VPN Manager for OpenVPN

1st Official Post

    This is an add-on that makes it easy to use VPN connections from within Kodi

    Features are :
    - Manage Private Internet Access, IPVanish, VyprVPN, Invisible Browsing VPN, tigerVPN, Hide My Ass!, LiquidVPN, AirVPN, CyberGhost, Perfect Privacy, TorGuard, HideIPVPN, LimeVPN, VPN Unlimited, BTGuard VPN, ExpressVPN, SaferVPN, Celo VPN.ht, TotalVPN, WiTopia, proXPN, Windscribe Pro, VPN.ac, VPNSecure, BulletVPN, NordVPN, Mullvad, IVPN (untested), SecureVPN.to (untested), RA4W (untested), VPNArea (untested), VanishedVPN (untested) and PrivateVPN (untested)
    - Import .ovpn files for other VPN providers not supported
    - Connect to VPN when Kodi starts and reconnect when necessary
    - Connect to VPN before Kodi starts (LibreELEC only)
    - Automatically switch to different VPN profiles/locations (or disconnect entirely) depending on add-on or Kodi window ID in use
    - Switch VPN profiles/locations from within TV Guide Fullscreen depending on channel (add-on) in use
    - Supports both UDP and TCP connections where available, using the default or user defined port
    - Easy display and switching of profiles from a single button/remote key
    - Display screen overlay of current system information from a single button/remote key
    - Remote interaction via API
    - Third party add-on API (for integration with TV guides, etc)
    - Supported on LibreELEC, OpenELEC 5 onwards, OSMC, other Linux based Kodi installs and Windows (see words in the installation and trouble shooting wiki pages)
    - Android not supported. It doesn't work and will just give you an error message.

    Install the repo and following the installation guide.

    These three pages cover the basics
    Download and installation
    VPN configuration and connection
    Filter VPN connection depending on add-on being used

    If you want to add a VPN that's not supported then see these pages

    User Defined VPNs

    Debugging VPNs

    If you're confused about something then READ THE WIKI. I didn't write it because I was bored. If you're genuinely having trouble then try and help yourself first by reviewing the trouble shooting page. Then upgrade to the latest version and recreate the issue from boot, getting a FULL log with debug enabled, put it on pastebin (as I won't open random internet attachments) and post up your issue in this thread. Please don't expect support without a problem description and a full log.

    Please don't PM me directly about problems you're having with this add-on, you'll not get an answer

    Edited 18 times, last by zomboided (August 22, 2018 at 7:29 PM).

  • Go to Best Answer

    Morning Zomboided,

    I think something's up with that forum. I couldn't log back in to say thanks for your help. Web page was throwing a 500 error. Tried creating a new user, but the confirmation email link caused the same thing.

    Welcome here :cool:

    I just came across this Excellent Addon, and it seems to work fine..

    The only problem I am seeing (and im jumping alot between VPNs as I am testing the VPN provider (NordVPN)) is that it will some times hang when trying to switch connections and will only start working after a reboot..

    I will keep an eye on this development. :)

    Quote from Scope


    I just came across this Excellent Addon, and it seems to work fine..

    The only problem I am seeing (and im jumping alot between VPNs as I am testing the VPN provider (NordVPN)) is that it will some times hang when trying to switch connections and will only start working after a reboot..

    I will keep an eye on this development. :)

    Install the latest version, switch debug on in settings/debug and then get me a log. Shouldn't hang, that code has been stable for months.

    Glad to see zomboided here! :D

    Thank you so much for your addon, I'm using it on my setup for a few weeks now and I'm very happy with it!

    I've noticed two things that I want to check with you:

    1) "Connect to VPN before Kodi starts (LibreELEC only)"
    I've looked at the debug log, and I see that the library scanning starts and polls the internet for data before your addon/service launches. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or I misinterpret the meaning of your statement?

    2) DNS lookups do not go through the VPN
    I'm using an imported .ovpn file as my provider isn't supported, when I do an "nslookup hotmail.com" I can see that the name server used is that of my ISP, not my VPN provider. There are 2 UDP routes showing the NS'es of my ISP, but none showing the ones from my VPN provider. What could I be doing wrong?

    Once again, thanks for your addon.

    Excellent addon and good to see zomboided here.

    I would like to see VPN Manager included in the LE distro considering OpenVPN is already included.

    Botafuco - nor sure about your specific DNS question, but I suggest you configure your machines and whatever box relays your DNS with the IP of the Google nameservers - 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

    Edited once, last by apc (February 26, 2017 at 11:03 AM).

    1. The connection is handled by systemd before Kodi launches. It doesn't matter than the add-on is not running. When the add-on is up and running it'll look to see if there's a VPN connection active (based on whether the openvpn task is running) and then "guess" what it's connected to (ie the first validated connection).

    2. You can look at pushing a dhcp-option to set the DNS via an up script - using up scripts are documented on the add-on wiki and dhcp-option is documented in the openvpn docs. Or you can always use a particular DNS by setting it within Libreelec - I'm not in front of a box tho so you can google how to do that. You can either use the DNS that your VPN provider gives you or just use google's own DNS servers. I'd probably just set it up to use google's for simplicity like apc is suggesting above.

    Edited once, last by zomboided (February 26, 2017 at 4:36 PM).

    Quote from zomboided

    1. The connection is handled by systemd before Kodi launches. It doesn't matter than the add-on is not running. When the add-on is up and running it'll look to see if there's a VPN connection active (based on whether the openvpn task is running) and then "guess" what it's connected to (ie the first validated connection).

    2. You can look at pushing a dhcp-option to set the DNS via an up script - using up scripts are documented on the add-on wiki and dhcp-option is documented in the openvpn docs. Or you can always use a particular DNS by setting it within Libreelec - I'm not in front of a box tho so you can google how to do that. You can either use the DNS that your VPN provider gives you or just use google's own DNS servers. I'd probably just set it up to use google's for simplicity like apc is suggesting above.

    Thank you for the clarifications to point 1), and the help for point 2) !
    I'm updating to Krypton now, I'll give the dchp options a try.

    <3

    Does a similar addon exist for PPTP or L2TP protocols? I love the way it switches VPN according to addons, etc.. In the past I have tried PPTP, but I was only able to switch it on/off from command line, which made it very hard to use.

    I've got a request for you, and apologies if it has been asked already:
    (As it is provider specific, and unless available to you, assumed string comparison I understand if it is not feasible)

    Provider: NordVPN
    Is there a way to connect to for example ANY UK server (randomally), rather than picking a specific one from the list? So in a way introduce load balancing (be it on a random basis) when picking a server to connect to.? The NordVPN Windows client has a similar thing built into their tool, you simply pick for example UK, then they connect you to a (for me) random server.. (Im not sure if theirs is random though, they might have a load balancer they send the requests to).

    It has been asked before and it's not going to happen as it's a problem largely unique to Nord. Most providers appear to provide a single domain name to encapsulate a bunch of servers across which they load balance (or at least give that option). Nord prefer to surface all of the servers via 1500 of opvn files, containing 1500 different IP addresses, which they frequently change. If they decide to move things around (maybe to avoid VPN blocking), then their users have to go refresh their ovpn files (or use the new IP addresses). If users don't want to use their app, then Nord should provide a better way of using their service (in my opinion) like other VPNs.

    If Nord are now doing things differently, I'll revisit how it's supported. If they're still doing this, then nothing is gonna change here.

    Edited once, last by zomboided (February 28, 2017 at 8:19 PM).

    Hi zomboided, I've been trying to download this for the last couple of hours with no luck! AWS problem?
    Thanks
    Edit: don't worry folks AWS is experiencing difficulties and taken half the internet down with it, so much for cloud computing, hahahahahaha :P

    Edited once, last by punter (February 28, 2017 at 8:34 PM).