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How to share a VPN connection through Windows using an Ethernet cable

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In this article, you will learn how to share the VPN connection from your Windows computer.

To follow along, you will need a Windows computer, an Ethernet cable, Surfshark VPN for Windows app, and an active Surfshark VPN subscription, which you can purchase on our pricing page.

NOTE: If you are connected to the internet via an Ethernet cable, your computer must have 2 Ethernet ports to plug in a second Ethernet cable.

This guide will show you the following:

  1. Navigate to DCO adapters settings
  2. Configure the VPN adapter
  3. Connect to the VPN
  4. Share the VPN connection

 

Navigate to DCO adapter settings

  1.  First, open the search bar, look for Control Panel, and click on it.


  2. In the Control Panel settings page, under Network and Internet, click on View network status and tasks.


  3. In the next window on the left side, you will find a setting to Change adapter options. Click on it.


  4. A window with all network adapters installed on your device will show up. 


    The 1st adapter is the Wi-Fi adapter that allows you to connect to a Wi-Fi network. If you are connected to the internet via an Ethernet cable, your first network adapter should be Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi.

    The 2nd adapter is the Surfshark Data Channel Offload adapter, or the DCO adapter for short.

    Keep this window open and proceed to the next step. 

 

Configure the VPN adapter

 

  1. Right-click the Surfshark DCO adapter and go to Properties.


  2. In the pop-up window, go to the Sharing section. Check the first box (Allow other network users to...). Then, choose Ethernet from the drop-down menu. Finally, click OK.
     

 

Connect to the VPN

 

Everything is in place now. The last thing you need to do now is to connect to the VPN. All previous network adapter configurations will remain, and you can use them anytime without repeating the setup process.

  1. Launch your Surfshark app. Go to Settings -> VPN Settings -> Protocol and change the default protocol to OpenVPN (UDP).


  2. Connect to your preferred location.

 

 

Share the VPN connection

  1. Connect the Ethernet cable from your Windows PC to any other device you want to provide with a VPN connection (your Smart TV, gaming console, etc.).

  2. To change the VPN location on the device connected to your computer,  simply use the Surfshark app on your Windows computer and change the location there.

 



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