Installing personalVPN-SSL on Mac OS X
From Witopiawiki
The following are detailed (perhaps, overly so) instructions on how to activate your personalVPN™ service(s) with WiTopia.
We’ve automated a lot of the process versus the competition, but a VPN is still a complex network security service so we’d recommend skimming through them once before jumping in. Then, proceed carefully and you should join the ranks of the fashionably encrypted within a few minutes.
ACTIVATION
To activate your personalVPN™ service from WiTopia, CLICK HERE
IF you have trouble reaching that link, CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE and please ignore/accept any certificate warning you receive. Transaction is still encrypted.
Note: If you also purchased the SSL/ PPTP bundle, don't forget to come back here (or click through link in your confirmation email again) as they need to be registered separately. Thanks!
Uninstalling Previous VPN Installations (Very Important)
Please see the following FAQ to properly uninstall your previously installed version.
Installing personalVPN™ with Viscosity
YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN WITH THE ADMIN ACCOUNT ON THE SYSTEM.
1. Double-click the "personalVPN.dmg" file that should be on your computer in your desktop, or downloads folders.
2. A new personalVPN™ icon will appear on your Desktop and the below screen will pop up.
Drag Viscosity icon into your Applications Folder, or just drag and drop on Applications Folder icon in screen.
3. RESTART your Mac. (this is optional, but recommended)
4. Go into your Applications Folder and Double-click on Viscosity icon to Launch Viscosity.
IMPORTANT: If you previously had Tunnelblick installed, you may get asked to import configurations.
We recommend that you DO NOT DO THIS. Viscosity is pre-loaded with all WiTopia VPN configurations.
5. An icon should appear in your upper toolbar (a Globe). This is how you will control personalVPN™.
CONNECTING AND DISCONNECTING
WiTopia has multiple SSL (openVPN) gateways around the globe and will continually be adding more. Unlike others, we allow customers unlimited and instantaneous switching between these gateways as well as access to our special servers that allow for TCP 443, TCP80, TLS, and 256-bit (or what competitors mistakenly call 2048 bit) encryption.
Again, we pre-load this capability so there are no more files to install or complicated configuration changes.
All WiTopia VPN Gateways are instantaneously available by simply choosing them in Viscosity's pulldown menu and, again, you can switch at will.
1. CLICK on the VPN icon in your upper toolbar and you will see something like below:
2. SELECT a gateway or server and the tunnel icon will change to show it is CONNECTED. For speediest connection it is usually, but not always, best to choose a gateway closest to your location. Feel free to try a variety of gateways and switch as often as you like.
Again, unlike competitors, we do NOT charge extra for use of all our gateways. You have unlimited ability to instantaneously switch and use whichever VPN gateway you want...so have fun!
3. To choose a different gateway, be sure to DISCONNECT YOUR CURRENT CONNECTION FIRST.
4. If you accidentally QUIT, or Icon disappears, Relaunch "Vicosity" from your Applications Folder on your Mac.
CHOOSING A VPN GATEWAY CITY IN GENERAL
For best performance, usually choosing the closest MAIN city is best. HOWEVER, that is not always the case so you should feel free to experiment. For example, many China VPN users find California cities much faster than Hong Kong even though we maintain ample capacity at each gateway.
Cities in CAPS are where we maintain the greatest number of servers as well as an especially varied mix of ISPs and data center providers. Again, versus competitors, "our backups have backups."
Other cities still have ample server capacity and diversity, of course, but they are smaller in scale until traffic warrants adding additional servers.
CONNECTION TYPES
Below are some of our gateway types with some brief explanations. This all can get very complex very fast, so best to experiment a bit to see what works at a particular location.
MAIN
This is our main server pool at each gateway. For maximum speed and reliability you should 99% of the time choose MAIN at whichever gateway you choose to connect through. There are always multiple servers available and the configuration is tuned for maximum performance, especially for VoIP and streaming media. Also, as a general rule, the closer the gateway, the better the performance.
TCP 80
An alternate port configuration that helps get around different blocking or filtering techniques. Again, the more standard VPN gateways will often perform better, but if they are blocked or you suspect congestion, give this one a try.
TCP 443
This selection is useful if you suspect a congestion or "dirty line" issue somewhere between you and the WiTopia VPN gateway or find that the standard configuration is blocked at a location. It does, however have higher overhead so should be used only when needed.
TLS
An "authentication layer." Do you need to worry about that? No. Just something else to try if you can't connect via more normalized VPN protocols.
256-bit
This selection may be useful if you are being pursued by "probing" extraterrestrials and/or the Illuminati and the tin foil wrapped around your computer is not keeping them from hacking your Facebook account.
In all seriousness, it would take thousands of years to break correctly deployed 128-bit encryption so you don't really need it and 256-bit encryption may yield slower performance.
But, when when we saw competitors offering 256-bit encryption as possibly a bit of a marketing ploy, or completely misrepresenting reality by calling it "2048-bit encryption" (because the initial certificate exchange of openVPN can be set to that... but the ACTUAL data through tunnel is 128-bit or 256-bit), we realized we needed to offer it as well.
Unlike others, there is no premium to pay. It is there for your unlimited use at no extra charge.
ALTERNATE
These may be particularly useful for some China VPN customers, or other areas where the ISP may be employing additional blocking techniques using DNS. Feel free to try them out if you have trouble connecting or maintaining a connection.
TESTING YOUR personalVPN™
To make sure that you are fully secured and anonymized, Click Here and you should see a different IP address displayed instead of your ISP’s and the location of the Secure Gateway your are connected to.
WiTopia does "stealth" servers in a variety of ways so it may not say "WiTopia" and the location may also not seem to match because there are many geolocation databases out there and many are not accurate. Rest assured the server is where we say it is so feel free to perform a traceroute http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traceroute to a website of your choosing and you will see that the traffic passes through the city you are connected to.
NOT CONNECTING OR NOT ABLE TO REACH A PARTICULAR WEBSITE? - IN A CENSORED OR BLOCKED COUNTRY OR LOCATION?
At times, standard VPN protocols and methods may not work in certain areas and will require a settings change.
It is common in censored countries to use DNS as a way to filter, block, or slow content.
CLICK HERE to learn how to setup alternate DNS providers properly on your computer.
If the DNS change doesn't clear things up, contact us for special instructions regarding your location and/or website you're trying to reach.
This is common so we'll get back to you quickly with a solution. You can Email us here support@witopia.net
NOT CONNECTING? SEEM SLOW? - OTHER COMMON ISSUES
As mentioned above, it is common to use DNS as a way to filter, block, or slow content. WiTopia provides secure DNS servers at no extra charge. This often occurs automatically, but sometimes you will need to enter them on your Mac manually.
Click Here To learn how to set your computer to use an alternate DNS provider.
And for general speed issues, this is a good link that may be a little redundant but has some extra tips.
STILL HAVING AN ISSUE?
Most other issues can be solved by viewing the personalVPN™ FAQ at http://wiki.witopia.net/wiki/FAQ
If you don't see an easy solution, please send a log to us at support@witopia.net to start a trouble ticket and WiTopia Support staff will get right on it.
DISCONNECTING AND ONGOING USE
Remember to only "Disconnect" when you're done using your personalVPN™. If you "Quit," the icon will disappear and you'll have to relaunch "Viscosity" from your Applications Folder.
It's best to disconnect personalVPN™ when not actively using your computer.
That’s about it. Enjoy your Encryption and Thank You for your business!!
