Windows 7 Openvpn GUI, admin with no access to network shares

[sogoodtobe]

Hi there,


been troubleshooting that damn Windows 7 for a while, and I thought you might have some ideas here.

I have installed Openvpn with the admin rights.

When launched with user rights, it connects but cannot establish routes (command requires admin), therefore no traffic is routed.

When launched with admin rights, it cannot access the key files located under a network share (established with user rights). I checked that by running a prompt with admin rights and trying to dir those shares.


I wonder what is this so-called admin level when it cannot see what normal users see. Anyone has any idea there? I'm not willing to run separate additional bat files, there must be a way to have Windows do what you tell him

J.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're encountering a common issue with permissions and elevation levels on Windows 7 while using OpenVPN. Here's a breakdown of the situation and some potential solutions:

1. User Rights Connectivity Issue:
   • When you launch OpenVPN with user rights, it connects but cannot establish routes because the command to do so requires admin rights. This is because modifying network routes typically requires administrative privileges.
   []Admin Rights File Access Issue:
   • When you run OpenVPN with admin rights, it cannot access key files located under a network share that was established with user rights. This is due to the separation of user contexts in Windows between standard users and administrators.

     Possible Solutions:​

   []Run OpenVPN with Elevated Privileges:
   • One approach is to run OpenVPN with elevated privileges directly. You might consider creating a shortcut to the OpenVPN executable and configuring it to always run with administrative privileges. This can be set in the Properties of the shortcut under the Compatibility tab.
   []Grant Permissions Appropriately:
   • Ensure that the user account running OpenVPN has the necessary permissions to access the network share where the key files are located. You may need to adjust the permissions on the network share to allow the account running OpenVPN to access the key files.
   []Use Credential Manager:
   • Another option is to store the credentials for accessing the network share in Windows Credential Manager. This way, OpenVPN can access the share without explicitly requiring the credentials to be entered each time.
2. Group Policy or UAC Settings:
   • Check if there are any Group Policy settings or User Account Control (UAC) settings that might be affecting the behavior of OpenVPN. Adjusting these settings could potentially resolve the permission issues. By ensuring that OpenVPN is run with the appropriate permissions and that the necessary network share access is granted, you should be able to overcome these issues. Windows 7's security mechanisms can sometimes create these hurdles, but with the right configurations and adjustments, you can achieve the desired connectivity without needing to resort to additional batch files.