OpenVPNconnect

By default, a VPN is conenction is opened from a client to a server and the connection remains. With this script I want to obfuscate online behaviour using the many servers VPN providers offer. This script automatically, periodically connects to a VPN server by randomly selecting an .ovpn file from a directory.

Context

This script is one several measures to protect online privacy. Other measures I use include blocking of ads, trackers, malware, social media, using Pi-hole, the use of DD-WRT on routers, several browser plugins, obfuscation, etc.

Requirements

• UNIX/Linux and OpenVPN client installed
• a paid subscription to a paid VPN provider (in the script NordVPN is used. Use the VPN comparison chart to select the provider for your needs)
• the username and password are stored on separate lines in /etc/openvpn/ovpn/auth.txt. Set permissions to -r-x—— or similar
• several .ovpn files of the servers of your choice in /etc/openvpn/ovpn
• in the ovpn files, the auth-user-file directive must point to the auth.txt file. Example how to edit them all at once:

 $ sed -i 's/auth-user-file/auth-user-file \/etc\/openvpn\/ovpn\/auth\.txt/g' *ovpn

• a connection to the internet
• make this script executable:

$ chmod +x /etc/openvpn/ovpn/openvpn-connect.sh

Usage

• run:

$ ./etc/openvpn/ovpn/openvpn-connect.sh

• optional argument: two character country code (e.g.: ch, ru, in, uk, ca):

$ ./etc/openvpn/ovpn/openvpn-connect.sh fi

• use cron to reconnect twice a day (e.g. 04:07 and 14:07) to one of the servers in Brazil:

$ crontab -e 7 4,14 * * * /etc/openvpn/ovpn/openvpn-connect.sh br