Ubuntu Install Tinc and Set Up a Basic VPN

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Tinc is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) daemon that can be used to create a secure network between multiple hosts. Here are the steps to install Tinc and set up a basic VPN on Ubuntu:

  1. Install Tinc by running the command sudo apt install tinc
  2. Create a directory for Tinc’s configuration files by running the command sudo mkdir /etc/tinc
  3. Create a subdirectory for the VPN by running the command sudo mkdir /etc/tinc/myvpn
  4. Create a tinc.conf file in the myvpn directory by running the command sudo nano /etc/tinc/myvpn/tinc.conf and adding the following contents:
Name = <hostname>
ConnectTo = <remote hostname>
  1. Create a tinc-up file in the myvpn directory by running the command sudo nano /etc/tinc/myvpn/tinc-up and adding the following contents:
#!/bin/bash
ifconfig $INTERFACE <local IP address> netmask 255.255.255.0
  1. Change the permissions of the tinc-up file to make it executable by running the command sudo chmod +x /etc/tinc/myvpn/tinc-up
  2. Create a tinc-down file in the myvpn directory by running the command sudo nano /etc/tinc/myvpn/tinc-down and adding the following contents:
#!/bin/bash
ifconfig $INTERFACE down
  1. Change the permissions of the tinc-down file to make it executable by running the command sudo chmod +x /etc/tinc/myvpn/tinc-down
  2. Generate the necessary keys for Tinc by running the command sudo tincd -n myvpn -K
  3. Copy the generated public key to the remote host and add it to the /etc/tinc/myvpn/hosts/<remote hostname> file.
  4. Start Tinc on the local machine by running the command sudo tincd -n myvpn
  5. Start Tinc on the remote machine by running the command sudo tincd -n myvpn
  6. Check the connection with the command tincd -n myvpn -c
  7. You can also use the service command to start, stop and check the status of tinc service.
sudo systemctl start tinc@myvpn
sudo systemctl stop tinc@myvpn
sudo systemctl status tinc@myvpn

This is a basic setup for a Tinc VPN. You can also add more hosts to the VPN by repeating steps 4-10 for each host and adding their public keys to the /etc/tinc/myvpn/hosts directory. You can also secure your VPN by configuring encryption and authentication. (https://godaddy.com/) Keep in mind that a VPN like Tinc is not a replacement for a firewall, and it is important to keep your systems secure.

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