Can’t connect to a VPS(Virtual Private Server) which has VPN such as HideMyAss running through Microsoft Remote Desktop? The reason is simple: After a VPN connection is established, IP address of the VPN server becomes the IP address of the remote computer.
Because the IP on the remote machine/VPS has changed, connecting to he original IP address will not work. Now you know why you can’t connect, but how to circumvent this problem?
One solution is to use Dynamic DNS (DDNS). DDNS is a method of updating a domain name whenever IP changes. Thus the domain name always points to the current IP address. To connect to the VPS or remote computer that is running HideMyAss, you connect to it using its domain name setup by DDNS.
Though there are many DDNS services you can choose from, my favorite is FreeDNS. FreeDNS is free and very reliable. Here are the steps of setting up the Dynamic DNS using FreeDNS service.
- Create an account at FreeDNS
- Once you logged in, create a dynamic DNS record by clicking “Dynamic DNS”
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To setup a Dynamic DNS record, see the diagram below:
- In the Subdomain field, choose a name that is easy to remember: eg: your business name or brand name
- In the Destination field, type in the IP address of your VPS or remote machine
- Download and setup Dynamic DNS Clients on the remote machine or VPS.
After following the above instructions, you should be able to use Remote Desktop to connect to the computer running HideMyAss.
Let me know if you have any questions and Thanks for reading.
Photo credit: Mule at None Sutch Farm by mtsofan
