There are many VPN services which use L2TP service. It is many ways an extension of the PPTP. L2TP stands for Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol. L2TP is very soon becoming the standard protocol for Virtual Private Networks over the INTERNET. Many of the VPN services have shifted to using L2TP as the primary protocol to deliver their services. Hence, in this tutorial we shall learn about setting up an L2TP VPN in a Mac.
Step 1: Go to Network preferences
To start with, you would have to go to the system preferences menu. This will give the general settings of the OS. Find the ‘Network’ settings part. This is where you can setup and manipulate different networks.
Step 2: Add a new Network
At the bottom of the list of the networks available, you would have to click the + sign to start the process of creating a network. A small window will appear, where you would be asked to give a name to the service and also to the service name.
In the drop down menu of the type of the network, choose ‘VPN’. The moment you click VPN, you would get another drop down menu, which would ask the type of the VPN to be used. Here you should select ‘L2TP over IPSec’. In the service name, you can give whatever you want. Preferably it should be the name of the VPN service. And when you are done with these, click ‘Create’
Step 3: Filling up the details
After you have created the Network, next step is to fill the details of the VPN. First fill the preliminary details like server address etc. These details can be found in the configuration mail which was sent to you when you had signed up for the VPN service. After you are done with these, click on the Authentication settings. Here you would have to enter the password and also the shared key. Click Ok. Click Apply and you are almost done.
Step 4: Advanced settings
In the advanced settings tab, check the box, ‘Send all traffic over VPN connection’. Doing so will mean that you would have all your things over the VPN, including the network services you use other than your browser. Click Apply and then OK, and you are done!
To connect to the VPN, just select the network and click connect. Once the connection is established you would get a confirmation for the same.
Using VPN is a very good practice. It keeps you safe over unreliable network connections. Subscribe to a VPN service soon.
