Configuring a VPN Connection

To configure the settings of a connection that you have already created, open its Properties dialog box by doing one of the following:

• Click the networking icon in the system tray to display the View Available Networks (VAN) UI and then right-click the connection and select Properties.
• Open Network And Sharing Center, click Change Adapter Settings, and then right-click the connection and select Properties.
• At a command prompt or in the Search box on the Start menu, type ncpa.cpl, press Enter, and then right-click the connection and select Properties.

The properties sheet for configuring a VPN connection has five tabs:

• General Specifies the host name or IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) of the remote VPN server and whether to use another connection first to establish Internet connectivity before initiating the VPN connection.
• Options Specifies dialing options, redialing options, and PPP settings.
• Security Specifies authentication and data encryption settings.
• Networking Specifies the tunneling protocol(s) used (PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, or Automatic), IP address settings (static or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol [DHCP]), and IPsec settings (for L2TP/IPsec-based connections only).
• Sharing Enables Internet Connection Sharing for the connection and specifies whether to dial another connection to establish Internet connectivity before initiating this connection.

For more information about configuring connection properties, use Help And Support. Some specific configuration options, focusing on differences with connection properties in Windows Vista, are discussed in the next section.