VPN for a Cruise Ship

[MTNestr]

WIFI connections are insecure (and expensive) on Cruise Ships. Each device connected to the ship’s WIFI can cost $20 per day. In order to securely connect more than 1 device at a time I plan to use a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to connect to the ship’s WIFI and use that WIFI connection to create a Secure WIFI Hotspot to connect other devices. I’m trying to understand how and where to setup a VPN. My home router is a ASUS ZenWIFI Pro XT 12. I have setup an OpenVPN Server on my Asus Router. Also, under the VPN Fusion tab I have setup a Surf Shark VPN connection.

1. Do I need a VPN on the S7 Edge. I will use it only as a WIFI Hotspot. It’s SSID will be hidden and have a password.
2. What type of VPN do I need to protect my other devices (iPhone and 2 iPads) that I connect to the S7 Edge hotspot? Could I just use the OpenVPN server on my home router to create a tunnel between my iPad that I use on the ship and my home router?

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @MTNestr.

That's the wrong way to do it. Many variables and insecurities there.

Look for a WISP-capable router (with battery) instead.

 

[RMerlin]

If you have a Surf Shark subscription then configure it on your mobile devices. That will be the simplest and fastest way to handle it. Check first how many clients are allowed to connect with your subscription.

 

[MTNestr]

Welcome to the forums @MTNestr.

That's the wrong way to do it. Many variables and insecurities there.

Look for a WISP-capable router (with battery) instead.

I don’t think I can use a router because to sign-in to the ship’s wifi I need more than a user-id and password. I need to supply several pieces of imformation.

 

[Bitrudeuk]

Plus you would only need a tunnel to home, if you want to access something on your home network? I have a home server set up, so I can access my NAS securely whilst away.

And like RMerlin says, just connect each device to their own SurfShark connection. Use that for surfing etc and the OpenVPN server connection if you want to "call home"!

 

[L&LD]

Sign in. Then use the WISP router.

 

[MTNestr]

If you have a Surf Shark subscription then configure it on your mobile devices. That will be the simplest and fastest way to handle it. Check first how many clients are allowed to connect with your subscription.

So setup a Surf Shark VPN on each device that I connect to my S7 Edge Hotspot? Would the S7 Edge need a VPN

 

[cptnoblivious]

Set up the hotspot, then install Surfshark on each device. Surfshark has unlimited clients as part of your subscription, so you shouldn't run into limits.

That's how I use my hotspot when out, works fine (and I use Surfshark for my VPN). Your hotspot does not need to be connected to Surfshark, just the endpoints you're browsing from.

 

[MTNestr]

Thanks everyone for the help!!!!

 

[sfx2000]

WIFI connections are insecure (and expensive) on Cruise Ships. Each device connected to the ship’s WIFI can cost $20 per day. In order to securely connect more than 1 device at a time I plan to use a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to connect to the ship’s WIFI and use that WIFI connection to create a Secure WIFI Hotspot to connect other devices. I’m trying to understand how and where to setup a VPN. My home router is a ASUS ZenWIFI Pro XT 12. I have setup an OpenVPN Server on my Asus Router. Also, under the VPN Fusion tab I have setup a Surf Shark VPN connection.

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[MTNestr]

Get a travel router - GL-Inet makes devices that do just what you're looking to do...

GL-AXT1800 / Slate AX

Slate AX (GL-AXT1800) is our first Wi-Fi 6 travel router comes with 1800Mbps combined wireless speed. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive latest product update!

www.gl-inet.com

Supports WISP/WiFi Client, has good performance on OpenVPN and Wireguard, and has AdGuard built in...

If I use a Travel Router will the cruise ship be able to see that a travel router is connected to their internet instead of a phone or tablet? (When I look at the connected devices on my home router it shows what type of device is associated with each ip address.)

 

[sfx2000]

If I use a Travel Router will the cruise ship be able to see that a travel router is connected to their internet instead of a phone or tablet? (When I look at the connected devices on my home router it shows what type of device is associated with each ip address.)

You can clone the MAC address of an attached device and use that