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May 26, 2014, 7:11 am

This post is meant to assist certain XP users who may experience VPN
login problems.
I was very frustrated by this until I arrived at the solution
below. My post applies mostly to
Securitykiss (SK) VPN/XP users but may also be useful for other
XP users with other VPNs.
I tried several "free" vpn services before using SK. Their
service is more reliable and better than other free and low cost VPN
providers I have tried. Many of the other VPN providers did not work for
me and I had some initial frustrating problems with SK but now it's
working fine.
If you are running windows XP (SP3) and using a pared-down, non-
standard or not fully updated
configuration, you may have difficulty as I had, connecting to
Security Kiss VPN servers. This
post maybe useful to you. If you have a fully upgraded XP SP3 and
running a standard configuration you may not have connection problems and
may not need this article. Standard Disclaimer: This works for me, your
mileage may vary. I am no networking expert, this is just something I
found useful that I am passing along.
This article assumes that you have installed Security Kiss
software according to
instructions and first used all of their recommended
troubleshooting tips,- confer at
the home securitykiss webpage easily found on google.
On opening the SK main software program, you should get no error
messages stating that
the tap driver has not been installed for example.
Once you load Security Kiss software, it will attempt to connect
to it's servers
to determine your bandwidth usage amount used for the month. If
you get an error message
stating it cannot connect to the usage meter or similar, this
means there is something
wrong with your installation or more probably your internet
connection since it cannot even communicate with the main SK servers.
If you're a paid member you should be presented with a list of
some 58 servers in various countries. It is useful to click on the link
in the SK software "Server Load" which should automatically bring up your
browser and a graphical readout of the amount of user load each server is
experiencing. Try to pick a server near to your location which has a low
user load such that there will be no traffic slowing problems.
On the main SK software window you will see your local IP, which
in my case shows the IP
assigned by our shared wireless router, for example
192.168.nn.nnn It will also show your external IP number which is the IP
that the outside world sees for you BEFORE you connect to the VPN. Once
you connect to a VPN server this number changes to whatever the IP is for
the server you are connected to, thus shielding you from your identifying
IP to the rest of the world.
In the upper right hand corner you will see your ClientID number
which is the number SK identifies your account by. You also have links
called "geolocation" which shows the location of the VPN server once you
are connected to the tunnel.
You also have links to provide feedback and purchase account
time. If your using the
free version the number of servers available you is drastically
reduced but you can still use the
limited number of free SK VPN servers. The main page will also
show the amount of bandwidth you have consumed for the month and time
elapsed for the month of usage.
connection problems with xp running non standard or not updated
configurations:
If you're like me, running a not fully updated XP SP3 that has
had some of the excess
XP programs disabled which are not generally needed or pose
security risks, SK servers may have trouble assigning you an internal IP
for the purpose of establishing your VPN tunnel to your individual
computer.
The problem for me was that the virtual tap driver is not
assigned a MAC address and
if you manually assign one to it, you will be able to connect.
Here are the steps that
worked for me.
1) Login under admin privileges or other escalated privileges
account.
The changes below can only be made from a privileged login, but
once made you will be
able to connect using a regular user login.
2) Go to "Network Connections" (under start "Start" - "Settings")
3) Find the network connection number that when you double click
on it shows:
TAP-Windows Adapter V9. Next to that you will see a button saying
"Configure".
Double click on that.
4) Now you are presented with a window that says "TAP Windows
Adapter V9 Properties"
Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5) Now you are presented with a window that has a "MAC address"
window. In my case it
was blank and SK could not establish a connection without having
a MAC address for the
virtual TAP adapter. In the window labeled "Value:" , simply type
in a MAC address
in the form FF-3A-2B-C2-2D The number can vary, but the number of
letter and digits and dashes must be the same. But if you happened to
choose a MAC address some other user is using to connect, you will have
to change it again cuz you will not be able to connect. You can change it
for one example to EE-2A-3B-C1-3D This also may prevent you local ISP
from blocking your VPN connection as sometimes wifi and other blocks are
made on the basis of the designated MAC address. The MAC address can also
be used as one method of identifying a particular computer so it is to
your advantage to change it periodically.
6) Now go back to the main SK window and try to connect to one of
the VPN servers and
you should be able to connect. If you cannot then change the MAC
again and retry your login. I generally can connect on the first attempt.
You may have to change the MAC each time you
reboot also. Apparently, you are getting assigned an internal MAC
address in the form of 10.nnn.nn.nn by the network. I don't claim to
understand it all, I just know it works for me and may work for you also.
privacy dns configurations
One thing you should know is that to keep your privacy to a
maximum you should not
use your ISPs DNS servers, but either the ones provided by SK or
even better ones in you
own DNS Hosts file. I will not cover the DNS Hosts file here, you
can google for information on that. If you use your own hosts file for
direct home computer DNS lookups your DNS lookups,-finding the IP for the
site your surfing to will be even more private and probably faster, but
that method is beyond the skope of this article. Most people will use SK
DNS lookups. Here is how to make sure your configuration is set to do
that:
1) Go back to the window referred to in step 3 above entitled
"Local Area Connection NN Properties": In that window you will see "This
Connection uses the following items:"
Scroll down where is says "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Double
click on that and make sure that "obtain ip address automatically" is
ticked and "obtain dns address automatically" is ticked. This tells your
system to ask for DNS requests to the VPN server and not to your ISP or
some other server that might leak the IP lookups of whatever addresses
you are visiting, thus creating a profile to identify you.
Again, all of the above worked for me. I do not claim to be a
networking specialist, and I am not even sure why it works, it just
works. You can verify you are connected to the vpn tunnel and have the SK
servers IP by going to these, and many other pages to check your IP and
other identifying variables:
http://www.stilllistener.com/checkpoint1/
http://www.cotse.com/proxycheck2.htm
The IP of the VPN server you are connected to will show up. If
your ISP IP shows up
you are not connected to a SK VPN server and whatever site you
are visiting knows your home IP.
exclusive tunneling:
Occasionally, due to network problems or wifi hackers trying to
hack your connection, the SK VPN server will drop your connection and
then your connection will show your home IP.
To prevent this under the main SK program window under "Options"
and check/enable "Exclusive Tunneling". This prevent traffic going out
from you computer that is not part of the VPN tunnel such that if your
connection is dropped your home IP will not be revealed. However this
also prevents some programs from making their own connection as the
software attempts to route everything through the VPN tunnel.
login problems.
I was very frustrated by this until I arrived at the solution
below. My post applies mostly to
Securitykiss (SK) VPN/XP users but may also be useful for other
XP users with other VPNs.
I tried several "free" vpn services before using SK. Their
service is more reliable and better than other free and low cost VPN
providers I have tried. Many of the other VPN providers did not work for
me and I had some initial frustrating problems with SK but now it's
working fine.
If you are running windows XP (SP3) and using a pared-down, non-
standard or not fully updated
configuration, you may have difficulty as I had, connecting to
Security Kiss VPN servers. This
post maybe useful to you. If you have a fully upgraded XP SP3 and
running a standard configuration you may not have connection problems and
may not need this article. Standard Disclaimer: This works for me, your
mileage may vary. I am no networking expert, this is just something I
found useful that I am passing along.
This article assumes that you have installed Security Kiss
software according to
instructions and first used all of their recommended
troubleshooting tips,- confer at
the home securitykiss webpage easily found on google.
On opening the SK main software program, you should get no error
messages stating that
the tap driver has not been installed for example.
Once you load Security Kiss software, it will attempt to connect
to it's servers
to determine your bandwidth usage amount used for the month. If
you get an error message
stating it cannot connect to the usage meter or similar, this
means there is something
wrong with your installation or more probably your internet
connection since it cannot even communicate with the main SK servers.
If you're a paid member you should be presented with a list of
some 58 servers in various countries. It is useful to click on the link
in the SK software "Server Load" which should automatically bring up your
browser and a graphical readout of the amount of user load each server is
experiencing. Try to pick a server near to your location which has a low
user load such that there will be no traffic slowing problems.
On the main SK software window you will see your local IP, which
in my case shows the IP
assigned by our shared wireless router, for example
192.168.nn.nnn It will also show your external IP number which is the IP
that the outside world sees for you BEFORE you connect to the VPN. Once
you connect to a VPN server this number changes to whatever the IP is for
the server you are connected to, thus shielding you from your identifying
IP to the rest of the world.
In the upper right hand corner you will see your ClientID number
which is the number SK identifies your account by. You also have links
called "geolocation" which shows the location of the VPN server once you
are connected to the tunnel.
You also have links to provide feedback and purchase account
time. If your using the
free version the number of servers available you is drastically
reduced but you can still use the
limited number of free SK VPN servers. The main page will also
show the amount of bandwidth you have consumed for the month and time
elapsed for the month of usage.
connection problems with xp running non standard or not updated
configurations:
If you're like me, running a not fully updated XP SP3 that has
had some of the excess
XP programs disabled which are not generally needed or pose
security risks, SK servers may have trouble assigning you an internal IP
for the purpose of establishing your VPN tunnel to your individual
computer.
The problem for me was that the virtual tap driver is not
assigned a MAC address and
if you manually assign one to it, you will be able to connect.
Here are the steps that
worked for me.
1) Login under admin privileges or other escalated privileges
account.
The changes below can only be made from a privileged login, but
once made you will be
able to connect using a regular user login.
2) Go to "Network Connections" (under start "Start" - "Settings")
3) Find the network connection number that when you double click
on it shows:
TAP-Windows Adapter V9. Next to that you will see a button saying
"Configure".
Double click on that.
4) Now you are presented with a window that says "TAP Windows
Adapter V9 Properties"
Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5) Now you are presented with a window that has a "MAC address"
window. In my case it
was blank and SK could not establish a connection without having
a MAC address for the
virtual TAP adapter. In the window labeled "Value:" , simply type
in a MAC address
in the form FF-3A-2B-C2-2D The number can vary, but the number of
letter and digits and dashes must be the same. But if you happened to
choose a MAC address some other user is using to connect, you will have
to change it again cuz you will not be able to connect. You can change it
for one example to EE-2A-3B-C1-3D This also may prevent you local ISP
from blocking your VPN connection as sometimes wifi and other blocks are
made on the basis of the designated MAC address. The MAC address can also
be used as one method of identifying a particular computer so it is to
your advantage to change it periodically.
6) Now go back to the main SK window and try to connect to one of
the VPN servers and
you should be able to connect. If you cannot then change the MAC
again and retry your login. I generally can connect on the first attempt.
You may have to change the MAC each time you
reboot also. Apparently, you are getting assigned an internal MAC
address in the form of 10.nnn.nn.nn by the network. I don't claim to
understand it all, I just know it works for me and may work for you also.
privacy dns configurations
One thing you should know is that to keep your privacy to a
maximum you should not
use your ISPs DNS servers, but either the ones provided by SK or
even better ones in you
own DNS Hosts file. I will not cover the DNS Hosts file here, you
can google for information on that. If you use your own hosts file for
direct home computer DNS lookups your DNS lookups,-finding the IP for the
site your surfing to will be even more private and probably faster, but
that method is beyond the skope of this article. Most people will use SK
DNS lookups. Here is how to make sure your configuration is set to do
that:
1) Go back to the window referred to in step 3 above entitled
"Local Area Connection NN Properties": In that window you will see "This
Connection uses the following items:"
Scroll down where is says "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Double
click on that and make sure that "obtain ip address automatically" is
ticked and "obtain dns address automatically" is ticked. This tells your
system to ask for DNS requests to the VPN server and not to your ISP or
some other server that might leak the IP lookups of whatever addresses
you are visiting, thus creating a profile to identify you.
Again, all of the above worked for me. I do not claim to be a
networking specialist, and I am not even sure why it works, it just
works. You can verify you are connected to the vpn tunnel and have the SK
servers IP by going to these, and many other pages to check your IP and
other identifying variables:
http://www.stilllistener.com/checkpoint1/
http://www.cotse.com/proxycheck2.htm
The IP of the VPN server you are connected to will show up. If
your ISP IP shows up
you are not connected to a SK VPN server and whatever site you
are visiting knows your home IP.
exclusive tunneling:
Occasionally, due to network problems or wifi hackers trying to
hack your connection, the SK VPN server will drop your connection and
then your connection will show your home IP.
To prevent this under the main SK program window under "Options"
and check/enable "Exclusive Tunneling". This prevent traffic going out
from you computer that is not part of the VPN tunnel such that if your
connection is dropped your home IP will not be revealed. However this
also prevents some programs from making their own connection as the
software attempts to route everything through the VPN tunnel.
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