Wireguard VPN configuration in 5 minutes!

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Manuel Saks

It's always more secure to connect with VPN when using RDP or SSH. Perhaps you want to access some services that are on a server from your laptop without exposing them to the public network.

You'll see how simple it is with Wireguard!

Before you proceed:

  • Configs for Windows and Linux are pretty much the same.

  • You can download Wireguard from here: wireguard.com/install.

  • Install it on both sides. In this article, we will use names Server and Station (for example your laptop).

  • I showed examples where the Server and Station run on the same OS, but they can be combined.

  • We will use the default 51820/udp port so make sure that it's opened on your server.

Windows

  1. [Server] [Station] Open Wireguard and choose "Add empty tunnel..."

    image.png

    It'll automatically generate the Public and the Private key.

WARNING! Don't use the keys from this article!

  1. [Server] Auto-generated keys example:

    • PublicKey: TwmGRV4TDmXrkHeNTJn2CXVi+lkOIyWcWDsLwi98A2Y=

    • PrivateKey: kCDhb+rNp+mpRcuJ5KTn09eauqdhbrkb84VX91DWClE=

  2. [Station] Auto-generated keys example:

    • PublicKey: aYV0p1OSm3apQqEUwd7UzUObsq7coA+u0ka2mNDpYHU=

    • PrivateKey: 4Aj5+5rHJM0QL7dv9R85prVqEZuC6SCJvE31oGBdLGY=

  3. [Server] Config:

     [Interface]
 # the auto generated private key:
 PrivateKey = kCDhb+rNp+mpRcuJ5KTn09eauqdhbrkb84VX91DWClE=
 # the port that will be used for VPN tunnel:
 ListenPort = 51820
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 Address = 10.0.0.1/32

 [Peer]
 # put here the public key from the Station:
 PublicKey = aYV0p1OSm3apQqEUwd7UzUObsq7coA+u0ka2mNDpYHU=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32

  4. **[Station] **Config:

     [Interface]
 # the auto generated private key:
 PrivateKey = 4Aj5+5rHJM0QL7dv9R85prVqEZuC6SCJvE31oGBdLGY=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 Address = 10.0.0.2/32

 [Peer]
 # put here the public key from the Server:
 PublicKey = TwmGRV4TDmXrkHeNTJn2CXVi+lkOIyWcWDsLwi98A2Y=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.1/32
 # replace the 1.2.3.4 with the public IP of the Server:
 Endpoint = 1.2.3.4:51820

  5. [Server] [Station] Set names, save and activate them on both sides!

  6. [Station] Now you should be able to reach exposed server services using 10.0.0.1 IP from the Station!

Linux Debian 11

  1. [Server] [Station] Open your favorite CLI and go to /etc/wireguard directory.

  2. [Server] [Station] To generate keys run the following command:

     wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey

WARNING! Don't use the keys from this article!

  1. [Server] Auto-generated keys example:

    • PublicKey: TwmGRV4TDmXrkHeNTJn2CXVi+lkOIyWcWDsLwi98A2Y=

    • PrivateKey: kCDhb+rNp+mpRcuJ5KTn09eauqdhbrkb84VX91DWClE=

  2. [Station] Auto-generated keys example:

    • PublicKey: aYV0p1OSm3apQqEUwd7UzUObsq7coA+u0ka2mNDpYHU=

    • PrivateKey: 4Aj5+5rHJM0QL7dv9R85prVqEZuC6SCJvE31oGBdLGY=

  3. [Server] Create a /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf file with contents:

     [Interface]
 # the auto generated private key:
 PrivateKey = kCDhb+rNp+mpRcuJ5KTn09eauqdhbrkb84VX91DWClE=
 # the port that will be used for VPN tunnel:
 ListenPort = 51820
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 Address = 10.0.0.1/32

 [Peer]
 # put here the public key from the Station:
 PublicKey = aYV0p1OSm3apQqEUwd7UzUObsq7coA+u0ka2mNDpYHU=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32

  4. [Station] Create a /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf file with contents:

     [Interface]
 # the auto generated private key:
 PrivateKey = 4Aj5+5rHJM0QL7dv9R85prVqEZuC6SCJvE31oGBdLGY=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 Address = 10.0.0.2/32
 # enable ipv4 forwarding
 PreUp = sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1    

 [Peer]
 # put here the public key from the Server:
 PublicKey = TwmGRV4TDmXrkHeNTJn2CXVi+lkOIyWcWDsLwi98A2Y=
 # the Server IP for VPN tunnel, you can leave it as it is:
 AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.1/32
 # replace the 1.2.3.4 with the public IP of the Server:
 Endpoint = 1.2.3.4:51820

  5. [Server] [Station] After saving changes run the following command to start the tunnel:

     wg-quick up /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf

  6. [Station] Now you should be able to reach exposed server services using 10.0.0.1 IP from the Station!

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