How to share a VPN connection over Wi-Fi on Windows 10

This article will show how you can share a VPN connection over Wi-Fi on Windows 10.

Step 1: Check on available networks

Make sure you have a wireless device running, such as a built in interface or an external USB wireless adapter. Also the respective device needs to support hosted networks. To check on the latter do as follows:

1. Press the 'Windows' button on your keyboard and type in 'cmd'.
2. Right click on the result list entry called 'Command Prompt' and choose the entry 'Run as administrator'
3. In the command prompt window type in netsh wlan show drivers and press 'Enter'. Depending on the result do the following: 
• If the generated output says 'No wireless interface found' or similar you don't have a built in Wi-Fi card or haven't inserted your USB wireless adapter yet. Insert a card or an external adapter and repeat the test.
• If it shows 'Hosted network supported: No' your device doesn't apply to the minimum system requirements. Add a compatible card or adapter and repeat the test.
• If it shows 'Hosted network supported: Yes' you can continue with step 2.

Step 2: Create and start a wireless hosted network

Think about how to name your shared network and what password you want people to enter when connecting to your connection: The SSID is the name your wireless network can be identified with, while the SSID key is the pass phrase (with at least 8 characters) you want users to type in.

To specify the credentials enter this command in the Command prompt window:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=YourSSID key=YourPassphrase

Please add your own SSID and key and press 'Enter'.

Activate the newly created hosted network by typing:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Step 3: Start CyberGhost VPN

Now select the CyberGhost VPN Network Adapter. The VPN protocol used to establish the connection will determine the network adapter's name:

• Wintun Tunnel (if OpenVPN is used) 
• WAN Miniport (if IKEv2 is used)
• WireGuard Tunnel (if WireGuard is used)

Step 4: Share your VPN Internet connection via the hosted network

After creating and starting your hosted network and establishing a CyberGhost connection you need to bind the VPN connection to the hosted network and make it accessible to wireless capable devices. For that you use the 'Internet Connection Sharing' feature of the Windows 10 host system.

1. Press 'Windows + X' on your keyboard and select 'network connections'.
   
2. Right click on the running and connected CyberGhost Network Adapter. In this example, you'll see the OpenVPN-based Wintun Adapter.
   
   
3. Choose the entry 'Properties'.
4. Click on the tab 'Sharing'.
5. Activate the option 'Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection'.
6. Choose the 'Microsoft Hosted Virtual Adapter' from the drop-down menu called 'Home networking connection'. It's usually labeled as 'LAN Connection* XX' whereas 'XX' responds to the number given to that network adapter, which has the SSID given to the hosted network created by you.
7. Click 'OK' to finish.
    

If you see just a text field (seems to be a Windows bug), close the 'Sharing' tab, click on 'OK' and repeat the sharing process.

Step 5: Connect devices to your hosted network

Now that your hosted network is created, activated and ready to be shared hand over the credentials to those you want to share your CyberGhost VPN connection with and tell them to do the following:

1. Search for new networks on the respective device.
2. Tap on the Wi-Fi network with the name given by you, in this example it's 'SSIDvpn'.
3. Enter the password given to this network, in this example it's 'SSIDvpnxxx'.
4. Tap on 'Connect'.

Note: CyberGhost VPN creates the network adapters only during a successful connection. Disconnecting from the app will delete the configuration.

Need assistance? Contact our Customer Support team:

• via email at support@cyberghost.ro 
• via online request at https://support.cyberghostvpn.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 
• via 24/7 Live Chat by clicking the Support button below