How to create a VPN for secure web browsing using Hamachi.


Do you feel insecure when browsing the internet over an open unsecured wireless access point?  

83 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you feel insecure when browsing the internet over an open unsecured wireless access point?

    • Yes
      52
    • No
      31


Recommended Posts

How to create a VPN for secure web browsing using Hamachi.

Do you feel insecure when browsing the internet over an open unsecured wireless access point? Well some people do, myself included. In this guide I will explain how to create a VPN for web browsing using Hamachi in combination with privoxy.

For this to work its best to use a computer that is always turned on and never goes to sleep. I prefer setting it up on an old low end computer that you just put in a corner and forget about. (except for installing updates on of course)

Step 1: Installing Hamachi

Go to the following address http://files.hamachi.cc/HamachiSetup-1.0.3.0-en.exe to download and install hamachi. They have a paid version and a free version. For what we need it for, the free version will work just fine. During the install tell hamachi to start with windows.

Step 2: Creating a new Hamachi network.
This will be the account that your laptop will connect to.

1) Click the triangle icon in the bottom right of hamachi.
2) Click "Create a new network"
3) Type in a network name. For the password I'd recommend going to https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm. On the page are 3 different sets of 64 character passwords. Every time you refresh the page a new set will be generated. Copy and paste one into the password field of hamachi. I'd also recommend you paste the same password into notepad and save it so you can copy and paste it later to connect to this account.

Hamachi is now ready to go. Next we will setup the proxy server portion. For this guide we will be using privoxy http://www.privoxy.org/. I'm sure there are other ones that will work too, but this one is free and it gets the job done.

Step 3: Setting up and configuring privoxy.

1) Download and install privoxy from http://www.privoxy.org/. You'll also want to put a copy of the privoxy icon in your startup folder.
2) Launch the application
3) Click Options / Edit Main Configuration. This will open up a notepad document. Search the document for "listen-address 127.0.0.1:8118. You want the one that does not have an asterisk in front of it. Replace the 127.0.0.1 with the 5.x.x.x number that is displayed on the top of hamachi.
4) Exit and save the document. You may have to restart the application for the change to take in effect.

Step 4: Setting up the VPN on your laptop.

1) Install hamachi on your laptop and create another new account.
2) Click the triangle in the bottom right of hamachi. This time choose "join an existing network".
3) Type in the name and password of the server you created in step 1 #3. Copying and pasting the password usually works the best.

Step 4: Setting up your web browsers to feel the proxy love.

This step is pretty simple. Go into the proxy options of your web browser. When it asks for an IP address give it the hamachi IP address of the server. When it wants a port number give it 8118.

That's it. You're done! Now when you are in a public access point and connected to hamachi all your web browsing traffic should be encrypted. Now lets test it to see if everything is working. Open the web browser that you just configured to go through a proxy server. Go to a website that displays your internet IP. If everything is working you should get the IP of your internet connection at home. Of course if you are testing this at home, it really won't do much good. You could always mooch off someones wireless access point just long enough to see which IP the site is giving you.

Note: Just remember if you have multiple web browsers on your computer, only the ones with their proxy settings configured will be encrypted.

Edited by warwagon
  BudMan said:
^ yeah lots of people are not aware of how to circumvent browsing policies at work or school.. This is a great guide on how to do exactly that.

This _mostly_ won't work for circumvention if the network and policies are set up properly, and I don't think the guide is meant as such. It's a way to safe surf encrypted in a public environment.

  BudMan said:
^ yeah lots of people are not aware of how to circumvent browsing policies at work or school.. This is a great guide on how to do exactly that.

My intent in writing this guide was to give people (like shockz) a more secure way of browsing the internet on an unsecured wireless network. (Example: Starbucks or the local hospital) Nothing more. I hadn't even thought of the workplace and school ramifications. What workplace or school allows 3rd party installation of programs like Himachi? They have a lot larger problem if they are that unsecured.

Edited by warwagon

im pretty sure you need admin rights to install hamachi because it installs a driver. most schools wont let you do that type of thing, probably :p

nice guide tho, although i find hamachi a bit slow sometimes, i just use putty and stunnel (takes a bit more setting up though :p )

  Colin-uk said:
im pretty sure you need admin rights to install hamachi because it installs a driver. most schools wont let you do that type of thing, probably :p

nice guide tho, although i find hamachi a bit slow sometimes, i just use putty and stunnel (takes a bit more setting up though :p )

ya this one is pretty much, click click type type and done. Only reason I didn't port forward some ports in from the router instead of using hamachi is, I don't like to have to open ports on my server if I don't have to. because even if you couldn't install hamachi you could always port forward 8118 on your server. Then just use your IP address assuming it doesn't change. Though the school really should have all the ports locked down other than whats needed like port 80.

  • 2 weeks later...
  warwagon said:
My intent in writing this guide was to give people (like shockz) a more secure way of browsing the internet on an unsecured wireless network. (Example: Starbucks or the local hospital) Nothing more. I hadn't even thought of the workplace and school ramifications. What workplace or school allows 3rd party installation of programs like Himachi? They have a lot larger problem if they are that unsecured.

with Putty you can set up a tunnel and in firefox set it to use the tunnel (proxy settings). Both these programs can be used without having to install them

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...
  On 01/09/2010 at 16:01, Sawyer12 said:

Do I need to forward port 8118 to get this to work outside?

Not if you connect via hamachi. Once connected with hamachi it's like both computers are on the same internal lan.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Ignoring the ads, Google Play Store actually works and has no issues installing apps.
    • 2TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD drops to a great price again by Fiza Ali The 2TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD is currently available on Amazon, Samsung, and Newegg at a great price, only $0.44 higher than its historic low. So, if you have been wanting to upgrade your storage solution, you may want to check it out (purchase links down below). The SSD features NAND memory, delivering sequential read speeds of up to 7,250MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,300MB/s. For random read (QD32), the 2TB version reaches up to 1,000K IOPS, and for random write (QD32), it achieves up to 1,350K IOPS. Furthermore, it carries a Total Bytes Written (TBW) rating of 1,200. The 990 EVO Plus is equipped with Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 for enhanced performance with large files. Moreover, the drive features a nickel-coated controller that helps manage heat, reduce power usage, and prevent overheating. The SSD supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2, promising faster data transfer speeds and better performance. Additionally, with Samsung's Magician Software, the SSD keeps its firmware up to date, adds extra security, and allows for continuous drive health monitoring. Finally, the Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD comes with a five year limited warranty, offering long-term reliability and peace of mind. 2TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD: $129.99 (Amazon US) - $129.99 (Samsung US) - $129.99 (Newegg) This Amazon deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the Amazon US deals page here. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. You can also check out other SSD deals here. For hard disk drives, you can head over to our HDD deals section to see if anything from there matches your requirements. Make sure you also browse through Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Newegg US to find some other great tech deals. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • As visually pleasing as elementaryos (and pantheon) is, I found it to be a little too far behind on some things. I wish they would package their desktop environment for use on other distros. Unfortunately their dev team is pretty small and it just naturally takes a long time for them to get things polished.
    • I was thinking, and was going to post, almost exactly what @Brandon Hjust posted!   WARNING: possible spoilers I also love these videos she makes:   
    • The Witcher 4 tech demo shows off the RPG in action on a base PS5 at 60FPS by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Epic Games' The State of Unreal 2025 keynote happened today, giving a look at its latest improvements to the Unreal Engine, and other developments and partnerships that the Fortnite maker is involved in. The show kicked things off with a bang, giving fans a live on-stage presentation of The Witcher 4 alongside developer CD Projekt RED. Seen below, the tech demo of the hugely anticipated RPG features the new trilogy's protagonist, Ciri, as she explores Kovir, the new mainland that CD Projekt is letting players explore. Following a monster trail, Ciri and her horse Kelpie go through mountains and forests before reaching the town of Valdrest. Surprisingly, the demo is said to be running on a base PlayStation 5, and it even manages to stay at 60 frames per second despite the stunning visuals. The studio said that the technologies it is using will benefit all platforms that it is targeting for the RPG. The Witcher 4 is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 consoles, though a release date has not been revealed yet. "We started our partnership with Epic Games to push open-world game technology forward. To show this early look at the work we’ve been doing using Unreal Engine running at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5, is a significant milestone — and a testament of the great cooperation between our teams," said joint CEO of CD Projekt RED Michał Nowakowski. "But we're far from finished. I look forward to seeing more advancements and inspiring technology from this partnership as development of The Witcher 4 on Unreal Engine 5 continues." The demo showcases tech like Unreal Animation Framework, Nanite Foliage rendering, MetaHuman technology with Mass AI crowd scaling, and more from Epic Games' latest engine developments. Unreal Engine 5.6 is said to include many of these improvements, letting any developer use the tools on their games for better visuals and optimizations.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Adam Todd earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Contributor
      Ed B went up a rank
      Contributor
    • One Month Later
      moporcho earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      Parotel earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Reacting Well
      Cryptecks earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      202
    2. 2
      snowy owl
      146
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      133
    4. 4
      Xenon
      120
    5. 5
      +FloatingFatMan
      109
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!