OpenVPN Support Forum

Is there a way to have the GUI autoconnect on startup on Windows 10? I've had a look at the documentation and can't find a way to do this.
OR Can the Windows OpenVPNService be configured to connect at startup? I got this working by adding an "auth-user-pass password.txt" line to my config file but this means I now have the username and password in the clear on my file system which doesn't seem very secure and also I now can't use the gui to connect/disconnect.

I'm running OpenVPN 2.4.5 on Windows 10.

Any help appreciated.

You are stuck "between a rock and a hard place" ..

Openvpn only reads user/pass from a clear text file ..
The GUI cannot be used if you use the service to start openvpn ..

*sigh*
Thanks for the reply. Do you know if there are any plans to improve this user experience? Is there somewhere I can request this feature?

Seems weird that a VPN, which is a good privacy/security tool, would use plaintext passwords in a file on my filesystem - it goes against everything I know about good security practices.

The new GUI will save encrypted passwords.

Also, when just using the gui alone is there a way to get it to auto-connect on startup/login?

TinCanTech wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:52 pm

The new GUI will save encrypted passwords.

Is that the GUI with the latest version?

mmilliss wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:07 pm

Is that the GUI with the latest version?

Always ..

Try: "openvpn-gui --help"

Edit: In fact all versions can auto start.

Thanks for the help but I'm running on windows and can't seem to find a way to pass the --connect command to the program using the windows services gui.

You can not use the Openvpn Service to start the Openvpn-GUI.

I'm probably highlighting my lack of windows knowledge but the GUI is running when I login, isn't this started by the windows service?

I was hoping I could just add the --connect paramater to the start command and it would just work but it doesn't seem to be this way.

Search your registry for openvpn-gui

Can I just say thanks again for your help on this, it's been much appreciated. I'll have a look when I get home tonight.

So I found this entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OpenVPNServiceInteractive and tried changing the ImagePath entry from this "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpnserv.exe"
to this "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpnserv.exe" --connect "AU Melbourne.ovpn"
but got an Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

then tried this "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpnserv.exe --connect AU Melbourne.ovpn"
but got Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified

then this "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpnserv.exe" "--connect AU Melbourne.ovpn"
but got this again Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

then this "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpnserv.exe" "--connect" "AU Melbourne.ovpn"
but got this again Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

What am I doing wrong?

See my last post ...

I searched the registry and got a hit in all these locations.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UFH\SHC
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Compatibility Assistant\Store
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\OpenVPN-GUI
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\OpenVPN_UserSetup
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1001
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1002
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1003
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1001
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1002
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\bam\UserSettings\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1003
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1001\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\UFH\SHC
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1001\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Compatibility Assistant\Store
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2742388443-2443409778-2540095943-1001\Software\OpenVPN-GUI

I found the registry entry that you have referred to. Do I just create an entry for OpenVPNGUI with this value
C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin\openvpn-gui.exe --connect "AU Melbourne.ovpn"

You probably need the full path to the .ovpn file as well.

Make .bat file and put it to startup directory.
Unfortunately, this solution only work if you don't add password on your account