If I buy a digitalocean server would it be possible to use it as a VPN service to access restricted websites?

Question

I’m in China and the internet here is a pain in the ass..
Sorry for probably asking a noobish question, I’m just trying to find solutions for my problem!

Answer 1

Ian2015 September 6, 2016

Yes.

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alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Do you think I need programming/developer knowledge to set it up myself?
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- Ian2015 September 6, 2016
  
  https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-14-04
  Just follow this manual.
  
  How To Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu 14.04
  by James
  OpenVPN is a full-featured open source Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN solution that accommodates a wide range of configurations. In this tutorial, we'll set up an OpenVPN server on a Droplet and then configure access to it from Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. This tutorial will keep the installation and configuration steps as simple as possible for these setups.
  
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  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  Thank you so much, I have one last question, since you look like you know exactly what you’re talking about, when choosing the server, which configuration would you say is the best for using the vpn just for browsing, streaming a movie etc. I can see that digitalocean gives a lot of option and I just want to choose the best one for my needs. Thanks again
  
  Reply Report
  
  Ian2015 September 6, 2016
  
  The cheapest one will do fine! (but take Ubuntu so you can follow the manual step by step)
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  Will do! Thanks and have a great day!
  
  Reply Report

Answer 2

alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Do you think I need programming/developer knowledge to set it up myself?
Reply Report
- Ian2015 September 6, 2016
  
  https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-14-04
  Just follow this manual.
  
  How To Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu 14.04
  by James
  OpenVPN is a full-featured open source Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN solution that accommodates a wide range of configurations. In this tutorial, we'll set up an OpenVPN server on a Droplet and then configure access to it from Windows, OS X, iOS and Android. This tutorial will keep the installation and configuration steps as simple as possible for these setups.
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  Thank you so much, I have one last question, since you look like you know exactly what you’re talking about, when choosing the server, which configuration would you say is the best for using the vpn just for browsing, streaming a movie etc. I can see that digitalocean gives a lot of option and I just want to choose the best one for my needs. Thanks again
  
  Reply Report
  
  Ian2015 September 6, 2016
  
  The cheapest one will do fine! (but take Ubuntu so you can follow the manual step by step)
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  Will do! Thanks and have a great day!
  
  Reply Report

Answer 3

Ian2015 September 6, 2016

[deleted]

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Answer 4

Nomad111 September 6, 2016

Openvpn will most likely be blocked or throttled in China (as also the case in some Middle Eastern countries). You might want to look at this solution called Streisand that installs many different vpn protocols https://github.com/jlund/streisand

The installation might look complex, so there is also a more beginner-friendly solution here http://jerrygamblin.com/2016/07/10/the-vpn-you-should-be-using/

Reply Report

alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Thank you for your reply Nomad111.

I just finished installing OpenVPN, had a few errors along the way but I finally made it, I was really happy.

Unfortunately it doesn’t bypass the firewall.. as I would hope.. I’ll try your solution and hopefully it will be much better.

Thanks again!
Reply Report
- Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Good luck! Let us know if it worked better!
  
  Reply Report
alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Unfortunately the guide proposed by http://jerrygamblin.com/2016/07/10/the-vpn-you-should-be-using/ is giving an error due to Ansible:

PLAY [Prepare the new server for Ansible] **************************************
skipping: no hosts matched

PLAY [Configure the Server and install required software] **********************
skipping: no hosts matched

Dunno what to do :(. Any ideas?
Reply Report
- Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Yeah, right, I also got this error and made it work by exchanging localhost with 127.0.0.1 in
  
  sudo ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local streisand.yml
  
  so try this instead
  
  sudo ansible-playbook -i "127.0.0.1," -c local streisand.yml
  
  Does it work for you?
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  It worked for a little bit than i got this error:
  
  Install the ocserv dependencies] ***************************
  failed: [127.0.0.1] (item=[u'gnutls-bin’, u'lib
  
  I guess I need to install ocserv ?
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Hmm, I am also new to this, so I don’t know, I never got this error. You used Ubuntu 16 or 14? Try both versions. Otherwise, you might want to ask the experts here https://github.com/jlund/streisand/issues
  
  There are also other options like installing this here in the meantime on a new droplet in case you can’t get Streisand work - it’s a vpn based on ipsec/ciscovpn: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/projects/digitalocean-vpn-setup
  
  Or this here based on Strongswan, it worked flawlessly for me, the instructions are for CentOS, though, but you’ll find this in your DO account as well:
  https://expats-in-china.com/t/setup-a-vpn-ipsec-on-centos-7-using-strongswan/27
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Here in the Strongswan instruction, the first download is outdated, it should be
  
  yum install http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/fedora-epel/7/x86_64/e/epel-release-7-8.noarch.rpm
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  I’m trying now! Thank you so much!
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Did you get it work? For me, it was also lots of trial and error....
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 7, 2016
  
  I have to start over, i’ve been trying shadowsocks, seemed a bit easier but still have some problems with disabling webrtc in chrome.. I’ll try again with strongswan.. it’s a lot of trial and error you are right.. i’ll do it evetually! ^^
  
  Reply Report

Answer 5

alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Thank you for your reply Nomad111.

I just finished installing OpenVPN, had a few errors along the way but I finally made it, I was really happy.

Unfortunately it doesn’t bypass the firewall.. as I would hope.. I’ll try your solution and hopefully it will be much better.

Thanks again!
Reply Report
- Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Good luck! Let us know if it worked better!
  
  Reply Report
alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016

Unfortunately the guide proposed by http://jerrygamblin.com/2016/07/10/the-vpn-you-should-be-using/ is giving an error due to Ansible:

PLAY [Prepare the new server for Ansible] **************************************
skipping: no hosts matched

PLAY [Configure the Server and install required software] **********************
skipping: no hosts matched

Dunno what to do :(. Any ideas?
Reply Report
- Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Yeah, right, I also got this error and made it work by exchanging localhost with 127.0.0.1 in
  
  sudo ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local streisand.yml
  
  so try this instead
  
  sudo ansible-playbook -i "127.0.0.1," -c local streisand.yml
  
  Does it work for you?
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  It worked for a little bit than i got this error:
  
  Install the ocserv dependencies] ***************************
  failed: [127.0.0.1] (item=[u'gnutls-bin’, u'lib
  
  I guess I need to install ocserv ?
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Hmm, I am also new to this, so I don’t know, I never got this error. You used Ubuntu 16 or 14? Try both versions. Otherwise, you might want to ask the experts here https://github.com/jlund/streisand/issues
  
  There are also other options like installing this here in the meantime on a new droplet in case you can’t get Streisand work - it’s a vpn based on ipsec/ciscovpn: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/projects/digitalocean-vpn-setup
  
  Or this here based on Strongswan, it worked flawlessly for me, the instructions are for CentOS, though, but you’ll find this in your DO account as well:
  https://expats-in-china.com/t/setup-a-vpn-ipsec-on-centos-7-using-strongswan/27
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Here in the Strongswan instruction, the first download is outdated, it should be
  
  yum install http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/fedora-epel/7/x86_64/e/epel-release-7-8.noarch.rpm
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 6, 2016
  
  I’m trying now! Thank you so much!
  
  Reply Report
  
  Nomad111 September 6, 2016
  
  Did you get it work? For me, it was also lots of trial and error....
  
  Reply Report
  
  alexzamfir88 September 7, 2016
  
  I have to start over, i’ve been trying shadowsocks, seemed a bit easier but still have some problems with disabling webrtc in chrome.. I’ll try again with strongswan.. it’s a lot of trial and error you are right.. i’ll do it evetually! ^^
  
  Reply Report

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