NordVPN Connector for Python 3 on Debian

This project makes it easy and efficient to connect to a NordVPN server using OpenVPN and Python3 on Debian. In addition, you can create a .csv file of working VPN servers and select a desired region. Another advantage for small devices like the Raspberry Pi is that this project does not require a lot of CPU or memory resources and can be easily started from a terminal. You can automatically connect to a VPN when you start your computer and surf the internet anonymously! (NordVPN account is required!)

Contents

• Setup
• Required Python packages
• Settings
  • Connect & Rotate VPN's
  • Close VPN connection
  • UDP & TCP
  • Regional VPN's
  • Log Files
  • Verbose output
  • Get public IP
• Startup script
  • Setup script
  • Parameters
• License

Setup

1. To install OpenVPN (required!), follow the instructions by NordVPN here
2. Install dnsutils using the command:

   $ sudo apt-get install dnsutils 
   

3. Download this repository
4. Open the terminal and navigate to the downloaded directory
5. Optional: Install requirements using the command (see packages for details):

   $ pip install -r requirements.txt
   

6. Open the the file demo.py and add your NordVPN credentials on Line 18 & 19

   user="<your_email>"
   password="<your_password>"

   !For security reasons I recommend not using variables with account information in Python! Better Solution: Comment out or delete Line 25 in demo.py and add your NordVPN credentials in VPNdata/vpn_acc.txt:

   <First Line is your account mail>
   <Second Line is your account password>
   

   Internally, the program uses files and the --auth-user-pass functionality of OpenVPN to make logins as secure as possible.
7. Run the demo.py file using python 3

   $ python demo.py
   

8. When you see after some trials similar output on the terminal:

   Your IP is: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
   <VPN Server Name> VPN IP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
   

   Congratulations! You successfully connected to an NordVPN server!
9. When you only see similar output to this:

   <VPN Server Name> VPN error - IP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
   

   Please check your account name and password in Step 6. If you still have problems go back to 1.

Required Python packages

Please ensure you have installed the following Python3 packages:

• os
• subprocess
• time
• random
• warnings
• pandas
• numpy
• datetime
• argparse

Go to Setup Step 4. and 5. to install dependencies

Settings

Some additional features make this project more universal and easier to use in your Python projects.

Connect and Rotate VPN Servers

To connect to a VPN server, use the rotate_vpn() method. It will automatically try to reconnect unless you have set the parameter retry=False. You can also set the maximum number of attempts with the parameter max_trials=10. The rotate_vpn() method returns True if a connection was successful.

from VPN import *           # import VPN class
v = VPN()
v.rotate_vpn()              # selects a random VPN from all VPN's
v.rotate_vpn(retry=False)   # will only try to connect once and returns True or False
v.rotate_vpn(max_trials=10) # will try 10 times to estabilsh a connection in case of errors

if VPN().rotate_vpn():      # works as well 
    print("connected!")
VPN().close_vpn()           

Close VPN connection

To disconnect from a VPN server, use the close_vpn() method.

v = VPN()
v.rotate_vpn()  # connect to a VPN server
v.close_vpn()   # close all OpenVPN connections

UDP and TCP VPN Servers

Use the method setVPNType() to use TCP or UDP servers.

v = VPN()               # use UDP servers by default
v.setVPNType("tcp")     # use TCP servers
v.setVPNType("udp")     # use UDP servers

This project uses UDP VPN servers by default because of their fast but less reliable transmissions. Further information can be found here.

Regional VPN Servers

Use the setRegions() method to use VPN servers within a country region. To get all available regions, use the getAllRegions() method.

v = VPN()                           # create VPN object
regions=v.getAllRegions()           # returns a list of all available regions
v.setRegions(["us","de","fr"])      # "us" = USA, "de" = Germany, "fr" = France
v.setRegions("jp")                  # works with only one region. returns False when not available

To get a list of available servers within a region, use the getVPNs() method.

v = VPN(regions=["uk"])             # only use VPN servers in UK
print(v.getVPNs())                  # will print all servers in UK
print(v.getVPNs(["us","de","fr"]))  # will print all servers in the USA, Germany and France

Log Files

Initially, all log files are stored in the VPNdata subfolder as vpn_states.csv. However, if you do not want to save any logs, change the make_vpnlist parameter to False. You can also change the VPNdata subfolder and the name of the saved log file vpn_acc.txt. To store your log files and credentials in a different folder, change the folder to vpn_csvfolder="" and add your path to the files vpn_csv="/path/vpn_states.csv " and vpn_file="/path/vpn_acc2.txt ".

v = VPN(make_vpnlist=False,         # create no log file
        vpn_csvfolder="VPNdata2",   # change folder of log file
        vpn_file="vpn_acc2.txt",    # change credential information file in folder VPNdata2
        vpn_csv="vpn_states2.csv")  # change target .csv log file
v.make_vpnlist=True                 # create log file (default=True)

The .csv log file contains the list of connected VPN servers, their current status and timestamps of connection attempts as well as previous connection states.

Verbose output

By default, VPN outputs all information including the connection status on your terminal. If you want to suppress the information on the terminal, set the verbose = False parameter.

v = VPN(verbose=True)   # by default all information is printed on your terminal             
v.verbose=False         # suppress most print output

Get your public IP

To get your current public IP, use getIP().

print(VPN().getIP())    # prints your public IP as string

Startup script

To automatically connect to a VPN server when you start your PC, you can use the additional scripts provided.

Setup Script

First, check if you have argparse for Python installed. Run the connectVPN.py script.

$ python /path_to_this_repository/connectVPN.py

Your public IP will be changed now. You can check this here.

Now, open your terminal and type:

$ sudo nano /etc/rc.local

Add the following line to the file with the path to this directory:

$ python /path_to_this_repository/connectVPN.py

Save the file by pressing Ctrl + o and then press Enter. After rebooting your PC, you will be automatically connected to a VPN.

Additional Params

Additionally, you can specify a region for your VPN by passing the region argument and a desired country (here uk):

$ python /path_to_this_repository/connectVPN.py --region uk

Congratulations! You can now surf the web anonymously at startup. To disconnect you can run this simple script:

$ python /path_to_this_repository/disconnectVPN.py

You can also create executable Bash scripts on your desktop for easy use.

License

This repository is provided by Maximilian Schrapel under MIT license. For inquiries, feel free to contact me.