Use your Windows Computer to Create a VPN Router
Connect all of your wireless devices, phones, tablets, TV devices and gaming devices to the VPN through your Windows computer.
This requires a Ethernet Internet connection to connect to the VPN with and a Wi-Fi connection to distribute the VPN over wireless to all your devices.
Note: These instructions show screen shots for Windows 10 but the same steps apply to Windows 7 and 8 as well.
Search for cmd.exe in the search bar. When you find it be sure to right click and select Run as Administrator to launch it.
Before proceeding you need to verify that your Wi-Fi card can support a hosted network.
Type in the following command in the command prompt window.
netsh wlan show drivers
it will return a screen similar to the following:
If you see the text Hosted network supported : Yes as shown above next to the red mark then you are good to go. If not, try updating your network adapter to the most recent driver version. If that doesn't work then your computers network card won't support this option and you cannot proceed.
Type the following command to create the virtual Wi-Fi adapter.
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=NETWORKNAME key=PASSWORD
Replace NETWORKNAME and PASSWORD with the network name and password of your choice. In our example shown in the screen shot below we used NETWORKNAME = vpnrouter and PASSWORD = 123456789. Obviously, you will want to use a secure password instead of 123456789 to prevent unwanted guests from connecting to your network.
Be sure that you get the same response as shown in the screen shot indicating that the network is established.
Now, you need to start your new hosted network. Use the following command:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
NOTE: When you start your hosted network after a computer reboot in the future be sure to always launch the command prompt by using the right click and select Run as Administrator option. Failure to run the command prompt as administrator will result in the network not working.
You should now check to see that the new virtual adapter was created. You can check this in network properties. The easiest way to get there is to hit the Windows and R keys which will open the Run command box. In the Run Command box enter ncpa.cpl and click on OK.
You will see something similar to the window below. Each machine is slightly different.
In our example the new virtual network connection is Local Area Connection 14 with the name vpnrouter that we gave it previously.
Check your listings and find the adapter that has the same name you used in the steps above when you created it. You will need to know what this is for the next step.
Now you need to share the virtual adapter so your other devices can connect to it.
Locate the OpenVPN TAP adapter. In our example it is named Ethernet 2. Right click on it and choose properties. Then click on the sharing tab.
Note: If you are using a PPTP or L2TP type VPN connection then select that connection instead of the OpenVPN TAP adapter
Check the Allow other users box.
Check the Select a private network connection box.
In the drop down select your adapter as identified above. In our example it's Local Area Connection 14.
Click OK
Make sure you have a good Ethernet connection to your Internet provider. Launch OpenVPN as normal and pick a server and connect.
Connect your other devices to the virtual WI-Fi adapter using the SSID name and password you set above and they will all be on the VPN. Your devices will not be able to reach the Internet through this adapter unless the VPN is connected.
This also provides for a VPN kill switch preventing your devices from accidentally connecting to your local unencrypted network if the VPN disconnects.
Note: When you start your hosted network after a computer reboot or if you turned off the virtual adapter be sure to always launch the command prompt by using the right click and select Run as Administrator option. Failure to run the command prompt as administrator will result in the network not working.
To start the virtual Wi-Fi adapter:
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
To stop the virtual Wi-Fi adapter:
netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
Always use these commands to start and stop the adapter. Do not stop or disable the adapter from the Windows network settings window