Book Image

Mastering OpenVPN

By : Eric F Crist, Jan Just Keijser
Book Image

Mastering OpenVPN

By: Eric F Crist, Jan Just Keijser

Overview of this book

Security on the internet is increasingly vital to both businesses and individuals. Encrypting network traffic using Virtual Private Networks is one method to enhance security. The internet, corporate, and “free internet” networks grow more hostile every day. OpenVPN, the most widely used open source VPN package, allows you to create a secure network across these systems, keeping your private data secure. The main advantage of using OpenVPN is its portability, which allows it to be embedded into several systems. This book is an advanced guide that will help you build secure Virtual Private Networks using OpenVPN. You will begin your journey with an exploration of OpenVPN, while discussing its modes of operation, its clients, its secret keys, and their format types. You will explore PKI: its setting up and working, PAM authentication, and MTU troubleshooting. Next, client-server mode is discussed, the most commonly used deployment model, and you will learn about the two modes of operation using "tun" and "tap" devices. The book then progresses to more advanced concepts, such as deployment scenarios in tun devices which will include integration with back-end authentication, and securing your OpenVPN server using iptables, scripting, plugins, and using OpenVPN on mobile devices and networks. Finally, you will discover the strengths and weaknesses of the current OpenVPN implementation, understand the future directions of OpenVPN, and delve into the troubleshooting techniques for OpenVPN. By the end of the book, you will be able to build secure private networks across the internet and hostile networks with confidence.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)
7
7. Scripting and Plugins
11
Index

OpenVPN secret keys


To secure the OpenVPN connection, a secret key is needed. First, we will generate such a key. Then, it needs to be copied to the remote endpoint using a secure channel (example SCP:

$ openvpn --genkey --secret secret.key

Note that it is not necessary to run this command as root (hence the prompt $). The resulting secret key file has the following format:

#
# 2048 bit OpenVPN static key
#
-----BEGIN OpenVPN Static key V1-----
1393ae687606c1f7d465d70227bf63e8
8963e9d1401450002d073d6eab1bffde
b06d1a33cc5c45d4a667016339e921d3
3ac36b1a949eb52e9217e41e4b035a7b
987ddfa9d6766d3b5e4c952dc27f518d
12ccff6b2f0966284382ddc0f62b824a
f576f0982beec9d6a4728d0788499a75
0fd7055ef681404fd463d9862d3a40a9
31fca7d87997c70c07b8303a1b85f1ff
76aa7790e7c341353d2b4ea5049b11a2
51346e7dd39fc1f1e53ae57c46cf60c8
24db00a871262fee78050a9df6a57322
0bb0d980b6cf1be90a2f304f99fb9cde
7cdf72d20e7dee555c7c99950aa4d8e6
86a020c3a63125fb99d56181ff4ca20c
d6711eab15a4d6faf706f2601eb6 61b7
-----END OpenVPN Static...