How to Set Up a VPN at Home?

There are two ways to set up a VPN at your home - to build it yourself or use an off-the-shelf solution that lets you connect your router to a VPN...

home sweet home

So you want to set up a VPN at home but are unsure how to do that. There are two ways to make this happen – to build it yourself or to use a good off-the-shelf solution. Let’s see how each of these solutions looks like, shall we?

Method #1: Build it yourself

By “build it yourself,” we presume setting up a server in your home and then installing a VPN software on it — or just tweaking the network settings.

You can do this either with Linux or Windows Server, though the latter requires purchasing a not-that-affordable Windows Server license. On the other hand, Linux is free but you’ll have to a bit tech-savvy in order to set up a VPN with Linux.

Whichever platform you choose, after you setup the connection – the next step is to make all other devices in your home connect through this newly created server.

Again, this is not the easiest solution and definitely not the cheapest, except if you’re tech-savvy with Linux and have a spare computer to use for a dedicated VPN server. So for the rest of us, the way to go is…

Method #2: Get an off-the-shelf solution

Many modern VPNs — and most definitely those we include in our Best of the Best VPNs list — include router support, allowing users to set up their router to connect to the Internet through a VPN server. This way, all devices in your home get to benefit from a secure connection.

Aside from your and your family members’ computers, tablets and smartphones — by enabling the “router VPN,” other devices also get VPN support. This would include smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming boxes — which typically can’t use a dedicated app.

In case you wonder, this is the way we roll — and the best part is that setting up your router with a VPN takes only one connection out of your “connection pool” with the VPN provider. This effectively means that you get another 4 or 5 connections to spare on other devices when you’re not at home.

But that’s not all. To make things even easier, some VPN providers sell pre-configured routers that you should just connect to the cable and they work out of the box.

Or, you can play with settings. There are detailed instructions on how to do it yourself from your favorite VPN provider’s website.

Speaking of “favorite providers,” if you still don’t know which VPN to get – we, again, urge you to check out our Best of the Best VPNs page. And never look back…