VPN (Virtual Private Network)

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• Relevant to ALL editions of PCLinuxOS.

Setting up VPN Connections in KDE Plasma

To configure OpenVPN connections using the Network Manager, two additional packages are required:

-  networkmanager-openvpn (activates VPN configuration for the Network Manager)
-  plasma-applet-nm-openvpn (applet in the system tray for manager network connections)

After downloading VPN connection files from the user’s provider (file suffix “.ovpn”), these can easily be imported into the Network Manager.

1. Right-click on the Network Manager applet and select “Configure Network Connections”.

The following window will appear:

2. Press the “+” button on the bottom of the windows, then scroll down until “Import VPN Connection” is shown. Select this option, then click on the “Create” button.

Navigate to the appropriate folder, and select the VPN file to import. It will appear under “VPN (openvpn)”.

Click on the Wired or Wireless connection, and on the General Configuration tab, set the checkmark for “All users may connect to this network”.

Now select the VPN connection, and on the VPN (openvpn) tab, enter the VPN username and password given by the VPN provider. Then, from the dropdown field underneath the password, select “Store password for all users (not encrypted)”. This prevents having to specify VPN password each time the connection is activated.

When all connections have been imported and configured, a left-click on the Network Manager applet will show all available VPN connections. Clicking on one will activate the selected connection, and the NM applet will show a small lock. Clicking on an active connection will immediately disconnect it.

Information submitted by tbschommer on Oct 17, 2024