VPN for Windows XP

[Monroe]

On 12/25/2022 at 9:42 PM, verta said:

I have a working version of Windscribe for XP, It is not completely free though after a certain amount of bandwidth. 

Im not sure how to check the version.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Monroe
spelling, add

[Zorba the Geek]

The outlook for VPN anonymity using Windows XP is looking grim because XP only supports PPTP and L2TP IPSec protocols.  L2TP is being phased out by VPN providers and PPTP is no longer considered secure.  I was beginning to despair because PureVPN have reduced L2TP to four locations in the world, and usually it is impossible to connect to the UK servers, while I remember that their OpenVPN service was terrible.

However, PureVPN have appeared to revamp their OpenVPN servers, and they now provide an excellent service with this protocol.  I can rely on connections to the UK servers, except at weekends when occasionally a connection attempt fails,and I can play streaming 720p video without problems.  So far I have not experienced dropped connections using their OpenVPN servers.  A big plus for XP users is that the PureVPN servers will accept connections from PCs with the OpenVPN version 2.3.18 client installed.  If you do use this version of the OpenVPN client remember to uncheck the TAP Windows driver when installing it, because it installs a version for VISTA.  There is a separate XP compatible installer for TAP Windows version 9.9.2.  If at sometime PureVPN demands a later version of the OpenVPN client then we have the option of using a custom XP build of version 2.5.4 which you can obtain from here.

Another plus for XP diehards provided by PureVPN is that you do not need to use their app if you need port forwarding.  Port forwarding is activated in the members area after paying a fee.  If I need a kill switch I use the VPNWatcher app.

Also I must say I have had no problem with the OpenVPN client hogging CPU time.  I am using a Core2Duo 2.59 Ghz CPU and System Explorer showed that while playing streaming 720p video openvpn.exe had an average CPU load of 0.84% declining to 0.17%.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Zorba the Geek
I checked CPU load with streaming video

[Saxon]

@AstroSkipper, TrustConnect VPN service from Comodo Internet Security 5.9 bundle is up and running!

I've found clear statements about Windows XP support.

TrustConnect System Requirements

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Mac OS X

Linux (containing kernel 2.4 or later)

FreeBSD, OpenBSD

https://www.comodo.com/trustconnect/index.html

[Saxon]

 

Configurations:

First Time Users

TrustConnect Windows Client Configuration

TrustConnect Mac OS X Configuration

TrustConnect Linux Configuration

TrustConnect iPod / iPhone Configuration

Windows XP

https://www.comodo.com/trustconnect/faq.html

[AstroSkipper]

7 minutes ago, Saxon said:

@AstroSkipper, TrustConnect VPN service from Comodo Internet Security 5.9 bundle is up and running!

I've found clear statements about Windows XP support.

TrustConnect System Requirements

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Mac OS X

Linux (containing kernel 2.4 or later)

FreeBSD, OpenBSD

https://www.comodo.com/trustconnect/index.html

 

5 minutes ago, Saxon said:

 

Configurations:

First Time Users

TrustConnect Windows Client Configuration

TrustConnect Mac OS X Configuration

TrustConnect Linux Configuration

TrustConnect iPod / iPhone Configuration

Windows XP

https://www.comodo.com/trustconnect/faq.html

I would take such compatibility statements with a grain of salt.  Someone could test this first. There are many such statements. But very often they are simply wrong in terms of Windows XP. It should be first checked in any case. 

[Saxon]

3 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

 

I would take such compatibility statements with a grain of salt.  Someone could test this first. There are many such statements. But very often they are simply wrong in terms of Windows XP. It should be first checked in any case. 

I've found their docs in PDF format.

"TrustConnect is successfully tested on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux and Mac Os. X. It supports mobile devices like iPod/iPhone as well."

https://accounts.comodo.com/docs/trustconnect/Comodo TrustConnect FAQ.pdf

[Saxon]

3 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

It should be first checked in any case. 

In theory, it should work, it's a proxy, so they say.

"Comodo TrustConnect is a secure Internet proxy service that creates an encrypted session"

https://help.comodo.com/topic-72-1-451-4790-TrustConnect-Overview.html?af=1171

But yes, we need an XP guinea pig, the first week is free, who will agree?

@XPerceniol, @Milkinis, @msfntor

https://www.comodo.com/trustconnect/index.html

Edited December 21, 2023 by Saxon
tagging

[AstroSkipper]

12 minutes ago, Saxon said:

In theory, it should work, it's a proxy, so they say.

"Comodo TrustConnect is a secure Internet proxy service that creates an encrypted session"

I think Comodo TrustConnect is indeed a VPN service. Here is a quotation from their website:

Quote

Comodo TrustConnect is a SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Virtual Private Network and uses 128-bit encryption.

As you already said, it is a paid service. You will get only a short trial period free of charge. Unfortunately, they are keeping logs. Thus, when using this service, you are not really anonymous. And you have to install the TAP-Win32 Adapter. Here is a quotation from your linked pdf document:

Quote

The "TAP-Win32 Adapter" is virtual network card that is created by the TrustConnect client during installation. This adapter is required in order to establish a secure tunnel to the TrustConnect Server.

I don't like this TAP-Win32 Adapter. I had a lot of problems with it in the past. But anyway! Any choices targeting Windows XP are of course welcome. And we can't be that picky in Windows XP in these days due to the gradual extinction of alternatives. Fortunately, I still have a few paid services that still work on Windows XP.

[FranceBB]

13 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

I don't like this TAP-Win32 Adapter. I had a lot of problems with it in the past.

Same here, including occasional bluescreens caused by the driver.

[AstroSkipper]

2 hours ago, FranceBB said:

Same here, including occasional bluescreens caused by the driver.

Right! This is a well-known problem that many users have already reported. Apart from that, the TAP-Win32 Adapter driver was officially discontinued for Windows XP years ago. The last version targeting Windows XP was v9.9.2_3. And it becomes particularly tricky when several such adapters have to be installed in the same system.  I have already installed OpenVPN 2.5.4, a special, unofficial version for Windows XP, which contains the tap_v9.9.2_20220123_for_XP, a patched version of the TAP-Win32 Adapter v9.9.2. Thus, I try to avoid installing any further TAP-Win32 Adapters. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by AstroSkipper

[FranceBB]

Interesting! I'm currently still using v2.3.18 which is the last officially supported one, so if the patched 2.5.4 version you're using works reliably well I might use it and ditch v2.3.18.

I found the source code and the XP guide (https://openvpn-for-windows-xp.sourceforge.io/), so perhaps this weekend if I have time I'll try to setup the environment and build it, however if you already have a trusted build feel free to send it over.  

[AstroSkipper]

19 hours ago, FranceBB said:

I found the source code and the XP guide (https://openvpn-for-windows-xp.sourceforge.io/), so perhaps this weekend if I have time I'll try to setup the environment and build it, however if you already have a trusted build feel free to send it over.  

Creating an own build is not necessary at all.  Here is a download link for the installation programme: https://sourceforge.net/projects/openvpn-for-windows-xp/ 

Edited December 23, 2023 by AstroSkipper

[FranceBB]

On 12/22/2023 at 2:59 PM, AstroSkipper said:

Here is a download link for the installation programme: https://sourceforge.net/projects/openvpn-for-windows-xp/ 

Even better! Thanks!  

[Milkinis]

is there a quick user guide for dummies ?

I have never used openVPN for XP

I have used Freedome but I found out it was a bad VPN https://www.f-secure.com/en/vpn

then I stumble over this one which does the job https://windscribe.com/

 

[XPerceniol]

I would also need this guide for dummies.

I've never found a VPN for XP and I've tried many, so I'd be curious to know more regarding this.