VPN Router Guide

Most personal VPN accounts that are available on today’s market work on a single device at a time. For example, if you connect to a VPN service from your home PC, you may not be able to connect to the same VPN service on your iPhone or another computer or device that is on your network. One way around this is to have a VPN router solution. A VPN router or a DD-WRT router that supports a VPN service will help you support multiple devices with one VPN account. This solution will help VPN users connect all their devices (computers, mobile devices, Xbox, Roku, AppleTV, Entertainment switches, etc.) to a personal VPN service without having to buy multiple VPN accounts.

A routed VPN router solution also allows you to create more than one network so that you can separate your internet traffic. For example you can connect the VPN Router behind your current router given to you by your ISP. All devices behind your VPN router will have the extra privacy and security that a VPN service offers you and the other devices behind your non-VPN router will use your regular internet connection. This means that if you are currently in France, you can use your VPN router to connect to a USA VPN server giving all the computers and devices behind that router a USA IP address. Any device behind your regular router will have the IP address that your ISP gave you allowing you to surf the web in your native language. Any device (PC, mobile device, Xbox, Roku, PS3, and Wii) behind the VPN router will load with a USA IP allowing you to access internet applications based in the USA including Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, Skype, YouTube, Spotify, etc.

How do you flash a router? Flashing a router basically means you erase the firmware that was preinstalled on the router and replace it with new firmware like DD-WRT. Is it easy? If you are technical and confident enough to attempt it, we say take a stab at it.

We prefer simplicity and convenience. Can we configure VPN on a DD-WRT router on our own? Yes, we’ve done it before and it can be a hassle. Would we try to flash a router and install our own VPN service again? Probably not. There were too many factors to consider during the flashing and configuration process that take up a lot of time. DD-WRT is always changing which means you’ll constantly have to make changes or update your router. Also, if you do it incorrectly, you are basically left with a dead ‘brick’ router. When you “flash” a router, you void the warranty and support that comes with that router. Meaning you lose the money and time that you spent trying to flash it with DD-WRT and a VPN service.

Everything I just mentioned before has to do with configuring the router for DD-WRT. Now, another part of the equation is finding a VPN service that supports a routed VPN solution or provides tech support for helping configure their VPN service on a router.

Many VPN providers provide great technical support, but it is time consuming for their techs to try and help customers configure their router for their VPN service. Why? DD-WRT. So many providers just post configuration files for their VPN service on their website. This is great if you actually have the same version of DD-WRT that the config file supports, otherwise, you’ll be left with more questions.

So what are you left with in terms of a routed VPN solution? Luckily, there are a few companies out there that make this process very easy. Check out FlashRouters for the latest router models flashed with DD-WRT or Tomato firmware.

Click on any of the links below to jump to that section of the guide.

VPN Buyer’s Guide:

Part 1 – VPN Server Locations – consider which countries you’d like to access VPN servers in. This is especially important for those who travel frequently and others who are focused on avoiding geo restrictions.

Part 2 – VPN Protocols – without boring you with too much technical jargon we’ll explain what terms like OpenVPN, SSL, PPTP, L2TP and SSTP mean and the advantages of each for VPN connections.

Part 3 – VPN Account Types – this is the most important section of the guide. Don’t pay anymore than you need to for VPN access. Here we suggest tips for finding a high quality service at the lowest possible price.

Part 4 – Performance – we focus a lot on the reliability and performance of VPN services. Testing the speed of several top services. You’ll want to do the same. Both be reviewing our results and testing for yourself.

Part 5 – VPN Routers – this is a more advanced section of the manual. Using a router flashed with DD-WRT firmware will allow you to run every connected device through a single VPN account.

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