Free Public VPN Access: VPN Gate

VPN Gate provides free access to a large network of volunteer operated VPN servers. In a failed attempt to enforce censorship, certain countries have blocked direct access to the VPN Gate server directory. In response, this page provides links to the latest VPN Gate mirror sites. Direct downloads of VPN Gate's OpenVPN server files is also available here.

VPN Gate Mirror Sites

Shortly after going live, VPN Gate was blocked by Chinese, Iranian, and a few other governments. No problem! VPN Gate is available via mirror sites, which are regularly changed in order to evade blocking. Below is a regularly updated list of the mirrors. Use these to get fresh VPN server addresses as the older ones are blocked!

VPN Gate L2TP/IPSEC Servers

VPN Gate's L2TP / IPSEC servers are listed below, and can enable connectivity if the more secure OpenVPN servers are blocked. These are operated in fewer numbers, but the small number of servers stay online for weeks at a time.

VPN Gate OpenVPN Configs

VPN Gate OpenVPN servers are blocked by censors within minutes of going online. Therefore, we have stopped coverage of servers using the OpenVPN protocol. Coverage may resume if effective obfuscation methods are implemented by the developers of OpenVPN.

VPN Gate users in China should consider these hints to save time and connect more easily:

• Subscribe to the VPN Gate mirror emails. The main website is blocked, and email is a good way to get access to fresh server lists.
• OpenVPN servers, without protocol obfuscation, will be accessible for merely a minutes from within China. Until the developers implement effective obfuscation methods, forget about OpenVPN.
• L2TP/IPSec servers seem to last longer, but may possibly be compromised by the Chinese censors.
• Find working servers by pinging the server's IP address before trying to connect. If the server responds, it is accessible for VPN service.
• Be flexible and attempt to connect through different countries. Servers in the USA, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom are top targets for blocking. Results are best for servers in non-English speaking countries.
• Never ever quit. Never surrender to the Golden Shield Project; it will fail.

VPN Gate is a good system for circumventing internet censorship. It is evolving as censorship evolves, and really leaves no alternative to censoring countries except to disconnect from the global network. Beware, as China, North Korea, Iran, and Syria appear to be moving in that direction. That will be their loss as the rest of the world moves onward.