Change FullyRouted-All server list

[nowhereman]

Hi,

New VPN user here.

I'd like to change the server list for the FullyRouted-All configuration. I'm running Mac 10.6.8 with the latest Boleh install and configuration.

I assume it's not as simple as just editing FullyRouted-All.ovpn in a text editor, but instead requires a 3rd party OpenVNC client GUI such as Tunnelblink or Viscosity? I'd be happy to do this via command line in Terminal (especially if someone is generous enough to post instructions).

Thanks.

[Chris]

What would you like to edit in the server config? Do you need to always connect to a specific country?

You can just open up FullyRouted.ovpn in a text editor and make your changes, however the next time you update your configs from the BolehVPN app all changes will be lost. I suggest making a new .ovpn file and copying over all the contents of FullyRouted-All, make your changes and name the new file Custom-FullyRouted.ovpn, that shouldn't be touched when you update your keys.

[nowhereman]

I sorta tried this and it only prompts an error in Boleh.

By sorta I mean I just used Mac TextEdit to tweak an existing .ovpn. Then did a permissions change (just via the Mac Finder). Then I launched BolehVPN app and when I choose this custom config I get the error [ERROR]vpn connect error, please check log. Here's the log:

Checking installed tap/tun driver...
Installing tap/tun driver...
Install tap/tun driver done.
Use port 44358 as management port
Sat Jan  5 22:38:06 2013 Multiple --up scripts defined.  The previously configured script is overridden.
Sat Jan  5 22:38:06 2013 Multiple --down scripts defined.  The previously configured script is overridden.
Options error: No client-side authentication method is specified.  You must use either --cert/--key, --pkcs12, or --auth-user-pass
Use --help for more information.

[ERROR]vpn connect error, please check log

It seems it may be more complicated than just editing a file in a text editor? Perhaps a few commands or is this part of what Tunnelblink does?

I expect I should have used a text editor that saves in the Unix format such as emacs. I'm pretty noob on that text editor so have given up for the night.

Why tweak the config? I want to tweak the server list.

I want to create a setup for another user that is very robust (set and forget). I understand that the FullyRouted-All config randomly chooses one of the countries on boot. Is it also more robust by virtue of having more servers to choose from? If so, I'd like to edit the existing FullyRouted-Alll as I can do without the US and Canada entries in the server list. Also, I might like to add Sweden. Again, this is for another user and I'm testing these options on my service. Once she is ready to commit to paying a few bucks for this VPN, I'd like to just set her up with a robust system. I will have other questions in this regard, but right now I'm looking to improve the FullRoutedAll.

[Chris]

If you mean set and forget by Robust, then FullyRouted-All is probably the best choice. Just have her install the GUI, configure it to automatically update her configs every startup, automatically start on boot and connect to FullyRouted-All, and auto reconnect, all these options are in the Settings tab. After that she'll be automatically connected to one of our fullyrouted servers every time she starts her system.

I can email you a custom config with tweaked server list, however it'd be easier for her if she just used the FullyRouted-All config, since the GUI will autoupdate all configs every startup. No need to reconfigure a custom config in the event that we make changes to our servers.

[nowhereman]

OK that pretty much confirms what I thought about FullyRouted-All. Likewise, thanks for confirming the various settings options.

I get how the custom config will be outside the autoupdate pool and how this threatens the long-term robustness. But then on the other hand, I shouldn't have this setup with US and Canada servers. Shouldn't one avoid these countries for some purposes?

[Chris]

There is no inherent danger to you in using a VPN server in the North America. Provided that you have everything setup correctly and are connected to our servers, you'll appear to be connecting from our server. Should you download a poisoned torrent, any DMCA notices will be sent to our hosting provider and we will deal with it.

There is no way of tracing you, as we do not keep logs of our users accessing our servers.

[nowhereman]

Hmm, I'm surprised by this. I'm new to this, but I thought one chose countries offering the best privacy laws. http://www.informationshield.com/intprivacylaws.html.

[Slacker]

Ahhh that link looks nice nowhereman.

Chris that looks nice for you guys if you haven't seen that before, hopefully it's up to date...

Maybe that will be some nice information for BolehVPN.

http://www.informationshield.com/intprivacylaws.html

[nowhereman]

Hi Boleh, so am I wrong to think that certain countries, based on their privacy laws, are preferred VPN choices?

[Chris]

Apologies for the delay in replying, I actually haven't had a chance to check out those laws yet. Our servers reside independently from our customer database without the need for central authentication and do not keep any logs, or any user identifiable information. So even if required to, we couldn't turn over any user logs from our servers as we simply do not have them.

[nowhereman]

Thanks Chris for getting back to me. I understand (in my lay way) what you are saying, but still I'm not convinced and would prefer to be connecting to countries with better privacy laws. In practice, the difference may be small to negligible; but still, I'm inclined to think that in some scenarios it may play a factor and therefore I'm inclined to want this benefit. Ultimately yes, it comes down to the vpn company and their practices (i.e. logging), but still feel that avoiding the US and Canada servers may result in the proverbial fruit hanging a bit higher.

Sooo, given the choice between the FullyRouted-All config - which the GUI will autoupdate all periodically, but will include US and Canada server - and a custom config which will grow obsolete over time, I guess I'll choose neither. Either option is unacceptable to me. The former as I cannot bring myself to setting her up with US and Canada servers, and the latter as it is inherently less robust (and should require periodic requests from Boleh support for updated configs). So, I think I'll just set her up with one of the single FullyRouted choices (such as Luxembourg) and I'll show her how to change it to another FullyRouted choice in the event of issues. It's not the set-it-and-forget-it scenario that is best for her, but we'll try it for 6 months.

I appreciate the many config options Boleh offers, yet I'm surprised others aren't requested a multiserver list like the FullyRouted-All without US and Canada.

[Chris]

Setting her up with either the FullyRouted-Lux / Swiss servers would be a good compromise. She shouldn't have any issues connecting to one of those servers, and we have quite a few servers in that region. Also, when I mentioned the configs auto-updating, that applies to all configurations, not just FullyRouted-All. So she'd always have the latest configs for all servers.

[nowhereman]

Sounds good Chris. Recommendation taken. I'll set her up with the FullyRouted-Lux / Swiss options. Good to know they are preferred. And yes, I get that all the standard configs get auto-updated.

Not a big deal this setup really as I suspect I'll be showing her how to connect/disconnect and change to other configs such as surfing/streaming  anyway, so easy enough to include swapping between a couple of FullyRouted options.

A couple of related questions:
EDIT  I assume the updates alter the ovpn files thereby adding, removing servers as well as the order / preference, etc? In other words, they help BolehVPN adjust its load while offering best performance for customers?. Answer. Yes. I just caught this: http://www.bolehvpn.net/blog/bolehvpn-configurations/ as well as the the config threads of this forum.

Also, is the Country and Public IP Address info shown within the General area of the BolehVPN app received from an IP address lookup?

[Chris]

Yup, it's a little feature we built into the app.

[nowhereman]

Great. Thanks Chris. Consider this thread closed.