Setting Up a Forward Proxy with OpenVPN for Censored Internet Access

Setting Up Forward Proxy with OpenVPN for Censored Internet Access

In today's digital age, internet censorship is a growing concern for many users around the world. One solution to bypass censorship is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) such as OpenVPN. In this article, we will discuss how to set up a forward proxy with OpenVPN to access the internet freely.

What is a Forward Proxy?

A forward proxy, also known as a proxy server, acts as an intermediary between a client and a server. It receives requests from clients and forwards them to the server, then returns the response back to the client. Forward proxies are commonly used to provide anonymity, improve security, and bypass content restrictions.

Why Use OpenVPN?

OpenVPN is an open-source VPN software that provides a secure and encrypted connection between clients and servers. It is highly configurable, supports various encryption algorithms, and can be used on multiple platforms. OpenVPN can also be configured as a forward proxy, making it an ideal solution for bypassing internet censorship.

Setting Up Forward Proxy with OpenVPN

To set up a forward proxy with OpenVPN, you will need the following:

• A server with OpenVPN installed
• A client machine with OpenVPN client software installed
• Access to the server's command line

Here are the steps to set up a forward proxy with OpenVPN:

1. Generate a certificate and key pair for the server and client.

# On the server
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout server.key -out server.crt -days 3650 -nodes

# On the client
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout client.key -out client.csr -nodes
openssl x509 -req -in client.csr -CA server.crt -CAkey server.key -CAcreateserial -out client.crt -days 3650

2. Create a configuration file for the server.

# server.conf
proto udp
port 1194
dev tun
ca ca.crt
cert server.crt
key server.key
dh dh.pem
server 10.8.0.0 255.255.255.0
ifconfig-pool-persist ipp.txt
push "redirect-gateway def1 bypass-dhcp"
push "dhcp-option DNS 8.8.8.8"
keepalive 10 120
cipher AES-256-CBC
user nobody
group nogroup
persist-key
persist-tun
status openvpn-status.log
verb 3

3. Create a configuration file for the client.

# client.ovpn
client
dev tun
proto udp
remote [server\_address] 1194
resolv-retry infinite
nobind
persist-key
persist-tun
remote-cert-tls server
cipher AES-256-CBC
verb 3

-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
[client\_key]
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----


-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
[client\_crt]
-----END CERTIFICATE-----


-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
[ca\_crt]
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

4. Configure OpenVPN as a forward proxy on the server.

# On the server
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip\_forward
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 10.8.0.0/24 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DNAT --to-destination 10.8.0.1
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p udp --dport 8080 -j DNAT --to-destination 10.8.0.1

5. Configure the client to use the forward proxy.

# On the client
export http\_proxy=http://[server\_address]:8080
export https\_proxy=http://[server\_address]:8080

References

• OpenVPN. (2021). OpenVPN Installation on Linux
• OpenVPN. (2021). Configuring an OpenVPN Client
• OpenVPN. (2021). How To: Configuring an OpenVPN Server on Linux
• Linux.com. (2021). How to Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu 18.04
• DigitalOcean. (2021). How To Set Up an OpenVPN Server on Ubuntu 18.04

By following these steps, you can set up a forward proxy with OpenVPN and access the internet freely, even in censored environments. Happy browsing!