Youcoulddo some research to find a good one.

Or it’s possible for you to make your own in about 10 minutes.

In this case, youll be installing VPN software onto a web service.

For the rest of us comfortable with a little command line usage, lets get going.

What You Get

Namely, youll get a free VPN out of this.

That means a secure, encrypted connection between your setup or mobile gear and the internet at large.

So, the next logical step is to make your own.

Streisand is great, but its overkill for most of us.

After that,follow the Streisand instructionsfor your operating system.

A government could theoretically ask the hosting provider, Amazon in this case, for your billing information.

That means your traffic could be traced back to you.

They can do this with any commercial VPN providers too, of course.

However, at least the VPN portion of this is entirely in your own care.

Regardless, Algo secures and encrypts your connection, which is plenty for most of us.

There are some limitations here though.

Third, after the year is up, the price switches over to an hourly rate.

Still, most people shouldnt expect to pay more than $10-$11/month.

DigitalOceans set up is considerably easier too.

Create a new Droplet with the default options, then tap the API tab and generate a new token.

Youll need that number during the Algo installation process.

After that, it’s possible for you to just skip down to the Algo step below.

you’re able to link your current Amazon account to your web services account if you want.

Once youre logged in, Click Services > IAM.

Its located under the Security, Identity, & Compliance tab.

nudge the Users tab on the left.

Create a user name, then nudge the box next to Programmatic Access.

Click Attach existing policies directly.

key in in admin to search through the policies.

Find AdministratorAccess and nudge the checkbox next to that.

Click Next when youre done.

On the final screen, hit the Download CSV button.

This file includes a couple numbers and access keys youll need during the Algo set up process.

Click Close and youre all set.

Now, your little free tier service is up and running on Amazon.

Its time to install Algo.

Step Two: Download and Install Algo

Next up, well install Algo.

Youll do this using the command line on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer at home.

If youre on Linux or Mac, go ahead and skip down to part two below.

If youre on Windows, continue on.

Heres what it’s crucial that you do:

Open prefs.

Click Update & Security, then click For Developers.

Set the Developers mode option to enabled.

After everything installs, click Control Panel, then select Programs.

Click Turn Windows features on or off.

Now, you have the Linux Bash installed.

nudge the Start menu and punch in in Bash.

Youll be asked a few more questions.

Answer those, then Windows will install another set of software.

Finally, once thats complete, youll be at the command line.

Part Two: Install Algo

On Mac it’s possible for you to install Algo easily.

However, depending on which version of Linux youre running, youll have a different set of commands here.

you might figure outwhich you need for Linux here.

One a Mac,download Algoand unzip the file wherever you want on your machine.

This creates a folder calledalgo-master.

Open Terminal, then jot down incdfollowed by the algo-master directory location.

Itll auto-fill the location, resulting in something like,cd /Users/jimbojones/Documents/algo-master.

punch in inpython -m ensurepip userand press Enter.

throw in inpython -m pip install user upgrade virtualenvand press Enter.

If you havent installed the cc command line tools before, youll get a prompt to do so.

Go ahead and agree.

pop in insudo nano config.cfgand press Enter.

This opens up a text editor.

Under users, jot down the the name of any users youd like to create.

When youre done, press Ctrl+X to save and exit.

throw in in./algoto start the installation process.

The installation script asks you a series of questions.

For the provider, key in in2for Amazon EC2 (unless you went with a different provider).

Next, you should probably grab your AWS Access Key and your AWS Secret Key.

Remember that credentials CSV file you downloaded from Amazon in the previous step?

That includes both of these numbers.

Go ahead and copy/paste each number from that file when youre asked.

Next up, Algo asks you about VPN On Demand.

I answeredYesto both questions.

This makes it so your Apple devices automatically connect to the VPN.

Otherwise, you have to enable them manually each time.

I also recommend saying Yes to the security enhancements, HTTP proxy, and local DNS resolver.

Your VPN is now up and running.

it’s crucial that you connect your devices to it to get to use it.

This is more complicated for some operating systems then it is for others.

Either way, all the files you need are in that algo-master directory inside the configs folder.

Set Up Your VPN on Apple Devices

Inside the configs folder, youll find a .mobileconfig file.

On Mac, double-click that file to plant the profile on your Mac.

you’ve got the option to disconnect by simply deleting the profile.

Double-tap the PEM file to import it to the Trusted Root certificate store.

punch in in,Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUserand press Enter.

Finally, when thats complete jot down inSet-ExecutionPolicy Restricted -Scope CurrentUserand press Enter.

Your VPN should now be set up.

after you snag everything set up,follow our guideto test to check that your VPN is working properly.