protocol that would be used in the VPN connection.
Step 3: Change the properties
Go to ‘Change adapter settings’ that comes in the right panel of the page. Here you would find the connection which you recently created. Right click it, and go to properties. Among the tabs that are there, click on ‘Security’. Here you would see a drop down menu for specifying the type of VPN. ‘Choose Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)’. Click OK. And then click ‘Connect’.
If everything has gone correctly, you would be connected to the VPN. To confirm that you are connected, you can check your IP. Your IP would be the VPN server’s IP rather than yours.
