Manual OpenVPN setup (Windows & Mac)

Most people never need this page. Our Windows app and our Mac installer do all of this for you. Use it only if the app can't be installed on your computer, for example a work laptop with restrictions, or if you prefer to use OpenVPN software you already have.

Pick your computer:

Windows

1. Download OpenVPN GUI from openvpn.net/community-downloads (the Windows 64-bit MSI installer) and install it with the default options.
2. Download OpenVPN_Config_Files.zip from the bottom of this article and open it. It unpacks into a folder with one file per server, Server 1.ovpn to Server 12.ovpn.
3. Find the OpenVPN GUI icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen, next to the clock (click the small up-arrow if it is hidden). Right-click it and choose Import file.
4. Choose Server 1.ovpn (or any other server) and click Open. Repeat for any other servers you want in the list.
5. Right-click the OpenVPN GUI icon again, point to Server 1 and click Connect.
6. Enter your Liberty Shield username and password, the same ones you use on our website, tick Save password, and click OK.
7. The icon turns green when you are connected.

To disconnect or change server, right-click the icon again. To use the VPN from another country, change your VPN location on www.libertyshield.com first, then disconnect and reconnect.

Mac

The easy way: use our Mac installer. It sets up Tunnelblick with every server and the right settings in one go. Steps are in How to set up Liberty Shield VPN on a Mac with the installer.

If you already have Tunnelblick on your Mac:

1. Download Liberty Shield VPN for Mac and open it.
2. In the folder it unpacks, double-click Liberty Shield VPN.tblk.
3. Tunnelblick asks to install 12 configurations. Click Install and type your Mac password.
4. Click the tunnel icon in the menu bar, choose Connect Server 1, and enter your Liberty Shield username and password with Save in Keychain ticked.

That gives you all 12 servers with the correct settings already chosen, so there is nothing else to configure.

If you would rather import the plain .ovpn files from the zip above into Tunnelblick yourself, double-click one, let Tunnelblick install it, then in VPN Details open the Settings tab for that connection and set OpenVPN version to the 2.5 build with OpenSSL 1.1.1. Our servers do not accept the default 2.6 build, so skipping this step means the connection fails straight away.

Check it worked

Open showmemyip.com. It should show the country of your VPN location.

Problems?

On Windows, if Import file is missing from the menu, you have an old OpenVPN GUI: uninstall it and install the current version from the link above. If the connection fails with an authentication error, check your username and password by logging in at www.libertyshield.com. If that doesn't solve it, get in touch with our support team and tell us which computer you are on and what the error says, and we'll get you sorted.