Chapman VPN Setup Debian

Make sure to replace anything in square brackets, [], with your values and remove the brackets.

Install

Run sudo apt install pptp-linux, and select 'Y' (press enter) at the prompt. This tutorial is using version 1.9.0 of pptp and release 18.04 of Ubuntu.

Check Config

The file /etc/ppp/options.pptp should have default values, including the following:

• lock
• noauth
• nobsdcomp
• nodeflate

Create Secrets File

In the /etc/ppp/ directory create/append to a file called chap-secrets with the following contents:

CHAPMANEDU\\[YOUR USERNAME] PPTP [YOUR PASSWORD] *

This can be done while in the /etc/ppp/ directory with the following command:

echo "CHAPMANEDU\\\\[YOUR USERNAME] PPTP [YOUR PASSWORD] *" | sudo tee -a chap-secrets

Create Peer File

In the /etc/ppp/peers/ directory create a file called svpn.chapman.edu with the following contents:

pty "pptp svpn.chapman.edu --nolaunchpppd"
name CHAPMANEDU\\[YOUR USERNAME]
remotename PPTP
require-mppe-128
file /etc/ppp/options.pptp
defaultroute
replacedefaultroute
ipparam svpn.chapman.edu

Testing The Connection

Start the VPN with sudo pon svpn.chapman.edu debug dump logfd 2 nodetach to test if it can connect. Use Ctrl+C to stop it while running. You can know it likely succeeded if the output contains status = 0x0.

Running in Background

To run the VPN in the background, start it with sudo pon svpn.chapman.edu and stop it with sudo poff svpn.chapman.edu.