Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (2024)

Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows

Starting from KeeneticOS version 3.3, you can useWireGuard VPNto connect to the local network of the Keenetic router remotely.

First, you need to configure the WireGuard server on the Keenetic device. Thefollowing instruction shows the process: 'Configuring a WireGuard VPN between two Keenetic routers'. Then move on to the VPN client setup.

Important

If you want to configure a Keenetic router as a VPN server, make sure that it has apublic IP address, and when using theKeenDNSservice, that it works in the 'Direct access' mode. If any of these conditions are not met, connecting to such a server from the Internet will be impossible.

Below is an example of connecting to a server from a Windows operating system, usingWindows 10 1909 (19H2)as a reference.

To connect to the Keenetic WireGuard server on a Windows-based computer, you will need to download and install theWireGuardprogram from the official website.

  1. Launch the program and click on the down arrow next to 'Add Tunnel' in the lower-left corner. Select 'Add empty tunnel... [Ctrl+N]'.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (1)

    The configuration window for connection to the remote WireGuard server Keenetic - 'Create new tunnel' - will open.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (2)

    Important

    Leave this window open, do not close it.

  2. Downloadwg-client.conffile to your computer. You can save it to your Desktop. Open it in a text editor, for example, inNotepad++.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (3)

    You will see a ready-made configuration in which you will need to enter the settings for the Windows WireGuard client [Interface] and the remote WireGuard server Keenetic [Peer].

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (4)

    Important

    Leave this window open, do not close it.

  3. Go back to the 'Create new tunnel' window of step 1 and copy the Windows WireGuard client private key to your computer clipboard from the 'PrivateKey =' field.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (5)

    Important

    Leave this window open, do not close it.

  4. The copied WireGuard client private key must be inserted into the ready-made configuration from step 2 into the 'PrivateKey =' line.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (6)

    Important

    Leave this window open, do not close it.

  5. Now, set up a remote connection on the previously configuredWireGuard serverside.

    Connect to the router'sweb interfaceand go to the 'Internet' - 'Other connections' menu. Click on the previously created WireGuard connection ('WG-S') and then the 'Add Peer' button. Enter the name of the tunnel 'wg-windows-client' in the opened form of the peer settings.

    In the 'Public key' field of the web interface, insert the Windows WireGuard client key from step 1, which should be copied from the 'Public key' field to the clipboard.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (7)

    You can close the 'Create new tunnel' window, click 'Cancel'.

    Important

    Leave the WireGuard connection window open, do not close it.

    In the 'Allowed IPs' fields, specify the address from which traffic will be allowed to the server in IP/bitmask format — 172.16.82.6/32.

    In the 'Persistent keepalive' field, specify the frequency of attempts to check the availability of the remote connection side. Usually, a 10-15 second interval between checks is sufficient. By default, the 'Persistent keepalive' value in peer settings is 30 seconds.

    Click 'Save'.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (8)

  6. Back to configuringwg-client.conf

    [Interface]PrivateKey = wAG52nyfQEEMOnt1W9Y4SdEOQB8XYaggenoUI6Thz3A=Address = 172.16.82.6/24[Peer]PublicKey = 1YVx+x3C817V9YdhUtpUhzyDLVj5tnK2m//WjFGynm4=AllowedIPs = 172.16.82.1/32, 192.168.22.0/24Endpoint = enpwgwrkserver.dynns.com:16631PersistentKeepalive = 5

    Configuring the client [Interface]:

    In the 'PrivateKey' field of the [Interface], you have already entered the Windows WireGuard client key in step 4.

    Set the IP address in the 'Address' field of the WireGuard client in IP/bitmask format — 172.16.82.6/24 (internal tunnel address). It is possible to use a different subnet, choosing it from theprivate address rangeand avoiding overlapping with other subnets configured on these devices.

    Configuring the server [Peer]:

    In the 'PublicKey' field, insert the public key of the server, which can be copied to the clipboard from WireGuard settings in the web interface of the router:

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (9)

    In the 'Allowed IPs' field, enter the allowed IP addresses in IP/bitmask format — 172.16.82.1/32 (internal server address) and 192.168.22.0/24 (local segment address of the Keenetic router).

    In the 'Endpoint' field, enter the public IP address or domain name of the WireGuard server and the listening port on which the WireGuard client will set the connection.

    In the 'PersistentKeepalive' field, specify the frequency of attempts to verify the availability of the connection's remote side. Usually, a 10-15 second interval between checks is sufficient.

    Press the Ctrl+S key combination or select the 'File' > 'Save' menu.

  7. In the open WireGuard connection settings window from step 6, click on 'Import tunnel(s) from file' and select 'wg-client.conf' on the Desktop, click on 'Open'.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (10)

  8. After adding the 'wg-client' configuration to WireGuard, a new connection will appear in the 'Tunnels' list.

    Click 'Activate'.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (11)

    If the setting is correct, you will see a green indicator in front of the 'Status' line.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (12)

    You can send ICMP packets to its IP address at the Windows command line to verify server availability.

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (13)

    Check the availability of the server web interface (in our example, it is a Keenetic with IP address 192.168.22.1).

    Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (14)

    The setup is complete.

If you want to allow the connected clients to access the Internet through this VPN connection, make an additional configuration from this articleInternet access via WireGuard VPN.

Please note that on the VPN client side, in thewg-client.confconfiguration file, in the '[Interface]' section, you need to specify the DNS server in the 'DNS =' field. In our example, the Google DNS server address is set to 8.8.8.8 and 0.0.0.0/0 value for AllowedIPs =

[Interface]PrivateKey = wAG52nyfQEEMOnt1W9Y4SdEOQB8XYaggenoUI6Thz3A=Address = 172.16.82.6/24DNS = 8.8.8.8[Peer]PublicKey = 1YVx+x3C817V9YdhUtpUhzyDLVj5tnK2m//WjFGynm4=AllowedIPs = 172.16.82.1/32, 192.168.22.0/24, 0.0.0.0/0Endpoint = enpwgwrkserver.dynns.com:16631PersistentKeepalive = 5

Note

Provided that there is one peer in the configuration and the allowed network 'all addresses' is specified, the application will automatically generate a firewall rule on the computer that prohibits traffic past the tunnel.

Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (15)

The articleConnecting a Windows 7 computer to a remote Keenetic network through the WireGuard tunnelpresents another option when all traffic is routed to the tunnel and the VPN client accesses the Internet through it.

In this section:

Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows (2024)

FAQs

Connecting to a WireGuard VPN from Windows? ›

WireGuard is designed as a general purpose VPN for running on embedded interfaces and super computers alike, fit for many different circ*mstances. Initially released for the Linux kernel, it is now cross-platform (Windows, macOS, BSD, iOS, Android) and widely deployable.

Is WireGuard compatible with Windows? ›

WireGuard is designed as a general purpose VPN for running on embedded interfaces and super computers alike, fit for many different circ*mstances. Initially released for the Linux kernel, it is now cross-platform (Windows, macOS, BSD, iOS, Android) and widely deployable.

How do I use WireGuard as a VPN? ›

How to get started with WireGuard VPN
  1. Sign up with UpCloud. ...
  2. Deploy a new cloud server. ...
  3. Installing WireGuard. ...
  4. IP forwarding. ...
  5. Configuring firewall rules. ...
  6. Generating private and public keys. ...
  7. Generate server config. ...
  8. Starting WireGuard and enabling it at boot.
Nov 27, 2023

How do I import a WireGuard tunnel from a file? ›

In the drop-down menu, select Import tunnel(s) from file... Navigate to your Downloads folder and select the configuration file that you downloaded from our website. Click Import. Click Allow if you get a pop-up saying "WireGuard would like to Add VPN Configurations."

Which is better Windows VPN or WireGuard? ›

The main difference between WireGuard and OpenVPN is that WireGuard is much faster, while OpenVPN allows for higher privacy. Another important difference is that OpenVPN gives you a choice of encryption algorithm, whereas WireGuard forces you to use ChaCha20 for encryption and Poly1305 for authentication.

Why not to use WireGuard? ›

It is extensible that new cryptographic primitives can be added. WireGuard does not have that. That means WireGuard will break at some point, because one of the cryptographic primitives will weaken or entirely break at some point.

Is WireGuard a safe VPN? ›

WireGuard is a very secure protocol. While it uses shorter cryptographic keys than some previous protocols, it still provides strong encryption. A longer key takes more time to crack, but it would still take millions of years to brute force WireGuard's encryption keys.

Is WireGuard as safe as OpenVPN? ›

Conclusion. Both OpenVPN and WireGuard are really secure open-source VPN protocols, if properly implemented. However, WireGuard is newer and faster than OpenVPN, because it was designed with modern devices and processors in mind. It is also easier to maintain.

Is WireGuard safer than OpenVPN? ›

It uses modern encryption algorithms and has a smaller codebase than OpenVPN, which simplifies its auditing and makes vulnerabilities easier to find. In terms of security and encryption, OpenVPN and Wireguard are equal.

How do I check WireGuard connectivity? ›

To check if WireGuard Server is working properly

The simpliest way is to use a cell phone with WireGuard official client app installed, turn off its Wi-Fi connection, and only connect to Internet via 3G/4G/5G.

How to tell if WireGuard is working? ›

To view the status of one or more WireGuard tunnels, use the show wireguard [<instance>] command. This command prints the status of all WireGuard tunnels and can optionally limit the output to a specific instance.

Is WireGuard VPN free? ›

WireGuard is a communication protocol and free and open-source software that implements encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs), and was designed with the goals of ease of use, high speed performance, and low attack surface.

How to connect to a WireGuard tunnel? ›

Configure a WireGuard Tunnel
  1. Navigate to VPN > WireGuard > Tunnels.
  2. Click. ...
  3. Fill in the WireGuard Tunnel settings as described in WireGuard Package Settings.
  4. Click Save Tunnel.
  5. Add firewall rules on Firewall > Rules, WAN tab to allow UDP traffic to the port for this WireGuard tunnel (WireGuard and Rules / NAT)
May 1, 2023

How do I add an IP address to WireGuard? ›

To set up the general configuration, follow these steps:
  1. When you have pressed near the WireGuard interface, go to the General Setup section.
  2. Enable the interface.
  3. Press.
  4. Take note of the interface's public key.
  5. Set an IP address. For the server set 10.0.0.1/24. For the clients set the IP to 10.0.0.2/24 and higher.

What is the default port of WireGuard? ›

The port used by the peer for WireGuard traffic. The default port is 51820 if left empty.

Does Windows 10 support WireGuard? ›

WireGuard setup guide for Windows 10

To use WireGuard on Windows, we recommend downloading IVPN's Windows client, which supports the protocol.

Is WireGuard better than OpenVPN? ›

Key takeaways from testing WireGuard vs OpenVPN speeds: On average, WireGuard was about 3.2 times faster than OpenVPN across all the locations we tested. WireGuard's performance advantage over OpenVPN is greater with nearby (low latency) servers in comparison to long-distance (high latency) server locations.

What VPN does Windows support? ›

The Best VPNs for Windows Compared
SystemNordVPNExpressVPN
Ratings9.7/10 Best VPN for Office and Work Use9.1/10 Best User-Experience
Encryption256-bit AES256-bit AES
VPN protocolOpenVPN NordLynx (WireGuard)OpenVPN Lightway (proprietary) IKEv2 IPSec
No. of servers6,000+3,000+
9 more rows
Apr 15, 2024

How do I run WireGuard on Windows without admin? ›

Fortunately there is a way to fix this. The Wireguard entry likely does not already exist under HKLM/Software (it's not there by default) so you can create it in Regedit. Under this key, create a new DWORD value called LimitedOperatorUI and set it to 1.

References

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