Client to Server

RLLoopis · 2022-11-17T23:12:24.763Z

I have 2 AR300M routers, 1 set up as a VPN server and 1 set up as a VPN client. I have NordVPN. I am trying to have my device that is connected through the client router to connect to the server router but I am having issues. Is that how it needs to be set up? I want to be able to travel and always have my IP location show up where I have set up the server router. The laptop I will be connecting to the client router does not have NordVPN installed on it, I’m trying to set up Nord on the routers ahead of time.

K3rn3l_Ku5h · 2022-11-18T00:00:51.922Z

Do you have a Static IP?

Start here:

docs.gl-inet.com

OpenVPN Server - GL.iNet Docs

Documentation for GL.iNet Productions

For the client you would use the config generated in the server set up:

docs.gl-inet.com

OpenVPN Client - GL.iNet Docs

Documentation for GL.iNet Productions

I don’t think the AR300M can do wiregaurd but here is the document anyway:

docs.gl-inet.com

WireGuard Server - GL.iNet Docs

Documentation for GL.iNet Productions

RLLoopis · 2022-11-18T00:04:34.204Z

not sure, how do you find that out? (sorry I’m not very tech savy) I’ve read and followed along with all those documents and when I try to connect to the server it never connects, just gives me the option to abort while it’s trying to load it. I waited 15 minutes so I feel like that’s enough time to connect to it

RLLoopis · 2022-11-18T00:10:59.975Z

just figured it out, I have a dynamic IP

jdub · 2022-11-18T00:41:05.061Z

If you’re wanting to connect to a VPN service like NordVPN, you don’t need two routers. Nord/whoever operates the server, and you use the router as a client to connect to it.

If you’re wanting to connect back to your house so you can access your home network, etc., then you do need a router with a VPN server there.

It sounds like you are trying to do the former rather than the latter, but that’s where we need to start.

RLLoopis · 2022-11-18T00:52:00.473Z

Yeah my end goal is to have my work laptop (with company VPN enabled on it) connect through Nord client on the router to show that I am in my home state when I am out of state. I figured I’d need a home server to achieve this but maybe I’m wrong? I’ve read so many documents trying to figure this out but I get so lost in all the IT stuff

jdub · 2022-11-18T00:56:31.115Z

So… Depending on your IT department’s level of sophistication you may want to be careful about this plan - particularly if there are consequences for doing so. The rule of opsec here is that you only have to mess up once, and there are lots of ways to mess up.

That said, if you are just wanting to appear as though you’re in the same state, and not literally in your home location then yes, you only need a client router connected to a NordVPN server. Note, however, that - again, depending on your IT department’s level of sophistication - it’s pretty easy to know which IP blocks belong to VPN providers, meaning that your IT department will likely know that you’re connecting in from a VPN service, at which point they might have questions about why.

RLLoopis · 2022-11-18T01:04:29.708Z

Thanks for the warning but I don’t really care if I get caught or not lol. If I do, I was planning on saying I got a VPN setup for the whole house for network safety. And honestly, it’s a “whatever” job so I can always find another one if it comes to it. That being said, you’re saying all I need is the Nord client on the 1 router and just connect it to a server in my state?

jdub · 2022-11-18T01:11:09.135Z

I mean, if the question is, “I want to be able to route traffic from my where I am in X place and make it exit onto the internet in Y state,” then the simplistic answer is “Yes.”

But again, there are a lot of places where that simplistic answer can break, so be careful and be warned.

IT departments vary widely in terms of their level of capability and enforcement, but if you’re working for any technically sophisticated actor and they actually care (e.g. government, military, tech, defense contractor, etc) then you are going to have to be a lot more careful than just using a VPN to route your traffic (e.g., don’t check your work email from your phone).

Not to put too fine a point on this (and not at all intending to be rude), but this is really one of those cases where if you aren’t technically savvy enough to set up your own VPN server, you probably aren’t technically savvy enough to know all of the pitfalls you need to avoid to truly conceal your location from your employer. Is there a reason you have to be in state? If not, I would just ask them if you can work remotely. Seems a lot easier.

RLLoopis · 2022-11-18T01:19:57.276Z

I work remotely in North Carolina and my children live in Indiana. I am going to see them for Christmas for a few weeks but I will have to work during that time. I checked with my Team Lead and the company doesn’t allow people to work from Indiana for whatever reason, so I just wanted to hide my true location for those weeks that I’m there. And I work for a cruise line so it’s definitely not a government job or anything like that lol

wcs2228 · 2022-11-18T03:41:40.381Z

NordVPN and other VPN providers sometimes, for various reasons (e.g., server is overloaded or down), do not connect to the server that you requested and gets rerouted to another server.

Hence, it would be good to check (e.g., open whatismyipaddress.com in a browser) to confirm the location is in North Carolina.

I do not work for and I do not have formal association with GL.iNet

elorimer · 2022-11-18T12:37:40.738Z

RLLoopis:

I checked with my Team Lead and the company doesn’t allow people to work from Indiana for whatever reason, so I just wanted to hide my true location for those weeks that I’m there. And I work for a cruise line so it’s definitely not a government job or anything like that lol

I agree with @jdub about the sensitive nature of “hiding” something from your employer–GDPR contract conditions are another live wire, as is malware/ransomware–but not so much about the security issues; it could be you are just caught up in the emerging payroll tax mess. Indiana is one of the states that imposes withholding obligations on remote workers, and the temporary COVID exemptions expired last year. So companies are increasingly being encouraged to have policies that do not permit remote work from unapproved locations.

Your employer is dealing with the security issues by giving you a company managed laptop and its own VPN, so there might not be a need to introduce yet another VPN into the mix. You might reframe the question as “can I use the laptop for work while I am traveling?” rather than “Can I work remotely from Indiana?”

Barely on topic.

Mario03 · 2022-12-10T02:50:09.642Z

What did you end up doing?

K3rn3l_Ku5h · 2022-12-10T04:00:22.142Z

When you do clandestine things like that you don’t post till after its done.

But seriously employees don’t see the harm, the company could be sued by the state and the company would more then likely fire the individual for breaking company policy if caught. I would make sure you are friends with the IT GUY so any logs get cleared.