How to set up a VPN on a Chromebook

Setting up a VPN connection on your Chromebook isn’t hard once you know where to look.

If you have an account with a VPN provider, you can use it on your Chromebook, too!

While most VPN companies have something you can download for Windows or Mac that’s a one-click-install setup, on your Chromebook you’ll need to enter the information manually. It’s not difficult; you don’t need to know any network jargon or define any extra parameters, and any VPN setup to work with OpenVPN is compatible.

Before you start, you should check to see if your VPN company has an app in the Chrome Web Store. There are a handful of VPN providers that do, and you install their apps like you would any other app or extension. But if your VPN company doesn’t have a Chrome app, here’s what you’ll need to do.

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Importing certificates

If your VPN provider uses a CA Certificate for a connection you’ll need to import it into your Chromebook.

• Get the CA Certificate from your VPN company. A CA Certificate is a key that verifies your trust, and your Chromebook already has a number of them installed for web services. You’ll need to import the one you were given from your VPN provider if you were given one. Store this file on your local storage so you can import it.
  • Open a new tab in the browser and put chrome://settings/certificates in the address bar, then press enter.
  • Click the Authorities tab at the top of the page.
  • Press the Import button and choose the file you downloaded.
  • A box will open asking what you trust this certificate to verify. If you’re unsure, you can leave everything unchecked (recommended).
  • The certificate will import and install.
  • Use these same instructions to import a User certificate if you are provided one. Simply choose the User certificates tab instead of the Authorities tab.

Enter the VPN network settings

Next, you need to enter the account and server information you’ll use to connect. You’ll do this in the settings as well.

• Click your account photo in the lower left of the screen, then click the gear icon to open the settings.
• Near the top, in the Network section, click the Add connection button.
• Click Add OpenVPN / L2TP.

You need to fill in the information about your connection in the box that opens. If your Chromebook came from your work or your school, you’ll need to get this information from the person who administers your Chromebook. Otherwise, you’ll find it at your VPN provider’s website.

• Server hostname: The name or IP address of the server you’ll be connecting to.
• Service name: The connection name that shows in the settings. You can name it anything you like.
• Provider type:
  • Select L2TP/IPsec + Pre-shared key if you need to enter a second password once you log-on to your VPN.
  • Select L2TP/IPsec + User certificate if you have a separate user certificate as mentioned above.
  • Select OpenVPN if neither applies to your VPN connection.
• Pre-shared key: Enter the secondary password you need to connect here. If you don’t need to use a second password, leave this blank.
• Server CA certificate: If you installed a CA Certificate as described above, choose it from the list. Otherwise, leave it at Default.
• User certificate: If you installed a User Certificate as described above, choose it from the list. Otherwise, leave it blank.
• Username: The username you use to log in to your VPN.
• Password: Your VPN account password. Note this is not the same as the Pre-shared key.
• OTP: If you were given a token or website address that generates a One Time Password, generate it and enter it here. Otherwise, leave it blank.
• Group name: If you need to enter a Group name it goes here. Otherwise, leave it blank.
• You can check the box to Save identity and password if you want to be able to connect with one click. If you prefer to enter your username and password each time, leave this unchecked. Your Pre-shared Key will be remembered either way.
• To test your connection, click Connect.

You’ll know you’re connected when you see a key symbol beside your Wi-Fi icon. You’ll also see the word Connected in green at the new connection in the settings window. If you connected without any problems, you can click the back arrow in the upper right to see other configuration options, like a setting to always use the VPN connection or delete (Forget) it, or edit it.

If you choose not to use the connection all of the time, you can connect by clicking the network icon (the Wi-Fi symbol) in the tray and choosing your new network.

Questions

I know that was a lot to take in at once, so I’ll be hanging around in the comments below to answer any questions you may have.

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Pay what you want for the White Hat Hacker 2017 Bundle

Malicious hackers keep popping up in the news, with the latest Equifax scandal putting millions of Americans’ personal data at risk. Hackers show no signs of slowing down, so the need for ethical white hat hackers to test security systems has never been more crucial.

Right now, you can get a full suite of courses from Android Central Digital Offers, and best of all you get to choose how much you pay. It’s another Pay What You Want deal that features eight courses valued at over $1,200. Featuring 63 hours of training, the topics include:

• The Complete Ethical Hacking Course for 2016-2017
• Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch
• Networks From Scratch to Advanced Implementation
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional
• Information Security Management Fundamentals
• Web Security: Common Vulnerabilities & Their Mitigation
• Python For Android Hacking Crash Course: Trojan Perspective
• Wi-Fi Hacking with Kali

To get all eight courses, all you need to do is beat the average price (currently under $20), or you can make a play to beat the leader price and be entered to win an epic giveaway.

The choice is yours! Take a look at this great deal and decide how much you want to pay — then take your new-found skills and join the fight against malicious hackers!

See at Android Central Digital Offers

Leave your cable company behind with this $60 streaming bundle

If you’re ready to cut the cord, Best Buy has a nice bundle for you to help get you started. Right now you can pick up a Roku Streaming Stick and 40-mile Rocketfish HDTV antenna for just $59.98, which is a savings of $40 compared to when buying them separately.

The Roku Streaming Stick is a streamer’s dream. It plugs into your TV and can run tons of different apps, giving you access to Netflix, Hulu, DirecTV Now, ABC, HBO, and so much more. You’ll use the OTA HD Antenna to be able to watch those local channels that you love, so you won’t miss news and sporting events.

You can also get a package with Mohu’s 30-mile antenna for the same price. The big difference between the two is the range of antenna and brand. You can’t go wrong with either of them, though.

See at Best Buy

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Essential has probably sold around 5,000 Essential Phones since its release

More than a month after its initial release, the Essential Phone has only sold 5,000 units. That’s not good.

Just like every year, 2017 has brought the release of a lot of new phones — most of them very good. You’ve got your heavy-hitters like the Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30, but then there’s the market oddity that is the Essential Phone. The very first product from Andy Rubin’s new startup was officially launched on August 17, and since then, it’s being reported that a mere 5,000 units of the Essential Phone have been sold.

In the smartphone world, 5,000 units sold in more than a month’s time is nothing. BayStreet Research came up with this number by tracking shipments of the Essential Phone across the United States, and when BayStreet asked Essential for a comment on their findings, they didn’t receive any sort of response.

To put things into perspective, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 saw 650,000 preorders in South Korea in just five days. Compared to the Essential Phone’s reported 5,000 units for more than a month, that’s not a great start at all.

So, what’s the cause for the Essential Phone’s weak sales? Although we can’t say with absolute certainty because every person has different buying habits, we can safely narrow it down to a handful of possibilities.

For starters, if you want to buy the Essential Phone in the United States, the only carrier you can get it from is Sprint. If that isn’t your carrier of choice, you’ll need to pay the full $699 asking price upfront. Carrier exclusivity is never helpful for increasing sales numbers as much as possible, and that point is further reinforced when you limit your phone to the least popular major carrier in the country.

If you want to sell a lot of phones, don’t limit yourself to the country’s weakest carrier

Along with its limited availability, the Essential Phone really isn’t a complete product. Between unfinished software and numerous camera issues, the phone doesn’t perfectly justify its $700 asking price. The premium materials used for its construction are something to behold, but when you’re advertising a phone as having all of the “essentials” that everybody needs and don’t include a headphone jack, you’re looking at a tough sell.

Andy Rubin has reiterated numerous times that the Essential Phone is just the beginning for a host of other products that will make up Essential’s ecosystem, and while that may be true, 5,000 units sold in a month’s time isn’t the best way to kick things off.

How much longer do we wait for Essential to figure it out?

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Tame your home screen with a dragon wallpaper

Dragons are powerful and fearsome. Put one on your home screen.

Dragons can command the elements to shoot fire or ice. Their bodies are living tanks, often able to withstand swords and even heavy artillery. Dragons are terrifying, and maybe that’s why we’re so drawn to their legends. Dragons have been a part of our mythology for centuries, and our infatuation may ebb and wax with the times, but they never vanish from our imaginations and our hearts. With these wallpapers, you can keep that spark of dragons’ fire alive on your home screen.

Not all dragons breathe fire. Not all dragons are massive flying tanks that rain hellfire over the civilians below. In eastern mythologies, there are many dragons that were considered benevolent, dragons that brought peace, prosperity, and most importantly, good weather. Rain-bringing dragons like Shenlong were worshipped and respected because if their blessings soured, droughts or storms would destroy their crops.

It also reminds me of a certain benevolent dragon from my youth…

Shenlong the rainbringer by VampirePrincess007

Dragons can be more than bold and daunting. They can be stealthy. They can be peppy. They can be adorable. Toothless is a reminder that dragons can be both lethal weapons and completely cute goofballs. Tell the truth, if you could take a dragon trick-or-treating, you would. No one would dare skimp on the candy staring down that obsidian muzzle.

Also, Toothless is the best Umbreon. And that includes actual Umbreons.

A Very HTTYD Halloween by TsaoShin

This dragon is not cute. This dragon’s gonna kill you and your whole village because you decided to climb the mountain and violate his sacred territory. Those crimson scales may shine in fire and sunlight, but the shine best when draped in the blood of its enemies. Feel that aggression and power in the wallpaper, and try to steal some of it for yourself as you fight your way through the chaos of our lives.

Red Dragon by LhuvIk

Not all dragons are terrifying warriors. Some dragons are benevolent, and some dragons are even helpful. This dragon, in all honesty, isn’t a dragon. This is Shenron (or Shenlong, depending on your translation), and really, Shenron’s less of a dragon and more of a genie. If you get together the seven Dragon Balls, you can summon Shenron and make one wish. Yeah, this emerald wish-granter looks terrifying, and has a breath-taking temper, but he doesn’t fight.

If you ever manage to gather the Dragon Balls and summon this beautiful serpentine behemoth, make your wish quickly, and make your wish awesome.

shenron or shenlong? by Caikitty

Many dragons are guardians rather than attackers, and earth dragons like this mossy beauty choose to use their power to guard the natural world from which they draw their power. Let the fire dragons and the lightning dragons bring chaos and destruction to world, we’d rather savor the peace and tranquility of the forest.

Guardian of Earth by JemLeigh

There’s a lot of dragons in anime, but none of them are quite this cute in a maid outfit. Tohru is a huge, green, dragon that decides to repay the human that saved her by becoming her maid. Miss Kobayshi’s Dragon Maid is a fan-service anime, filled with ridiculous antics, adorable sidekicks, and slice-of-life butting heads with the supernatural. In short, it’s freaking amazing, and I want another season.

Also, this show has made me want a kotatsu more than anything in 15 years of watching anime. All hail the heated blanket table!

Tohru | Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon Minimalis by Lucifer012

Never be without light again thanks to this rechargeable extremely bright $10 flashlight

Flashlights are something that everyone should have at least one of in their home or with them while out camping, but many of us forget to buy them or check if the ones we have even work. There are few things worse than needing a flashlight only to find out that the one you have is dead or broken.

Right now you can pick up OxyLED’s super bright LED flashlight bundle for $10 at Amazon with coupon code OXMD50PL, which is a savings of just over $5 from its regular price. This bundle comes with not only a very bright flashlight, but also rechargeable batteries, a charging base, and a plastic holder for the battery.

The flashlight has five different light modes, including a strobe and SOS function in case you find yourself in an emergency situation. You can zoom the light to focus in on objects that are further away, and the durable metal and water resistant design will ensure that it can meet your camping and outdoor needs.

With over 3,000 reviews at Amazon, this flashlight maintains a 4.6 out of 5-star rating. With a price this affordable on a product this good, you have no excuse not to be prepared for the next time the power goes out or you hear a rustling in the backyard and you want to see what it is.

If you want something a bit bigger, and even brighter, OxyLED has its Long Tube Rechargeable flashlight on sale for $21.99 with coupon code OXMD01PR.

See at Amazon

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Chromecast Ultra is the best Chromecast to use with Gear VR

The Chromecast Ultra delivers the absolute best casting experience.

With the Chromecast update that started rolling out back in July, Samsung made it easier than ever to show off gameplay on your Gear VR to friends. Of course, you’ve got three different options when it comes to Chromecast and picking the best one for the job doesn’t have to be difficult. Chromecast Ultra delivers a superior experience, and we’ve got the details on why!

Read more on VRHeads

The Galaxy Note 8 Alcantara case is like a soft blanket for your phone

Remember Snuggie? This is not that. This is a case.

I’ve been meaning to put my thoughts on the Note 8 down for a few weeks now, but they’re basically the same as Andrew’s: it’s a great, huge phone that has many redeeming qualities, including a beautiful screen, admirable performance, and an S Pen that I love and want to use, but don’t. Oh, and battery life is fine. Not sure what everyone’s on about in that regard.

BUT I do have something nice and effusive to say about the shag carpet Alcantara case, which I picked up alongside my blue Note 8 at launch. Samsung’s first-party accessories tend to be hit-or-miss, and while I initially scoffed at the idea of putting a soft, suede-like cover on my phone, I have no regrets: this is one of the best I’ve ever used.

This is a first-party accessory that’s worth the higher cost.

Let’s start with the fit and finish. When a company makes its own accessories, they tend to fit better than those of third parties — not universally true, but there’s a correlation. (You’d also hope for high quality if it costs $49.) This thing fits like a glove and finds the right balance between protection and bulk. The Note 8 is already an oversized phone, especially vertically, so I was concerned about using any case with it.

The Alcantara case hugs the sides and top while leaving the bottom area exposed, which, while not entirely protected, makes the most amount of sense from a usability perspective, especially when it comes to applying and removing it. Ideally, you want to easily access the S Pen, speaker, headphone jack, and charging port — the bottom is always busy on a Note device — so going with a full-perimeter case would have been too restrictive. And, selfishly, it lets me see just a little bit of that blue metal that, only available in Canada, I love so much. 🇨🇦

The case also does well to add a bit of a lip to the front of the phone, which is ideal when it comes to drop protection. Obviously, this isn’t going to be considered a heavy duty case in any way, so if you drop the phone while it’s in the Alcantara case expect some damage, but any lip is better than none. On the other side, there’s a nice little groove in which the camera(s) module sits, also protecting against scratches against that rear glass.

Holding the Note 8 while in the Alcantara case is a revelation. I noted above that the glass back is fairly grippy and I rarely left nervous about clutching it naked (the phone was naked, not me — probably) but there really is something to this material.

Alcantara is fairly new to the tech industry — we’ve seen it pop up in a few cases, as well as Microsoft’s beautiful Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Type Cover — but it’s been used in cars and home furniture since the 1970s. In fact, it’s a brand; Alcantara is the name of the company that creates the material.

That material is basically a mixture of polyester and polyurethane — in other words, mostly plastic — which gives it its tensile strength. In the manufacturing process, however, the fibers are woven similarly to other threaded textiles to form the suede-like outer portion that makes it so pleasant to hold. But unlike suede and other leathers, Alcantara doesn’t tarnish quite as easily — sure, it can discolor over time, but if treated well, and occasionally washed with soapy water, it should hold up nicely.

Having only pawed the Note 8’s Alcantara case for a few days, I can’t say whether it will hold up as well as a typical plastic case, but so far, so good.

Interested? You can pick up an Alcantara case for the Note 8 in one of four colors — black, green, pink, and dark gray (shown here) — for $49.

See at Amazon

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AT&T’s rural wireless internet is now available in 18 states

If you’ve been waiting for AT&T’s rural wireless internet to show up in your state, there’s now a good chance you can sign up. The telecom has launched the service in nine more states, or twice as many as it had just a few months ago. And this includes some of the most populous states in the country — California and Texas are included along with Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. AT&T says about 160,000 locations are covered (more than double what it could manage in June), and it’s reportedly still on track to serve 400,000 locations before 2017 is over.

As always, you’re not going to be blown away by the performance. You’re paying $60 per month for 10Mbps downloads and 1Mbps uploads, which doesn’t meet the FCC’s definition of broadband. However, it’s still better than the slow speeds of dial-up and entry DSL, and it’s likely to be more affordable than satellite. This is about getting reasonably fast internet in places that carriers normally won’t touch due to the relatively steep cost of wiring customers’ homes.

Source: AT&T Newsroom

LIFX Debuts New HomeKit-Enabled ‘Tile’ Modular Wall Lights

LIFX just recently introduced HomeKit support for its existing Wi-Fi connected smart bulbs, and today, the company is launching a new product with HomeKit compatibility, the LIFX Tile.

The LIFX Tile is similar to the Nanoleaf Aurora, offering a series of five 7.87-inch square plastic panels that are meant to be attached to a wall using 3M adhesive. Tile panels can be arranged in any configuration, but unlike Aurora, only five panels can be connected to a single controller.

Though only five panels can be connected, there are 64 individually addressable zones in each Tile for creating unique light patterns with multiple colors on each of the squares.

Across five panels, Tile offers 2100 lumens of light and can be set to turn any color just like LIFX bulbs. There’s also a dimming feature to control the light output.

According to LIFX, Tile is compatible with HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. Tile connects to a home setup over Wi-Fi, with no hub required to control the lights.

LIFX is charging $250 for its Tile Kit, which includes five tiles and a power pack. Pre-orders are available starting today from the LIFX website, with the product set to ship out in November.

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