How to be connected to multiple VPNs on Windows with OpenVPN

Multiple times I came across situation when I needed to be connected to multiple VPNs on Windows. I’m using OpenVPN Client and by default it lets you connect only to one VPN at a time which is not very convenient. Using VPN on Linux is a treat as it is able to create and destroy network interfaces as it needs it. That’s not case of Windows’s OpenVPN. However there is a way.

OpenVPN client by default contains in its installer Tap-windows which is used to install one (default) TAP adapter. It is then used for handling VPN connection. When you try to connect to second VPN, there is no adapter to handle it and it ends up in error.

For some reason OpenVPN client installer doesn’t keep Tap-windows for further use and removes it after installation. There are two ways of obtaining it:

Once you have it, install it. If there is possibility to check “TAP Utilities”, do so. You can then find the tool for adapter generation via start menu. It’s in All Programs - TAP-Windows - Utilities - Add a new TAP virtual ethernet adapter and you have to run it with administrator rights.

After each run new ethernet TAP adapter is created. You can check it in your network settings. When you try to connect to second VPN now, it will go through. You can then see which two adapters are being used for your VPNs.

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