Needed: 2nd Opinion on VPN here in China

A

asterisktom

Guest
At least, I hope there is a second opinion on this diagnosis I was given.

I have been using VPN out of necessity here in China where I work. Very recently my access has now been quite effectively blocked by the gov. here. Before it was just intermittent. I was told by my provider to change to a non-USA gateway, since they seem to be particularly targeted. I tried to do this, setting it up with a European gateway.

But I was not able to set it up. In the terminal I typed and then received this message:

sudo openvpn --config/home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn

Unrecognized option or missing parameter(s) in [CMD-LINE]:1: config /home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn


After several interchanges with my service's rep (who admitted that he wasn't well-versed in Linux Mint) I was told that

"It seems we have exhausted every possible resolution to your terminal issue. I won't be able to guarantee though if OpenVPN will work reliably for you, as China is able to throttle OpenVPN connections. also, we have recently updated our PPTP./L2TP servers new IPs. You may want to try PPTP connection once more and try out the various server addresses. Lastly, please be advised that our VPN clients for other platforms such as Windows, Mac and Android 4 remains unaffected by the blocking. If you have any of these devices, I suggest that you try the ExpressVPN app."

I do believe this gentleman tried very hard to help me. My point is not to criticize him. But I wonder if what he said wasn't mistaken.

Is this just some technical Linux-related snag? And is it really true Linux OS is harder for setting up and maintaining VPN here in China?

Any help is appreciated.
Tom
 


so i am working on getting this vpn thing fixed for linux. if i learn how to do it i will advise. we can compare notes by email if you like
 
i work in beijing and need vpn to access some work related materials. vpn is also useful for any sort of web access because so many sites use google tools which stall out in china. OpenVPN is surely blocked in China and won't work. PPTP and L2TP can work but I have not been able to figure out how to configure L2TP successfully with on my Slackware Linux. It surely IS possible. I was able to configure PPTP easily but it is slow and unreliable. I am back talking to my VPN provider again trying to find a solution for LINUX because it is a hassle having to start windows to use the VPN! My HK provider gives access via many sites worldwide-- the one i use most is LosAngeles but HK is a bit faster. ewj at pigs dot ag
 
i work in beijing and need vpn to access some work related materials. vpn is also useful for any sort of web access because so many sites use google tools which stall out in china. OpenVPN is surely blocked in China and won't work. PPTP and L2TP can work but I have not been able to figure out how to configure L2TP successfully with on my Slackware Linux. It surely IS possible. I was able to configure PPTP easily but it is slow and unreliable. I am back talking to my VPN provider again trying to find a solution for LINUX because it is a hassle having to start windows to use the VPN! My HK provider gives access via many sites worldwide-- the one i use most is LosAngeles but HK is a bit faster. ewj at pigs dot ag
this is a very good experience that you shared over here.
 
sudo openvpn --config/home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn

Unrecognized option or missing parameter(s) in [CMD-LINE]:1: config /home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn

Aren't you supposed to have a space between config and /home?

Code:
]sudo openvpn --config /home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn
 
Aren't you supposed to have a space between config and /home?

Code:
]sudo openvpn --config /home/tom/Desktop/my_expressvpn_germany_-_frankfurt_udp.ovpn
Yes you are, since you are configuring the VPN. I would assume it was a simple typing error on the users behalf. Thanks for pointing that out. That may have fixed argument (parameters) errors upon executing the command.
 

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