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How do I connect to VPN Plus Server via Windows PC?

Last updated:19 Dec 2023

How do I connect to VPN Plus Server via Windows PC?

Purpose

This article demonstrates how to connect to your VPN Plus Server using Windows 11 and 10. If you want to connect to the VPN Server on a Synology NAS, refer to this article instead.

Resolution

Before you start

  1. Set up VPN Plus Server and one of the following services on your Synology Router.
  2. Ensure the Internet connectivity of the Synology Router. Set up port forwarding rules if required.

Note:

  1. VPN Plus Server does not support QuickConnect; you will need to configure DDNS and port forwarding for your VPN Plus Server.

Set up a Synology SSL VPN connection

  1. Go to SRM > VPN Plus Server > Synology VPN > SSL VPN.
  2. Click the URL to access the VPN Plus web portal.
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  3. Sign in with your SRM credentials.
  4. Click SSL VPN on the left panel.
  5. Click Download to install Synology SSL VPN Client to your local computer.
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  6. Follow the on-screen instructions in the wizard to finish the installation.
  7. When the SSL VPN client starts running, the web page will refresh automatically.
  8. Set up a PIN code of at least eight characters if this is the first time you are signing into the web portal on this computer. This mechanism avoids unauthorized logins to a malicious VPN server. 1 
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  9. Click Connect to connect via Synology SSL VPN.
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  10. All connections from the local computer will now go through the Synology SSL VPN. To stop using this VPN service, click Disconnect on the VPN Plus web portal.

Set up a WebVPN connection

  1. Go to VPN > VPN Plus Server > Synology VPN > WebVPN.
  2. Click on the URL to access the VPN Plus web portal.
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  3. Sign in with your SRM credentials.
  4. Click WebVPN on the left panel.
  5. Enter the URL of a website, and click Connect.
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  6. Now you can quickly access this website via WebVPN.

Set up PPTP and L2TP/IPSec VPN connections

  1. Add a VPN profile.
    • On Windows 11
      Select the Start button, then type Settings. Go to Windows Settings > Network & Internet > VPN. Click Add VPN.
    • On Windows 10
      Go to Windows Settings > Network & Internet > VPN. Click Add a VPN connection.
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  2. Fill in the information as follows:
    • VPN provider: Select Windows (built-in).
    • Connection name: Name this VPN connection.
    • Server name or address: Enter the public IP address of your Synology Router.
    • VPN type: Select Point to Point Tunneling Protocol(PPTP) or L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key.
    • Pre-shared key (for L2TP/IPSec VPN only): Enter the IPSec pre-shared key configured at SRM > VPN Plus Server > Standard VPN > L2TP.
    • Username: Enter the username of your SRM account.
    • Password: Enter the password of your SRM account.
  3. Click Save to save this VPN profile.
  4. Click on the VPN profile you just created and click Connect to connect to the VPN. Once the connection is established, you should be able to access resources shared within your Synology Router 's local network.
  5. To disconnect, click the Network icon in the system tray. Select your VPN connection and click Disconnect.
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Create a Windows registry key

This step is only required if your L2TP VPN server is located behind a NAT router.

  1. Press the Windows key9.png+ C, type " regedit " in the search box, and press Enter or double-click regedit.
  2. Click Yes to allow the Registry Editor to make changes to your device.
  3. Type "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent" in the search box of the Registry Editor window, or find the corresponding folder from the left panel.
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  4. Right-click on PolicyAgent, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
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  5. Type "AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule" and press Enter.
  6. Right-click AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule and click Modify.
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  7. Enter "2" in the Value data boxfield, select Hexadecimal, and click OK.
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  8. Exit Registry Editor and restart your device.

Set up an OpenVPN connection

  1. Download and install the application from OpenVPN's official site. In this example, we will use OpenVPN 3.2.2 to demonstrate how to set up OpenVPN VPN connections.
  2. After the installation is complete, you can find  OpenVPN GUI in the Start menu. Launch it as an administrator.
  3. Export the configuration file from SRM > VPN Plus Server > Standard VPN > OpenVPN. Extract the exported file. You should see the openvpn.ovpn and README.txt files.
  4. Open openvpn.ovpn with a text editor and replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with the public IP address of your Synology Router. If your Synology Router is behind a NAT device, replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with the exact public IP address. If you wish to send all traffic over VPN, remove # from #redirect-gateway def1. Save the file after editing.
  5. Put the openvpn.ovpn files into the config subdirectory under the OpenVPN directory (i.e., C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config\).
  6. Double-click the OpenVPN GUI icon in the system tray.
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  7. Use your SRM user credentials to connect to VPN Plus Server.
  8. Once the connection is established, you can click Disconnect to disconnect or Reconnect if your connection is interrupted.

Notes about the PIN code for Synology SSL VPN:

  1. This PIN code is created by a user. It's neither a Wi-Fi PIN code nor the one behind your Synology Router.
  2. Once you set up the PIN code, you need to enter the PIN code again when connecting to another SSL VPN server for the first time on the same computer.
  3. The PIN code cannot be changed once the VPN has been set up. If you forget your PIN code or wish to change it, you must uninstall Synology SSL VPN Client and install it again.

Further reading

Purpose
Resolution
Before you start
Set up a Synology SSL VPN connection
Set up a WebVPN connection
Set up PPTP and L2TP/IPSec VPN connections
Create a Windows registry key
Set up an OpenVPN connection
Further reading