External DNS servers’ requests are redirected back to pfSense. This great firewall comes in two major variants, the community edition which is free to download and install on your own hardware or virtualization platform and the commercial appliances which come in multiple models from hardware, to virtual and cloud appliances. The configuration wizard will guide you through the initial configuration steps. Unifi is much closer to a "plug and play" user experience in comparison to pfSense. The default Time server hostname is usually correctly specified but make sure to set the Timezone to your own specific location. Navigate to System > Cert Manager > CAs, This is what the certificate authority should look like once you’ve added it, Navigate to System > Cert Manager and select certificates, This is what the certificate authority page should look like once you’ve added it. Select the pair of disk drives you wish to use for this install, I’ve selected ada0 and ada1 here as indicated by the * next to them. I think this is a good compromise between providing the required functionality and security. TLS mode is the most powerful crypto mode of OpenVPN, both for security and for flexibility. Successive attempts to resolve the same address should be cached and be returned faster than the original query. If this doesn’t work, validate the IP address space your PC is using is in the same subnet as pfSense’s local interface. For example you may only have Linux servers on the LAN being protected by this firewall. Official partnership. Now we’ll generate our required AirVPN certificates. Configure this page as follows. remote-cert-tls server: Security option for clients to ensure that the host they connect to is a designated server. If there are two default rules already created on this page its likely you didn’t disable the autogeneration of rules options when you configured the WAN Interface. I’ve provided a brief summary of each of these parameters. These are important settings to reduce the chance of leaks in the event the VPN goes down for any reason. Your VL10_MGMT interface should look this this when done. If you see that the core which OpenVPN is running on is running at close to capacity, consider using a lighter cipher such as AES-128-GCM. Open a browser and head over to AirVPN.org. I found it worth spending some time reviewing the statistics of the potential servers you are considering connecting to before finalising your selection. Security Open a browser and go to airvpn.org, sign into your account and then navigate to Client Area > Config Generator. Accompanying VLAN Config guide here VLAN Priority: 0 Enabling the WAN Interface – Step by Step Please note that this procedure will disrupt normal network activity so it is best done during a maintenance window. If an attacker knows or is able to control (parts of) the plain text of packets that contain secrets, the attacker might be able to extract the secret if compression is enabled. One area I’ve received several questions on is using DNS via SSL/TLS. 27 March 2020 Specifically, we will enable functionality to allow, Navigate to Firewall > NAT and select Outbound. There’s a DHCP server running on the LAN interface so if you connect your PC to this port, you should be able to obtain an IP address which will allow you to access the pfSense web configurator to continue the configuration process. Navigate to Status > System Logs and Select OpenVPN. We have three methods of DNS resolution to verify: In these examples I’ll use ‘dig’ (domain information groper) command to resolve IP address. It’s the four numbers separated by ‘.’s after the word remote, e.g, Server port = Change this from default OpenVPN port of 1194 to 443 (or the second number from the remote line in the .ovpn configuration file), TLS Key = Paste contents of the ta.key/tls-crypt.key downloaded here, TLS Key Usage Mode = TLS Encryption and Authentication, TLS keydir direction = use default direction, Peer certificate revocation list = No Lists defined, Client certificate = AirVPN_cert (CA: AirVPN_CA), Encryption algorithm = AES-256-CBC (256bit key, 128 bit block), Allowed NCP Encryption Algorithms: AES-256-GCM, Hardware crypto = Intel RDRAND (assuming you have an Intel processor), Compression = No LZO compression [legacy style, comp-lzo no], Topology = Subnet - One IP address per client in a common subnet, enabling firewall tab under Firewall > Rules, adding reply-to rules on VPN interface for return routing, enabling the VPN interface to be selected elsewhere in the pfSense interface, providing more configuration for port forwards and outbound NAT rules, Available network ports: Select ‘ovpnc1 (AirVPN client)`. DON’T PANIC! The first thing we need to do is SSH onto the Linux Server located behind the firewall. VL30_CLRNET: uses Forwarder for non-local and DNS Resolver for local. This should not be considered a backup and is not a replacement for a proper backup strategy for your pfSense configuration. Create the anti-lockout rule ensuring we can always gain access to the GUI and the shell. Used for native hardware access to devices such as wifi access points as well as interfaces intended to be utilised only by an admin user, for example, IPMI management consoles, NUT, SNMP monitoring interfaces and headless servers. I’ve updated my guide to run this service to port 5335 to avoid any conflicts with the MDNS multicast system as this could cause some conflicts for users looking to use the Avahi package. Verify your settings are correct, and if so, select proceed. The cost of the conversion was free if done as part of an upgrade to a 150mbps service or faster. Ethical Hacking Reconnaissance Plan: Port Scanning with nmap, Ethical Hacking Reconnaissance Plan: Active Footprinting, PFSense – Suricata 4.0.0 Service Starts and then Fails – Resolved, SSH into a Linux Server located on the LAN behind the Firewall, From the Linux VM SSH to the PFSense Server, Disable the packet filter by running the command. My DNS Resolver is defined as authoritative for my local.lan domain. Major Revision for pfSense v2.4.5, 28 January 2018 I’ve added images for each interface so you can verify your rules have been created and ordered correctly. Critically, we do not allow guests access to access any internal devices or subnets. It is possible to use pfBlockerNG to enhance this functionality. As the DNS Resolver is enabled as a DNS server for the firewall, 127.0.0.1 will be added to the list of servers queried and this is why you will notice a lookup served via the VPN tunnel also. VLAN Tag: 30 VLAN Priority: 0 Managing PFSense is done via a web interface which is generally accessed via the internal or LAN interface. Here’s a section from a successful connection with our intended data channel AES-256-GCM cipher. For the VPN subnet you should see a valid connection to a AirVPN server in the header bar. This will enable us to configure the interface by. Internal DNS with anti-ICE/ICANN censorship. The OpenVPN client initiates a TLS session over the control channel and uses it to exchange cipher and HMAC keys to protect the data channel. We will create a list of ports to define what is allowed to access the internet. The DNS Forwarder is used to resolve lookups from the VL30_CLRNET subnet by forwarding queries to the DNS servers specified earlier during the wizard setup. It’s fine to ignore this for now as you will be prompted to change it during the initial configuration. There’s a SBC local time server guide here for reference. Rules on the OpenVPN tab will apply before the interface tabs and also to all OpenVPN interfaces. You should be presented with a login screen as shown below. If you find the test doesn’t start correctly, disable ‘Experimental Bit 0x20 Support’ under the DNS Resolver’s advanced settings and try again. Select VL10_MGMT tab and set the DHCP server as follows:-, Verify your settings against the image below (I only display the general options below as the rest are default) and then click Save & Apply. Your pfSense machine should now proceed to boot from the fresh install. Added reference link to pfBlockerNG guide, 13 April 2020 Navigate back to Interfaces > Assign and configure the VL40_GUEST interface by clicking on the label next to the VL40_GUEST network port. I published this guide several years ago to expose my thinking and configuration to the scrutiny of networking experts and benefit less experienced users with an easy to follow but comprehensive guide. Click ‘Add’, Select ‘VLAN30 on em2’ from the available network ports The requirements for the guest interface are: Navigate to Firewall > Rules > VL40_GUEST and create the following rules:-. This menu will time out after a few seconds and select option 1 on your behalf. Navigate back to Firewall > Rules and select VL30_CLRNET. There are some other options to configure here though. CIDR notation allow traffic to my local networks on approved ports, redirect any non-local NTP time lookups back to our pfSense time server. Your WAN interface should look this this when done. Now let’s create the remaining rules for this subnet. Using a mirrored pair of SSD’s for this install provides data redundancy in case of a single drive failure. PFsense is an open source firewall and routing solution which is built on FreeBSD. This means you have no web browsers available on the LAN to connect to the web console. Firewall prevents access to all local resources including user devices, file servers and core infrastructure. I use of a pair of mirrored hard disks to provide redundancy in the event of a hardware failure. The parameters relate to the following options, Navigate to Services > DNS Resolver > Advanced Settings. You may need the boot options (F11) or use the Boot menu in the BIOS to set device priority appropriately. Verify your settings against the image below and Click Save & Apply changes. Accompanying VLAN Config guide here. Its operated by activists interested in defence of net neutrality, privacy and censorship. NOTE: You will lose connection to your Linux VM when you run this command. Primary LAN network where all traffic which exits is encrypted via OpenVPN and exits to the internet via one of several AirVPN end points. Allow DNS Server list to be overridden by DHCP on WAN: Do not use the DNS forwarder as the DNS server for the firewall. Updated destination field in DNS port forward It’s possible to configure regular scrubs of these disks to ensure reliable long-term operation and email notifications should the ZFS array develop any health issues during use. It is easy to start containers, administer storage or users, configure networks, and inspect log files on RHEL 8. We set the Forwarder to listen to the localhost (127.0.0.1) network and will later create a port forward to redirect traffic from clients on this subnet. This firewall solution is the unsung hero of open source firewalls so if you have not seen it, get your hands dirty and you will be amazed. I am an IT and Management Professional with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. Updated DNS leak test results. Welcome to FreeBSD! Hardware TCP Segmentation Offloading (Disable): Select the required keymap, I used the default keymap. A change introduced with pfSense 2.4 is the option to use ZFS partitions. WebGUI redirect, Disable webConfigurator redirect: WebGUI login autocomplete, Enable webConfigurator login: Anti-lockout: Disable webConfigurator anti-lockout rule. reject any other traffic (note: we use reject rather than block on internal interfaces to provide a response to any programs trying to send traffic preventing delays associated with waiting for time outs to occur), Filter rule association: Add associated filter rule, Description: VL10_MGMT: Allow traffic to local subnets, Description: VL10_MGMT: Allow traffic to WAN, Description: VL10_MGMT: default block IPv4, Description: VL10_MGMT: default block IPv6, allow select traffic egress via WAN gateway, Description: VL20_VPN: Pass SELECTIVE_ROUTING addresses through default WAN, Description: VL20_VPN: Default reject IPv4, Description: VL20_VPN: Default reject IPv6, allow traffic to local networks on approved ports, allow internet traffic on approved ports via default gateway, Filter rule association = Add associated filter rule, Description: VL30_CLRNET: Pass approved LAN, Description: VL30_CLRNET: Default reject IPv4, Description: VL30_CLRNET: Default reject IPv6, deny traffic to pfSense WAN, VPN or other interfaces, allow internet traffic via default gateway, allow non-local DNS lookups (DHCP allocates public DNS Servers), Description = VL40_GUEST: Reject pfsense admin interfaces, Description = VL40_GUEST: Reject any local traffic, Description = VL40_GUEST: Default reject IPv4, Description = VL40_GUEST: Default reject IPv6, allow any traffic to internet via default gateway, not VPN. VL40_GUEST: uses public DNS resolvers. TSO should not be used on machines acting as routers. No local lookups should be possible. 1 April 2020 It’s preferable to avoid Realtek interfaces as well as anything that is connected via USB. Create the remaining rules for this subnet. I define a list of addresses to route out of the default WAN gateway to avoid unnecessary complications with banks and other services that object to traffic originating from known VPN end points. VLAN Tag: 20 I’ve provided an accompanying Unifi configuration guide here. Navigate to System > Advanced and select Miscellaneous. More through testing is possible using a packet sniffer but this is beyond the scope opt this guide. VLAN Priority: 0 You don’t need to use multiple Wi-Fi access points, each one provides all the VLANs needed. At the time of updating this guide AirVPN has updated all of their infrastructure to OpenVPN 2.4 or later and support the AES-GCM TLS ciphers. Connect up your managed switch and assuming you have correctly configured the trunk port and tagged LAN ports you should be able to go ahead and test the various subnets work correctly. My LAN interface is treated rather differently. Used primarily by visitors who require internet access but also acts as a backup in case AirVPN goes down for any reason. Accompanying VLAN Config guide here Verified first with the Test default keymap option. Depending on the number of devices in your network you may need to adjust this to suit your needs. Re-enable packet filters via the web console to secure the PFsense server. Click ‘Add’. We’ll configure this similarly to the VL10_MGMT Interface except we’ll give it a unique name and IP address. We’ll configure this similarly to the VL10_MGMT Interface except we’ll give it a unique name and IP address. The system should boot and allow you to log back into the dashboard where if everything is correct, the WAN and VPN_WAN interfaces will have IP addresses allocated to them. Although my baseline configuration remains largely the same as before, there are a few areas I’ve improved due to increased or refined knowledge, or as a result of the pfSense 2.4.5 release including: To learn more about the changes included with pfSense 2.4.5, please review Netgate’s new features and changes list. This assessment is influenced significantly by knowing that unencrypted queries are exposed only through my AirVPN endpoints therefore affording me anonymity. However depending on the size of the property you are trying to provide Wi-Fi access to, additional APs may be beneficial. We’ll now assign the OpenVPN interface we just created to a pfSense interface. First, set up the WAN interface. To reduce complexity and avoid any potential compatibility issues I recommend disabling unneeded features such as on-board RAID controllers and HBA controllers within the BIOS. Navigate to Firewall > Rules > VL10_MGMT and create the following rules: Navigate to Firewall > NAT and select Port Forward. EVE-NG hosting partners. If the VPN connection goes down, DNS lookups won’t be possible and this is why I provide the guest and clrnet networks as a backup on the rare occasions AirVPN goes down. The following diagram illustrates the basic network topology of my network. Configure this screen as specified below. LRO works by aggregating multiple incoming packets from a single stream into a larger buffer before they are passed higher up the networking stack, thus reducing the number of packets to be processed. Reset All States: Navigate to System > Advanced > Miscellaneous. A sysadmin must enable it. Go to Diagnostics and the Command Prompt on the PFSense menu as shown below. A more complete description can be found in the OpenVPN manual. Description: VL30_CLRNET The result is the best of both worlds: a fast data channel that forwards over UDP with only the overhead of encrypt, decrypt, and HMAC functions, and a control channel that provides all of the security features of TLS, including certificate-based authentication and Diffie Hellman forward secrecy. Click Reload to reload the web configurator. Although it is possible to build a pfSense router from pretty much any old hardware, I recommend using something relatively modern to reduce power consumption and with AES-NI to enable hardware acceleration of the OpenVPN encryption we will use. If you haven’t got an AirVPN subscription, you can create an account here. You’ll be offered the chance to purchase a pfSense gold subscription that offers support benefits. My complete network is synced to my pfSense router with the exception of devices on the guest network which are also permitted to sync with external time servers. Ability to surf anonymously with no logging or monitoring, OpenVPN base with good security cipher support. Hardware Checksum Offloading (Disable): RFC1918 You will need to amend this as per your own networks requirements. Re-enable packet filters via the web console to secure the PFsense server. First configure the DNS Resolver, navigate to Services > DNS Resolver > General Settings, The custom option declares the DNS Resolver as authoritative for the .local.lan domain. The parent interface refers to the physical interface that will transfer the VLAN tagged traffic. I’ve spent time verifying there are no leaks with this setup but there are no guarantees given so please do your own testing. 3ginfo.sh ftpput pscan ATE gctwimax psta_monitor [ gencert.sh pwd [[ get_account_list radio acsd get_all_folder radvd add_account get_apps_name rc add_folder get_folder_list rcheck add_multi_routes get_permission rdnssd app_base_library.sh get_phy_speed read_sms app_base_link.sh get_phy_status readlink app_base_packages.sh get_var_file_name reboot … auth-nocache: Security option to prevent caching username/passwords in virtual memory. Although this guide focuses on building out the core local area networks (VPN, clearnet, guest and management), I’ve provided some additional details here as to the rest of my VLANs setup for some context on how I segregated my other traffic. For my guest network you can use your ISP DNS servers or those from a public provider such as Cloudflare which I’ve use here. Some sections might be outdated. Upload the downloaded OVA image to the EVE root/abc using for example FileZilla or WinSCP.. 4. We make use of the Allowed_OUT_Ports_LAN & LOCAL_SUBNETS aliases here again. I validated performance with speedtest.net. antilockout to ensure I can always gain access to pfSense. You should see three rules created for the redirects for NTP and DNS. Consider taking the anonymous survey to help the good folks at Netgate. I’ve listed a few cost-effective switch options in the hardware section below. Cisco sg300-10 available for around $130 (or slightly more with PoE capabilities). Use the dig command and force the DNS query to use Googles DNS server (8.8.8.8). Click the pencil icon next to auto created LAN rule line to edit it, Click the pencil icon next to Auto created VL10_MGMT rule line to edit it, Click the pencil icon next to Auto created VL20_VPN rule line to edit it, Click the pencil icon next to Auto created VL30_CLRNET rule line to edit it, Click the pencil icon next to Auto created VL40_GUEST rule line to edit it, When you are complete your NAT translation table should look like the image below. In a previous version of this guide I reallocated the web configurator to port 445, but there’s little benefit to security via this trivial obscurity. The configuration below uses a public pool for time reference but it’s possible to reduce this external dependency by setting up a local GPS based time server. After you log in you will notice at the top of the screen a warning advising that the admin password is currently set to the default value. Historically the best practice was to leave the parent interface unassigned due to undefined, unpredictable or inconsistent behaviour by some hardware, depending on the manufacturer. Click ‘Add’, Select ‘VLAN20 on em2’ from the available network ports Verify you can resolve a hostname from an IP address. This guide is created to prioritise security over performance so compression is not enabled. Allow specified traffic to egress via the default unencrypted ISP gateway. Compression and encryption are a tricky combination. You should see two rules created for the redirects for NTP and DNS at the bottom. Description: VL40_GUEST To login, enter the default username ‘admin’ and the password ‘pfsense’. With no rules, all inbound traffic is blocked by default but isn’t logged. You will need to amend this alias as per your own networks requirements, but this should get you started. We will create an alias to define the internal subnet we are using. This_Firewall is an alias that represents all the interfaces on your pfSense box including VPNs, WANS etc. Click on the cog next to one of the two default rules and ensure the Block RFC1918 networks and Block BOGON network options are cleared. Heres the connection when connected to the VL20_VPN network where a 192.168.20.100 address has been awarded. VL20_VPN: uses Resolver for local and non-local lookups. I know that pfSense will out of the box output to the console if it finds that an IP keeps switching MAC addresses but I think that's only if the DHCP server is on so it uses that feedback but, it would be nice to have something that would be able to do that for manually configured IPs and send an email or something. Navigate to Firewall > Rules > VPN_WAN and create the following rules: Your VPN_WAN interface should look this this when done. Dig is unable to correctly identify the true source of the name resolution and assumes it was a response from the target servers, in this example 8.8.8.8. I had my Verizon ONT converted from the original coaxial cable to a Cat5 cable by Verizon which allowed me to connect my pfSense box directly to Verizon’s network without needing to utilise their modem for anything other than enabling some TV set top box functionality. Configure this interface as follows:-. This should be redirected back to the pfSense DNS resolver for lookup. To support this feature set, all local devices are set to use the pfSense router as their sole DNS server using the local Resolver or Forwarder. The particular gateway is selected depending on the specific services needs and risk profile. PFSense – Enabling Administration via the WAN Interface – advanxer.com, https://chrislazari.com/pfsense-enabling-administration-via-the-wan-interface/. We will create a list of ports to define what traffic is permitted to traverse between local subnets. I continue to appreciate feedback on any errors, configuration or areas you think would benefit from additional clarification so please don’t hesitate to contact me by email. (Edit: I recommend completing this guide, once everything is verified as working visit the pfBlockerNG guide). Click on the server name to see statistics on numbers of users, traffic and latency as well as any historic connectivity issues. Click ‘Add’, Select ‘VLAN40 on em2’ from the available network ports Most of these options will remain as default, i.e empty. In the Execute Shell Command box type in pfctl -e to enable packet filters and click on Execute as shown below. Note: you can verify the version of OpenVPN running on your desired AirVPN server by selecting that server from the AirVPN Servers overview page. Disable Negotiable Cryptographic Parameters (NCP), Interface = LAN, VL10_MGMT, VL20_VPN, VL30_CLRNET, Prevent as much information as possible being gathered by my ISP, Do not leak IP address when using the VPN under any circumstance, Enable local device lookups on all non-guest interfaces, Provide secure DNS lookups when connected to my secured networks by keeping DNS queries within the VPN tunnel, Optimise local performance with DNS lookup caching, Support DNS redirection to enable advert/tracker filtering, Network Interfaces: Select LAN, VL10_MGMT, VL20_VPN and localhost, Outgoing Network Interfaces: Select only VPN_WAN, Register DHCP static leases in DNS Resolver =, responsible mail address = root.local.lan, Maximum TTL for RRsets and messages: 86400, Enter an address to test lookups with, i.e pfsense.org, All subnets to transition to the WAN address range, VPN subnet to transition to both VPN_WAN & WAN ranges, Select ‘Manual outbound NAT rule generation`, Comment = LAN (192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255), Description = IP address to exit VL20_VPN subnet via WAN gateway, Description = Admin ports used for system administration. This would be a good time to restart your firewall box and connect your modem to your WAN port if you haven’t already. Intel network interfaces are the preferred solution although I have had good results with Chelsio too. You can give your LAN interface a specific address here if needed. Your interface page should now look something like this, notice the parent interface (in my example, em2) remains unassigned. After applying the new gateway configuration, the Gateway summary should look like this. Navigate to System > Advanced > Admin Access. We will replace these with our specific rules to enable more fine-grained control. Guest network Installation will take a short while. Either download one of the packed archives and extract, or download the separate files. Navigate to Interfaces > Assignments and select VLANs, Click ‘+’ By default the installer configures the first hardware NIC as the WAN port obtaining an address via DHCP from your modem. Unencrypted ‘clearnet’ Enabling the forwarder to be used as a server for the firewall enables pfSense to perform reverse lookups to resolve IP addresses into device names in the firewall logs. Navigate to VPN > OpenVPN and select Clients. The Internet is my workplace and I find a great sense of accomplishment in harnessing its potential and creating value. As this is a fresh install, select Install. Having CPU headroom to run additional security and packet filtering packages such as Snort, Suricata and pfBlockerNG is also valuable. Save, Click ‘+” enabling firewall tab under Firewall > Rules; adding reply-to rules on VPN interface for return routing; adding gateway for policy routing; enabling the VPN interface to be selected elsewhere in the pfSense interface I’ve found the IP addresses are generally stable and seldom change. This article will cover the installation and basic initial configuration of a new … Select YES. Your VL30_CLRNET interface should look this this when done. Click on ‘Mark all as read’ to remove the warning. I usually leave my WAN connection modem disconnected until I’ve finished configuration. Results returned will be cached for future reference increasing time to response, and also reducing the load on non-local infrastructure. We need to identify a parent interface before we can start configuring and assigning VLANs. Management network We will create a list to define which ports administration traffic flows on, we will allow these ports with a dedicated rule on key interfaces later to ensure we don’t lock ourselves out when configuring the firewall. Rent EVE server online. In this instance you will need to enable access to the web console via the WAN interface. VLAN Tag: 10 Navigate to System > Advanced > Firewall/NAT, Navigate to System > Advanced > Networking.