Frequently Asked Questions

  • I have a problem connecting to VPN, what should I do?
    1. Make sure you have entered correct username and password. Most common connection issues are caused by the incorrectly copied or typed username and password. The website account credentials are also often confused with VPN username and password.
    2. Pay attention to your system errors. Often the careful reading of messages leads you to prevent or fix the problem.
    3. Verify your antivirus or firewall settings. In some cases these security programs are blocking the connection.
    4. If the problem persists you can anytime sign in to your account on our website and submit a support ticket. Within 12 hours, you will receive an answer.
  • I have a problem connecting to Smart DNS, what should I do?

    If you are using our app, make sure you enter correct SmartyDNS Key. Be aware that most common connection problems are caused by the incorrectly copied or typed key.

    If you are setting up Smart DNS manually, check if your IP address is validated. To do that, sign in to your account on our website, go to Setup -> Validate Your IP Address and make sure you see the “Your IP is validated! No actions are required.”. If instead of this message you see the “Validate IP” button, click on it.

    If the problem persists you can anytime sign in to your account on our website and submit a support ticket. Within 12 hours, you will receive an answer.

  • How to correctly submit a support ticket?

    Sign in to your account on our website, go to Support -> Submit Support Ticket. In order to understand the problem you are facing, please provide us at least following information:

    If you have VPN related problems:

    • Your Operating System;
    • Error name/code;
    • Send us a screenshot of your actions;
    • The protocol you are trying to use;
    • Server (country and city) you are trying to connect to;
    • For OpenVPN protocol issues please copy your log from OpenVPN.

    If you have Smart DNS related problems:

    • Your device/Operating System;
    • A link to the blocked content/application you are trying to access;
    • Error name/code.

    You will receive an answer within 12 hours.

  • What is Transparent HTTP proxy and Transparent DNS Proxy?

    There is something you should know. If you are not aware of it yet, keep in mind!Your ISP may proxy all your web/http traffic using their transparent proxies.

    Transparent HTTP proxy

    Nowadays more and more ISPs use transparent proxy (Interception proxying/catching). With transparent HTTP proxy users don’t have to name any proxy details to their browser or elsewhere. Web HTTP traffic is “pushed” to go through the proxy server. It implicates intercepting packets which usually go directly to web servers, after they are redirected to go through their proxy servers and then reach for the web servers.

    Transparent DNS proxy

    Some ISP’s use the technology named “Transparent DNS proxy”. It allows them to intercept all DNS lookup requests (TCP/UDP port 53) and transparently proxy the results. This is something that literally compels you to use their DNS addresses and there is no way you could change them but we have a solution for you to bypass DNS transparent proxy.

  • Why my antivirus sees SmartyDNS Software as suspicious?

    Don’t be alarmed if your anti-virus software identifies our application as a virus. This is a false positive result – just approve it if this happens. This happens because our application is new and some anti-viruses recognize the specific software only after a certain amount of installs.

  • Why I can’t send emails using my email client when connected to VPN?

    Looks like you are using the SMTP for outgoing mail transport, which uses TCP port 25. A lot of spammers are trying to use VPN services in order to send spam. This is why we have blocked the 25 destination port.

  • Why are some ports blocked?

    We block ports 22 and 25 as some of our users are abusing the service. This blockage reduces the abuse complains up to 100 times, this way you we have more time to improve the quality of our service.

  • Why my connection is slower when I use OpenVPN than when I use PPTP or L2TP?

    It is normal to experience slower connections with OpenVPN as this protocol uses strong encryption. Use PPTP or L2TP/IPsec protocols If you are not highly concerned about your online privacy.

  • Why my VPN connection is slow?

    Just like any roadway, overcrowding can slowdown the traffic itself. It is pretty much the same with VPN connection. When you connect to SmartyDNS VPN you have to go through your ISP, then you connect our servers. If it happens to take a road that is, let’s say, very busy or very long then your connection becomes slow. It can happen at any point along the road, even though to ensure we are not the cause, we monitor our network 24 hours a day.

  • How does my firewall or router affect VPN connections?

    1723 and 443 TCP ports should be open and your firewall/router/ISP should obligatory allow VPN/PPTP pass-through for PPTP VPN.

    Regular working mode: embedded Microsoft firewall in Windows, Linksys/D-Link/TP-Link/ASUA Router year made 2007 and newer, ADSL broadband.

    Typical not-working mode: not-Microsoft firewall, Netgear/Trend Router, all router-integrated ADSL modems. If you get error 619 with ADSL connection, please remove home router and disable non-Microsoft firewall software.

  • Why am I getting slow speed results on Speedtest.net when connected to VPN?

    Being a great service, Speedtest.net yet sometimes is not testing your VPN connection speed properly. There are many factors their results depend on. This is because anyone can add his server as a test server and their speed may bee lower than yours. Ideal would be to test your real download speed by downloading a popular torrent when connected to our VPN.

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