Client config: how to exclude traffic from a specified .EXE?

[Guilio]

Hello all,

Pretty much what the titles says.. I'm using the latest version of OpenVPN on Windows 8.1 to connect to a VPN provider using their client config file. However, I would like a few programs to directly connect to the internet and thereby bypassing the VPN.

How do I do this? It is obvious the only thing I can edit from my side is the client config file so I was hoping it can be done from in there. Alternatively I could settle for the port(s) these programs use if excluding a .EXE is not going to work.

Thanks a lot,

G

[maikcat]

in linux you can setup policy based routing to route specific ports over specific gateways

in windows you will have to google and see if something relevant comes up...

Michael.

[Guilio]

So far the only workaround Ive been able to come up with is using

route destinationname 255.255.255.255 net_gateway

Downside of this is that as soon as the destination to which the programs I would like to exclude changes, I have to manually edit the client config. I know the VPN manager from Astrill is based on OpenVPN and supports filtering. Hence I was under the assumption it could also be done from within the vanilla OpenVPN manager..

[maikcat]

the route type solution does nothing more that creating static routes to specific hosts,
not redirecting traffic based on port/proto combo or by specific exe process,

VPN manager from Astrill is based on OpenVPN and supports filtering

I am not aware of their manager, what exactly do you mean by filtering?

openvpn operates as layer2/3 and does NOT perform any type of filtering...

Michael.

[Guilio]

Their GUI offers filter options such as excluding traffic to/from specific .EXEs running on the client's PC from the VPN and having those .EXEs connect to whatever it is they connect to directly.

Anyway, it looks like if I want to exclude certain traffic from going through the VPN I have to do it like I described earlier: knowing the external name/IP the program connects to and entering those in the route command in the client config.