Create and join VPN networks on your Linux machine with Hamachi

Jack Wallen
Jan 10, 2011
Updated • Dec 11, 2012
Linux
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11

If you are looking for a VPN solution for your Linux machine or network you have more than likely examined such solutions as OpenVPN. Many of the Linux VPN solutions require complex, time consuming set ups that can drive the new user crazy. Fortunately there are other solutions that do not require extensive knowledge of the Linux operating system or network configurations.

One such option is Hamachi. Hamachi is a zero-configuration virtual private network tool that allows you to set up a VPN between machines without having to go through the complex setup of the server itself. Instead Hamachi relies on the Logmein Hamachi servers to aid with the Peer to Peer connection. As for the user...all they need to do is install the tool and create their network. Let's see how this is done.

Installation

I am going to show how this is done on a Ubuntu 10.10 desktop. Hamachi can be downloaded installed on other distributions, but let's stick with one here for simplicity.

The first step is download the proper file. You will find a .deb file for this tool here. Download that file to your ~/Downloads directory and get ready to install.

In order to install follow these steps:

  1. Open up your file manager (most likely Nautilus.)
  2. Navigate to the ~/Downloads directory.
  3. Locate the hamachi-gui-XXX.aaa.deb (Where XXX is the release number and aaa is the architecture.)
  4. Double click on the .deb file.
  5. When prompted, enter your sudo password to allow the installation to continue.
  6. Let the installation complete.
  7. Delete the .deb (optional) and close Nautilus.

Usage

Figure 1

To start the Hamachi GUI click Applications > Internet > hamachi-gui. This will open up the tools main window (see Figure 1). If you already know the VPN you need to join all you have to do is click the "triangle" button at the bottom of the main window. This will open up a new window that allows you to either create or join a VPN network. Let's create a VPN network.

Click the "triangle" button and, in the resulting window, click the Create Network button. In this new window (see Figure 2) there are only two pieces of information you need to add:

Figure 2

Name: name of your VPN

Password: Password to protect your VPN from unwanted users.

After you enter that information, click the Create button. The network will be instantly created and your machine will be automatically joined.

If you want to join a different network (or one you've previously created), you simply click the same triangle button you clicked to create the network, only you click the Join Network button next. When you click that button it will prompt you enter the credentials for the VPN. Upon successful authentication your machine will be a part of that VPN.

You can have as many VPN networks listed on your Hamachi client as you want. You want to pay close attention to which networks you are joined to. If a particular network has a green dot to the left of its name - you are connected to that network. To leave or join a network you simply need to right-click that network and select Change Status.

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Comments

  1. david said on March 2, 2012 at 10:09 pm
    Reply

    Confused has probably learned the answer by now but here it is. There IS a root user on Ubuntu, but by default root has no password therefore you cannot log on as root, nor su to root. But you don’t need to! Just use sudo for each individual command that needs superuser privileges, and reply with YOUR OWN password when it prompts. This works if you are the typical case, i.e., you installed Ubuntu yourself on a (probably) single user system on a PC clone.

  2. jasray said on August 17, 2011 at 6:17 pm
    Reply

    http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/install-hamachi2-and-haguichi-gui-for.html

    I recently used the link above for an install on 11.04. Works fine.

  3. confused said on August 17, 2011 at 5:20 pm
    Reply

    i tried this, im a newbie to linux, im trying to run hamachi on the september pc users useros server 11.04 (based on ubuntu 11.04) however i am having issues authorising tuncfg. as far as i am aware there is no root user on ubuntu, so i tried terminal commanding my user with sudo su, but it keeps asking for my su password. is anyone here able to help?

  4. proxymoo said on January 13, 2011 at 12:58 pm
    Reply

    Never been able to get a success with hamachi before…I’ll try your guide first and I hope it works

    thanks b4

  5. mxyzptlk said on January 11, 2011 at 4:05 am
    Reply

    There’s a far newer gui app for Hamachi on Linux that’s just as powerful and has its own launchpad ppa, Haguichi. It integrates with your GTK desktop and is up to date with the latest Linux version of Hamachi, Hamachi2, and also works with the older one that’s still available (the one that worked with hamachi-gui).

    http://www.haguichi.net/

    https://launchpad.net/haguichi

    Usernot’s right; when LogMeIn wasn’t sure what it was going to do with Hamachi, the hamachi-gui developer stopped doing any more development — there was no point in developing for something that was in perpetual limbo. (I was in contact with him for a while about this.)

    LogMeIn finally decided what it was doing with Hamachi a few months back — at least with the Linux and Mac versions — which meant development could begin again. But I think app rigor mortis had already set in for hamachi-gui by that point.

    Hamachi-gui was a solid application, but I don’t think it would work with Hamachi2, and it was meant to look like the regular Windows version of Hamachi, all black, so it didn’t integrate into a GTK desktop.

    Hope that helps.

    1. mxyzptlk said on January 11, 2011 at 4:08 am
      Reply

      Just realized that my post sounded like I work for Haguichi. Not so; I’ve just used Hamachi for years to have access-at-a-distance with my parents’ computers and for work. I just really liked the application, was disappointed with what happened after it was bought, and am a bit unsure of it at this point, at least with Hamachi2.

      But I just set it up on my dad’s machine over the holidays, and have been using it to help him from half a continent away for a month now.

  6. jasray said on January 11, 2011 at 2:38 am
    Reply

    Hamachi2 for Linux took a while to come out, so many of us sought an alternative which works fine:

    http://www.remobo.com/

    Before Hamachi2, however, Hamachi could still be used with Linux; however, one had to work with the command line and install a couple of dependencies.

  7. Usernot said on January 10, 2011 at 11:07 pm
    Reply

    I am not inspired to use something last updated in 2008……….
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/hamachi-gui/files/hamachi-gui/0.9.6/

    1. Martin said on January 10, 2011 at 11:47 pm
      Reply

      Hamachi was bought and is now available here https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi2/ (still free)

  8. Cassy said on January 10, 2011 at 11:04 pm
    Reply

    TeamViewer.com offers something similar and appears to have considerable resources for research and development. It is free for non commercial use
    http://www.teamviewer.com/download/index.aspx

    and a portable linux version can be found at:
    http://www.portablelinuxapps.org/

    It is cross platform Win/Mac/Linux/Mobile and very easy to set up and use and it’s level of security has been independently assessed. http://www.teamviewer.com/products/security.aspx

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