How to configure OpenVPN for Kodi on a Linux device

Please note:

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that, although the technical process is as thoroughly documented as possible, you need to have at least some technical understanding. There's always a chance for an overseen mistake and/or things have changed and the article is not updated yet. 

Preparations

If you use a Kodi Media Center based on a Linux distribution other than OpenELEC/LibreELEC, OSMC, etc. (such as Ubuntu) you need to install OpenVPN first and make sure the command 'killall' is available. Usually, you do this by the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openvpn
sudo apt-get install psmisc

You might have a different Linux installation running, with different steps to take, but they should at least be similar. Below you will find an example of how to install OpenVPN for Linux Mint, others can be seen here in the 'CyberGhost for Linux' section.

Step 1: Configure an OpenVPN connection

1. Visit your CyberGhost VPN online account and login with your CyberGhost Username and Password.

2. Click on section 'VPN' from the left-side menu, scroll down the page and click 'Configure Device'.

3. Each server has a configuration file that you will need to create in order to connect to the VPN server. You can download all the configuration files after creating them.

Choose OpenVPN and your preferred Country and Server Group, as described below.

Also, type in a Device name to assign to your device, then configure the parameters for the new device.

• Country: Since native protocol connections may only be used with exactly one server you now have to choose the country you want to surf from; the server to be used in this country will be chosen by CyberGhost automatically.
• Server group: Choose the server group and the OpenVPN protocol (UDP or TCP) you want to use:
  UDP allows higher speed than the TCP version but can result in broken downloads in some cases. This is the default setting.
  TCP allows more stable connections than the UDP version but is a bit slower. Choose this version, if you have recurrent connection issues such as sudden disconnections.

Once the desired parameters are chosen, save them with « Save Configuration »

To view the OpenVPN credentials that are generated for you on the configuration dashboard, press 'View Configuration'. 

Once the new page is opened, your connection credentials are generated for you but make note of the following information:

• Server group: This is the address of the country (server) you want to be connected with, e.g. '12345-1-ca.cg-dialup.net'. Note This address changes with every country you have chosen in the step before. The actual single server to be used will be chosen automatically by CyberGhost.
• User name: A solely for this protocol generated user name. This is NOT your regular CyberGhost account user name, it's used only to authenticate with our servers via Manual Configurations.
• Password (you need to check the "Show Password" option in order to see it): A solely for protocol usage generated password. This is NOT your regular CyberGhost account Password, it's used only to authenticate with our servers via Manual Configurations.
• Pre-Shared Key

Click on 'Download Configuration' (if the automatic download has not started) and download the config file to your Mac. It's recommended that you create a special folder for the config, somewhere accessible like your Desktop, and Extract / Copy the contents of the .zip file there. 

Now, the saved config is a ZIP file, which contains the following single files:

• ca.crt: This is the certificate of the certification authority
  
• client.crt: This is the user certification file 
• client.key: This is your private key file
• openvpn.ovpn: This is your OpenVPN configuration file

If you need to change the country you connect to, you must re-configure the location to use in your account management and download the new zipped config file.

Step 2

Install OpenVPN and the network manager on Linux.

For that click on 'Menu > All Applications > Software Manager' and type in the search field (in the upper right corner) 'OpenVPN'. Install the following programs with a double click:

openvpn

network-manager-openvpn gnome

network-manager-openvpn

To make sure that already installed components are up to date, open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo apt-get install openvpn
sudo apt-get install openvpn bridge-utils
sudo apt-get install network-manager-openvpn network-manager-openvpn-gnome
sudo apt-get install psmisc

Log out and in again or restart your computer or open a terminal and type in the following command:

sudo restart network-manager 

Step 3: Get VPN Manager for OpenVPN and copy files

Download the complete repository for the Kodi VPN Manager (so the VPN Manager will be updated properly if a new version is published) and leave it unzipped, while the zipped configuration file should be unzipped to an external drive or a folder accessible from within Kodi. 

Step 4: Install VPN Manager for OpenVPN 

Start Kodi, move to the add-on section, and click on 'Install from zip file'. Select the path to the folder where you copied the repository, mark it, and click 'OK'.

After the repository gets installed, click on 'Install from repository', choose the 'Zomboided Add-on Repository', click on 'Services', then on 'VPN Manager for OpenVPN' and lastly, click 'Install'.

Step 5: Configure VPN Manager for OpenVPN

 After the installation move to 'My add-ons' and open the entry called 'Services':

 

Open 'VPN Manager for OpenVPN' and click on 'Configure'. You can use the Wizard or do it manually as we do it here (although the steps are the same). In the tab 'VPN Configuration' choose 'CyberGhost' as the 'VPN Provider' and enter the user name and the password you noted in step 1. DO NOT use your regular CyberGhost credentials.

Click 'OK' and select the connection profile, which fits your subscription: 'Premium and Premium Plus Account' or 'Promo Account':

For the next step, we will need the unzipped files from the configuration file you saved somewhere on your device.

Click on 'OK' and then select the user certificate ('client.crt') and the user key ('client.key'). Once done, the VPN Manager will connect to your first VPN. If not, click on the 'VPN connection' tab and start your 'first connection' (which is highlighted).