Mac users who are unaware or have queries regarding this VPN setup process can go through this writing work to understand the setup process clearly. A VPN service would serve the purpose of users who want to obtain uninterrupted access to all their preferred websites over the internet without having any problem to their security and anonymity. The setup procedure given below is for users who possess a Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard software version. Users who still operate on the older version or are operating an updated software version may be subjected to facing slight differences in the setup procedure. It is necessary to have a look at the setup procedure for the corresponding software possessed by the Mac user.

Control Panel

This is the point from where most of the setup procedures begin. It is the starting point in case of both windows and Mac. In the case of VPN setup process, Network control panel should be opened first. System preferences menu should be selected from the Network control panel. This can also be reached directly from the Apple Menu bar. Under the system preferences menu, Network should be chosen. Click on “Network” to start the process.

Establishing a new connection

Under the Network menu, there would be a list of connections that would be highlighted in the left side of the page. All these networks are the ones which are already present in the system. In order to establish a new VPN connection, the user should click on ‘+’ button which would be present in the left side, below the connection list.

The next step would be to set up the interface, which has to be selected to be VPN. Interface icon which has to be selected would appear automatically, once the user clicks on ‘+’ as described earlier. After that, the next input parameter would be to include the type of VPN protocol over which the user is going to connect to the VPN service i.e. users who are going to connect to a VPN service through a PPTP, should select PPTP VPN and those who are going to go for a L2TP VPN service should select L2TP VPN on the service name and type location.

In the advanced settings page for a L2TP VPN setup process, the user should make sure that, all the parameters under the options page are selected and then click OK. After all these, the user should click on create to create the new VPN connection which has been setup so far.

Setup Configuration

As with respect to any VPN connection, it can only be utilized upon proper configuration. User should select the configuration menu and under that, the user should select ‘Add configuration’. Configuring the VPN can be done by entering values such as the VPN name, server address, account name and also the encryption bit protocol provided by the VPN service. Protocol setup guide is also automatic and so the user can even select that particular option so that, they need not worry about the encryption bit being perfect for the connection to be established. Server address, account name and other details can be obtained from the VPN service provider. It would differ across different services.

After entering all the configuration parameters, the next step would be to authenticate the setup. Upon clicking Authentication settings, a pop-up menu would appear and under this particular menu, the user should enter the password of their account and click ‘Ok’. In the advanced setup page, the user should make sure that, under options, features such as ‘Disconnect when switching user accounts’, ‘Disconnect when user logs out’, ‘Send all traffic over VPN connection’ and ‘Use verbose logging’ are all selected. If at least one is deselected, the user should select that particular feature and click ‘OK’. Once all the above process is done, the next step would be to click on ‘Apply’.

Setup process for L2TP and PPTP VPN is done on the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Connecting to the VPN server is quite simple. Under the network page, the user can simply click on the connection listed on their connection list and establish the connection. Status of the VPN connection would be displayed in the menu bar too.

Best VPN for Mac OS X

Listed below are some of the best VPN services you can use for your Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard version: