With a VPN router in your home network, you can connect all your devices anonymously to the Internet. However, you have to pay attention to some things when buying a router and even VPN providers don’t always support the configuration on routers. Netzwelt helps you and tells you in the guide which VPN router you can use.
Using VPN routers in a network is not that difficult! In principle, you only need to have the appropriate router and set up a compatible VPN client once. Then you specify that each device that dials into the WLAN network receives its data streams via the secure VPN connection. However, you still have to pay attention to a few details! Because not every VPN connection is equally secure and not every VPN client harmonizes with every router. That’s why on this page we’ll summarize everything you need to know about “VPN routers in the home network” and start with choosing the right hardware and of course with the most important question. See also Icharts.net/hot-tips-to-surf-securely-using-public-wi-fi/ & IT-zoom.de/mobile-business/e/die-tarnkappe-ueberziehen-6647/.
When is it worth using a VPN router?
First of all, with a VPN router you have all the advantages of a VPN. You can encrypt your IP and you are more secure in the network. A VPN client also has these advantages, but another important point speaks for a VPN router: You only have to configure one device and all connected devices communicate via the VPN connection. So you get all your smart TVs, tablets, smartphones and PCs safely online in one go – regardless of whether they support VPN or not and how many devices are in your home network.
We recommend using a VPN router if one of the criteria applies to your network:
- You have a lot of devices connected to a router and don’t want to configure each device separately.
- You use many IoT devices in your network (Philips Hue, vacuum cleaner robots and the like) and want to secure the connections.
- You have older devices in your network, but want to secure their Internet connection.
Preconfigured VPN routers
If you use a preconfigured VPN router, you will have the least effort. You don’t have to worry about compatibility and setup, as the routers are factory equipped with everything you need for a secure home network. You can find offers from various VPN providers, such as the “Bitdefender Box” or the “Shellfire Box”.
However, there is a small catch: A problem-free provider change is not feasible with these VPN routers. The hardware is bound to the respective VPN provider. If you want to or have to change your VPN provider more often, these boxes are out of the question for you.
VPN-capable routers: You have to pay attention to them
In most cases the purchase of new hardware is not necessary. At least if the router is VPN-enabled. If this is the case, the existing router can be configured for the respective provider using appropriate VPN protocols. However, there are a few points to consider here:
- Which protocols are supported by the router?
- Which protocols are supported by the respective provider?
- Does your VPN provider support manual configuration on routers?
- Is it necessary to install an alternative operating system on the router?
The next step is to check which protocols are supported by your VPN provider and whether it allows manual configuration of the VPN connection on routers. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, very often providers rely exclusively on their own VPN clients. Others offer useful functions, such as generating configuration files for different routers.
The only alternative is to install an alternative operating system for your router – such as OpenWRT, DD-WRT or Tomato. However, this requires some knowledge and should only be done by users who know what they are doing. In the stupidest case, you will be faced with unusable hardware and then no device will go on the Internet at all.
Related Articles and Further Reading About VPN:
Expressvpn.com/de/vpn-software/vpn-router
Support.nordvpn.com/Connectivity/Router/1047409322/Setting-up-a-router-with-NordVPN.htm