Cannot connect to VPN through proxy

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ronanw1234

Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:18 am

Post by ronanw1234 » Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:34 am
I'm using Viscosity for Mac version 1.9.
My organization manages the VPN. I'm trying to connect to the VPN through a proxy because it seems like my ISP is throttling my connection to the VPN.
To get around this I'm trying to connect to a simple HTTP proxy using no authentication. I've tried setting the proxy in the VPN Transport settings and also setting it as a system-wide proxy but when I try to connect to the VPN it disconnects instantly.
I've also tried setting it in the OVPN file but the result is the same.

I have no log files under "/Library/Application\ Support/Viscosity" to share.

Any help is appreciated,
Ronan

James

User avatar
Posts: 2313
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:27 pm

Post by James » Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:22 pm
Hi Ronan,

Instructions for viewing the connection log for your connection can be found at:
https://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/ar ... envpn-log/

Please also keep in mind that most HTTP proxies limit the ports you can use, and you will need to be using a TCP connection (rather than a UDP connection). For example, a OpenVPN server configured to use TCP on port 443 will work through almost all HTTP proxies. However, for example, the administrator of the proxy may not allow connections to port 1194 as it's not a commonly used port for web browsing.

If your ISP really is throttling your VPN connection, often they're doing this using simple rules. For example, most OpenVPN connections use UDP on port 1194. Often changing the port used on both the server and client, or changing the protocol, is enough to avoid such throttling. This is why you'll see commercial VPN Service Providers offering OpenVPN connections using TCP on port 80 or 443 (so it looks more like normal web traffic).

Cheers,
James
Web: https://www.sparklabs.com
Support: https://www.sparklabs.com/support
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparklabs

ronanw1234

Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2021 4:18 am

Post by ronanw1234 » Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:06 pm
Hi James,

Thanks for the detailed reply. Changing the protocol was enough to get around the throttling.

Many thanks,
Ronan
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