Other VPN Clients for Windows

[Richard Rose]

I'm on x64 Win 7. Having DNS problems with the Cisco DNS Client (Concentrator) I got rid of the Cisco VPN from Sonic. Uninstalling it left 2 files locked and unable to be deleted, so I d/l FileAssassin to delete them on reboot, it was a very sloppy uninstall. Cleaned the registry also in case of stray keys, were none. Tried to reinstall the Cisco Client, got a fatal error, something like "_OtherFiles is not a short file name". Google was silent on it except for a few Adobe installs. The x86 Client Sonic offers did not install on my x64 system. So I d/l a bunch of VPN Clients and tested them. The native VPN in Windows 7, OpenVpn, Hamachi, Shrew Soft, Smart VPN, NCP Secure Entry, and Securepoint SSLVPN all were installed, and all were unnecessarily complicated in their setup. However, I found that DrayTek was the easiest and the best. I installed the DrayTek free Vpn client, got it working fine. Settings: Click the Configuration button, select Enable for "Support L2TP/L2TP over IPSec", then click OK. In Step 2, click Setup, then the settings are: VPN Server IP/Host name= 208.201.249.242, User name= <yoursonic.netusername>, Password= <yourSonic.netpassword>, Type of VPN= PPTP, PPTP Encryption= No encryption, Use default gateway on remote connection= checked, all other boxes leave unchecked. That's it! I combine it with VPNetMon to shutdown any programs using the VPN that might reveal your true IP to the WAN if the VPN stops for whatever reason. I use www.dnsleaktest.com to make sure my DNS settings are not leaking to my ISP (Comcast), who definitely tracks it. And I use Google DNS (8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4) or OpenDNS settings for my adapter's DNS, to keep my ISP away from my traffic.

[Richard Rose]

Also, Cisco says they have discontinued support for their VPN Clients, and will soon stop their d/l links for them. And the DrayTek Client has the ability to stay connected, with a redial option, in case you lose the connection it will automatically re-connect.

[kgc]

I've used the ShrewSoft VPN client.