Most of the VPN subscribers use their laptops and personal computers to connect to the server and more than 70% of these devices run on Windows 7 OS. Virtual Private Network would enable users to access all the websites they need, perform transactions, communicate with their friends and colleagues etc. under the highest level of security and anonymity. Before we proceed discussing on how to perform VPN setup on Windows 7, subscribers should choose their suitable VPN service provider.

VPN service provider should be chosen based on the features they provide, cost of VPN package, device compatibility etc. Users can find a lot of other articles wherein a list of the best VPN companies are provided. They could choose from the list provided. Once chosen, the subscriber should pay the VPN subscription fee and become a user. After choosing the package and paying for it, the subscriber would send an email which would consist of all the details pertaining to the connection. Subscriber should have this detail before going ahead with the VPN setup on Windows 7.

VPN setup on Window 7 – Procedure

1. Click on the “Control Panel” from your Windows Home icon. Under the page, one can easily find, ‘Network and Internet’.
2. Click on ‘Network and Internet’ and in the following page, select, ‘Network and Sharing Center’.
3. Select the option of ‘Setup a new connection or network’ in this page.
4. In the resulting page, there would be a lot of options provided pertaining to creating a new connection or network. For VPN setup on Windows 7, select, ‘Connect to a workplace’. Click Next.
5. In the next page, click, ‘Use my Internet connection (VPN)’.
6. The next page would ask for all the details regarding the VPN connection subscribed by the user.
7. Internet address and Destination name should be entered in the respective slots. It is the choice of the VPN subscriber to choose the Destination name. Internet address would indicate the server address of the VPN connection.
8. Select the option of, ‘don’t connect now; just set it up so I can connect later’. Click Next.
9. In the following page, the user should enter details such as, username, password and domain name. Username and password are mandatory fields. Every single VPN subscriber would have a unique username and password. Enter them in their respective fields and then, click ‘Create’.
10. VPN setup on Windows 7 is not over yet. The following page would ask for ‘Connect now’. But, the subscriber should make sure that they make few changes in the advanced settings based on the type of protocol provided by the service provider. Click ‘Close’.
11. Now, in the page of ‘Network ad Sharing Center’, select the option ‘Change adapter settings’.
12. The new VPN connection created minutes earlier would be displayed in this page. Right click on the new network and select, ‘Properties’.
13. In the ‘Host name’ section of the General tab, the server address should be present. Just make sure that it is accurate.
14. Click on ‘Options’. Deselect ‘Include Windows logon domain’ and make sure other options are selected. Redial attempts should indicate the highest number; in this case it would be 99. Option of ‘Redial if line is dropped’ should be selected. Click PPP Settings.
15. The option of ‘Enable LCP Extensions’ should be selected in PPP Settings page and click OK.
16. Click on ‘Security’ and under this page, the user should enter the type of VPN. Based on the protocol network provided by the VPN service provider, select L2TP or PPTP or SSTP. All these types would be available as drop-down in the list.
17. Also make sure that in Data encryption, the option provided by the VPN service provider should be selected or leave it to automatic and the system would detect the encryption provided. It is better to select the option of ‘Maximum strength encryption (disconnect if server declines).
18. Microsoft CHAP Version 2 (MS-CHAP v2) should also be selected. Click OK.
19. Click on ‘Networking’ and make sure ‘Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) is selected.
20. If the VPN connection should be made available for all the users of the computer or laptop, click on ‘Sharing’ and select the option of, ‘Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection’. Click OK to finish the VPN setup on Windows 7.

Hope this simple 20-step process has provided the information users need for VPN setup on Windows 7. After setup, establishing the connection should not be a problem. In the list of Networks, select the new VPN connection and click Connect.