Windows 7 is the most popular Windows used today, even though 2 versions were released after it, yet it still remains the most commonly version of Windows world wide. Users consider it the most stable Windows to come out since Windows XP. Unfortunately, when it comes to browsing the internet, Windows 7 is not as secure as the newer versions (Windows 8, 8.1, and 10). For this reason additional measures have to be taken by the users to protect their online security, online privacy, and online freedom. These measures come in the form of securing yourself by acquiring a reliable VPN service. VPNs support multiple security protocols and you can either download the VPN application (if available) and enjoy all its pre-configured protocols, or manually configure your preferred protocol on your Windows 7 device. One of the highly recommended security protocols is the Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol or SSTP. In this tutorial we will be guiding you, step-by-step, on how to manually configure a VPN’s SSTP connection on your Windows 7 device.
1- From the taskbar click to open the “Start Menu”
2- From the “Start Menu” click to open the “Control Panel”
3- In the “Control Panel” window, select “Network and Sharing Center”
4- Under “Change your network settings”, click on “Setup a new connection or network”
5- Select “Connect to a workplace”
6- Select “Use my internet connection (VPN)”
7- In the field labeled “Internet address” type in the IP address or hostname of the server you want to connect to (you can find this in he VPN provider’s website, usually in your account’s page, and make sure the server supports SSTP)
8- In the field labeled “Destination name”, type in the name you prefer to give the connection or the name your VPN provider recommends
9- Click on the checkbox labeled “Don’t connect now; just set it up so I can connect later”
10- Click on “Next”
11- In the fields labeled “Username” and “Password” type in your VPN credentials (These are the credentials you got with your VPN account)
12- Click on “Create”
13- A screen will appear to give you the option to connect now, click on “Close”
14- Back in the “Network and Sharing” page, click on “Connect to a network”
15- In the “Connect to a network” window, right click on the connection you created and select “Properties”
16- At the top of the “Properties” window select the “Security” tab
17- Click to open the drop down menu labeled “Type of VPN” and select “Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP)”
18- Click to open the drop down menu labeled “Data encryption” and select “Require encryption (disconnect if server declines)”
19- Click on “Ok”
20- Back in the “Properties” window, click to open the “Networking” tab at the top
21- In the section labeled “This connection uses the following items”, make sure that the checkboxes labeled “Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and “Client for Microsoft Networks” are checked and the rest are unchecked
22- Click on “OK”
Now you can simply connect to your SSTP connection from the connection icon in the Notification area in the taskbar.
There might be a lot of steps in order to setup and connect to a VPN’s SSTP connection, however in reality it is easier. In addition to that a few steps to secure your entire internet connection is surely worth it.
