Step 1: Setting up a Linode VPS
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You'll need to enter billing information.
Once you make it to the dashboard, click on 'Add a Linode,' or go directly to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. This is where you'll pick what hardware your server will have, and where it will be hosted.
Step two: Logging into the VPS
Ubuntu Server doesn't have a graphical user interface, like Windows or macOS. It only has a command-line interface, but don't be scared - all these steps are pretty easy to follow. If you've ever used the Terminal on macOS, Linux, or even Android, you'll feel right at home.
Once you click on the 'Remote access' tab on the dashboard, you'll see the command for logging into the server using SSH. You can put that into any SSH client and most Terminal emulators, but we'll be using the 'Lish' console for this guide, since it runs entirely in the browser. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the 'Launch Lish Console' link.
Once it asks you for the login, type "root" (without the quotes) and press Enter. Then enter the root password you set earlier, and press Enter again. After that, you should be logged in and greeted with a "Welcome to Ubuntu" message. If you've never used a Terminal on Linux/macOS before, you might find You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. Now it's time to set up the VPN service!
Step three: Setting up the VPN
You might be thinking, "Oh geez, I gotta use commands, this is gonna be awful." Thankfully, this is actually the easiest step, since we'll be using You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. to get everything running. Run this command in the Lish console window:
wget You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. -O openvpn-install.sh && bash openvpn-install.sh
The script will ask you for your IP address, what protocol to use, and other info. Just use the default/recommended options by pressing Enter on each question. When asked for the client name, put in your name. Then the script will install the required software and set everything up.
Once the script is done, it will export a .ovpn file in the /root/ folder. That file contains the connection and login info for your VPN, so we need to get that file off the server.
Step four: Downloading the OVPN file
For Windows, download Cyberduck from You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and install it. Once you open the app, click the 'Open Connection' button at the top of the window. Select 'SFTP' on the top dropdown menu, and put this in:
Add or remove profiles
You already have an OpenVPN profile for yourself (which is linked to the .ovpn file), but you can create more profiles to let other people access your VPN. You can also remove a profile later, if you want to revoke someone's access. Just run the VPN setup script again:
wget You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. -O openvpn-install.sh && bash openvpn-install.sh
You should see a series of options - just type the number for the one you want and press Enter. The script will then walk you through the action.
Credits:
Corbin Davenport of androidpolice
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., if you don't have one.
You'll need to enter billing information.
Once you make it to the dashboard, click on 'Add a Linode,' or go directly to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. This is where you'll pick what hardware your server will have, and where it will be hosted.
Step two: Logging into the VPS
Ubuntu Server doesn't have a graphical user interface, like Windows or macOS. It only has a command-line interface, but don't be scared - all these steps are pretty easy to follow. If you've ever used the Terminal on macOS, Linux, or even Android, you'll feel right at home.
Once you click on the 'Remote access' tab on the dashboard, you'll see the command for logging into the server using SSH. You can put that into any SSH client and most Terminal emulators, but we'll be using the 'Lish' console for this guide, since it runs entirely in the browser. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the 'Launch Lish Console' link.
Once it asks you for the login, type "root" (without the quotes) and press Enter. Then enter the root password you set earlier, and press Enter again. After that, you should be logged in and greeted with a "Welcome to Ubuntu" message. If you've never used a Terminal on Linux/macOS before, you might find You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.. Now it's time to set up the VPN service!
Step three: Setting up the VPN
You might be thinking, "Oh geez, I gotta use commands, this is gonna be awful." Thankfully, this is actually the easiest step, since we'll be using You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. to get everything running. Run this command in the Lish console window:
wget You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. -O openvpn-install.sh && bash openvpn-install.sh
The script will ask you for your IP address, what protocol to use, and other info. Just use the default/recommended options by pressing Enter on each question. When asked for the client name, put in your name. Then the script will install the required software and set everything up.
Once the script is done, it will export a .ovpn file in the /root/ folder. That file contains the connection and login info for your VPN, so we need to get that file off the server.
Step four: Downloading the OVPN file
For Windows, download Cyberduck from You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. and install it. Once you open the app, click the 'Open Connection' button at the top of the window. Select 'SFTP' on the top dropdown menu, and put this in:
- Server: Your server's IP address (this can be found on the 'Remote Access' tab in Linode, or by running "curl ipinfo.io/ip" on your server)
- Port: 22
- Username: root
- Password: The root password you created earlier
Add or remove profiles
You already have an OpenVPN profile for yourself (which is linked to the .ovpn file), but you can create more profiles to let other people access your VPN. You can also remove a profile later, if you want to revoke someone's access. Just run the VPN setup script again:
wget You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. -O openvpn-install.sh && bash openvpn-install.sh
You should see a series of options - just type the number for the one you want and press Enter. The script will then walk you through the action.
Credits:
Corbin Davenport of androidpolice
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