OpenVPN and information security software

Information security software (firewalls, antivirus, software intended for detecting malware or changes to Windows’ registry) can block OpenVPN from working.

Before conducting the following checks, please make sure that your computer’s operating system is updated and shut down any unnecessary programs that use the network connection, such as e-mail clients and web browsers.

Please remember that during these checks there is no information security software to protect you against threats, such as viruses spread via e-mail or malware from websites!

Information security software

Situations where everything seems to be in order, but no traffic goes through OpenVPN are problematic.  That is why the very first step is to log in to the workstation as an administrator, shut down all installed information security software and see if OpenVPN functions after that. 

If OpenVPN does work with all information security software shut down, keep OpenVPN running and start the various information security software one by one, checking if OpenVPN still works. Start with the antivirus and the firewall because these are the most important.

Once you identify the program that prevents OpenVPN from working, read its documentation. It should include instructions on how to modify configuration files in order make necessary and authorised software to work normally. If the software in question does not include this feature, you should carefully consider its purpose of use and necessity as well as if the software really is appropriate to use for information security purposes.

Finally, you must of course choose which software you want to keep using. If shortcomings in the configurability of some software prevents the use of OpenVPN, our ability to help is limited to recommending that you stop using the software.

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