Set up your VPN Server in the cloud.

Build your free OpenVPN server to secure your traffic.

Securing your network traffic over the internet prevents you to some extent from being exposed to Internet Risks.

Here we are going to deploy the OpenVPN server in AWS Cloud using the free tier Option. i.e., if you are a new User, you can use some services for free with limited resources.

How does VPN Work?

VPN Builds an encrypted secure tunnel between your device and the internet. This means any third party between your device and the internet
cannot access your traffic.

Steps to Set up VPN:

1. Create a free AWS account.
2. Go to EC2 Service and Click on launch Instance.
3. Select AWS Marketplace and search for OpenVPN free tier Image.
4. In the Instance type choose t2.micro as the free tier supports only t2.micro.
5. Keep everything default (Configure it if you are familiar with AWS).
6. When you click on launch Instance it asks for you to generate a key pair.
7. Generate a key pair and download it and launch.
8. Once launched wait for a minute for ec2 to start and select the ec2.
9. You can see connect option where you can use one of the options to login into the server with public IP and the downloaded Key-pair.
10. Once logged in keep everything in default and after that server asks you to login with “openvpnas” and you can log in with the same key pair.
11. once logged in as ‘openvpnas’ create a password for that user by typing “sudo passwd <password> “.
12. Now open a browser type “HTTPS://<your-public-ip>:943/admin/” and log in with the username “openvpn” and the password that you created.
13. Now go to Configurations >> VPN Settings >> and find:

14. Turn it on and save setting and click on update server.

15. Now go browser and type “https://<your-public-ip>:943” and login and download the OpenVPN client and input username and password.

16. That’s it you are connected to the VPN.

You have lot of configuration options you can use for more security. Building your own VPN Server helps you to have total control over traffic. VPN service providers may monitor you if they want to. It's like hiding traffic from internet and giving it to VPN Service providers. So, it's better to have your own server.