General tutorial question

[horizon2021]

I can follow and complete position 2. - question: where does the 'Qubes-vpn-support' folder come from ? it is not getting created on my vm anywhere (also not after restart). and 'cd Qubes-vpn-support' makes sense from within /rw/config/vpn - but again it does not get created. I can add that folder there but the command 'sudo bash ./install' does nothing afterwards. I assume something is missing.

can you help me out?

[tasket]

@horizon2021 Qubes-vpn-support has to be downloaded from github before you can install it.

[horizon2021]

Sorry, for me it still stops right there. Does this mean the user shall post the content of: https://github.com/tasket/Qubes-vpn-support/blob/master/files-main/qubes-vpn-setup into a terminal? Or create a file from it and execute it locally in some way? Can you explain? 2019-07-31 18:02 GMT+02:00, tasket <[email protected]>:

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@horizon2021 Qubes-vpn-support has to be downloaded from github before you can install it. -- You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #44 (comment)

[tasket]

Go to the project page and select 'Clone or download' then 'Download zip'. After you unzip it, you can transfer the resulting folder to the vpn vm with qvm-copy before starting the installer there.

However, asking these questions may indicate this task is a bit beyond your skill level.

[horizon2021]

Any operating system will have a user base, that's just what it is. Qubes does attract people that have security in mind and vpn can help with that too I am assured from my reading. Yes, saying that "openvpn" is a simple command over in the other thread was just stupid. It probably does fairly complex things that I do not really know about, probably even more so in this operating system. Only me putting it in a terminal is the simple part. Then again, the larger point in the question was/is also that something that worked easily with no problem just wasn't available anymore in 4.0. Latest updates have killed the functionality from the common "appvm" that one "visits the Internet with", so here I am, the place where is I was directed to. If memory serves correctly, then adding the vpn service by typing it in and then pressing the plus button and deleting all other services in the VM was added recently, so I guess some explanation indeed is in order. Please make it happen. If compensation for pain endured is required, tell me so - I am willing to pay and when this is over, many more people can benefit from it. Wouldn't that be great? So getting the ZIP and extracting gives me "Qubes-vpn-support-master". Is that the folder for the following command "cd Qubes-vpn-support"? So renaming the folder right away or copy first? Can copying be done "the usual way" by click (Copy To Other AppVM...), for copy of files and folders? Where exactly to be placed in the folder structure of the target VM? Thanks. 2019-08-01 20:52 GMT+02:00, tasket <[email protected]>:

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Go to the project page and select 'Clone or download' then 'Download zip'. After you unzip it, you can transfer the resulting folder to the vpn vm with `qvm-copy` before starting the installer there. However, asking these questions may indicate this task is a bit beyond your skill level. -- You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #44 (comment)

[tasket]

I appreciate your point of view: Simplicity is a goal of this project, or at least making a complex array of configurations into one simpler process. FWIW, there is an open Qubes issue to incorporate this code in Qubes OS so it doesn't have to be installed.

The instructions refer to the "Qubes-vpn-support" folder because thats the folder name you get when downloading via git. This being github, most people use git to download. However, I suggested you download the zip file because its simpler and familiar to most people; and the zip files use an extra word at the end such as "master" to denote from which git branch the download was taken. Spelling out all the minor variations and adhering to complete literalism so that all skill levels can be accommodated would probably result in instructions that are several times the current size; the resulting verbosity and "if-or-then-but-except" language would tend to discourage not only users such as yourself, but the usual range of Linux savvy users as well.

Additionally, VPNs on Qubes are an inherently complex subject. I've given this much thought, and decided they cannot be reduced down to the level of "Download our VPN app from the appstore". This is the kind of software VPN providers offer, but their apps are not adapted to Qubes networking.

However, I should mention what two of the easiest alternatives are:

1. Use the VPN provider's app inside of each AppVM (not a ProxyVM) where you intend to browse or do other activities over the VPN. This should be safe in AppVMs, even though its not safe to do in a ProxyVM. Caveat: You may need to reinstall the app each time you start the AppVM (or else, you could use a StandaloneVM instead).

2. Find the Network Manager instructions for your VPN provider and follow them while also using this Qubes doc as a guide.

As you probably guessed, these options are unfortunately not really easy.

continued...

[tasket]

To address your specific questions:

• The 'Qubes-vpn-support-master' folder is fine to use. You don't have to rename it, just cd to it before running the installer.

• Copying files to a VM is just the basic Qubes operation, as you pointed out. This can be done from a file manager GUI or the qvm-copy command.

If memory serves correctly, then adding the vpn service by typing it in and then pressing the plus button and deleting all other services in the VM was added recently

• The part about deleting services I don't understand. The instructions say to create a new VM, then add 'vpn-handler-openvpn' as a service, so you probably wouldn't need to delete any.

Regarding compensation, I accept donations via Liberapay and Patreon (and plant to start a Gofundme soon). If you require a formal working arrangement, you can contact me at [email protected] to discuss it.

[tasket]

To clarify on the folder names, etc... You don't have to place the folder in a specific path; if its in your home dir or the QubesIncoming subdir that's fine. The installer takes care of copying the right parts to the right places.

The only path you have to manually adhere to is '/rw/config/vpn' when you add your openvpn config files there in step 2.