As noted on my previous post, I have NordVPN all back up and running on my Zorin 17.3 laptop. I am running NordVPN (3.20.1) through CLI (terminal). I am trying to attach a printer on 192.168.50.0/24. If I whitelist the entire subnet (nordvpn whitelist add subnet 192.168.50.0/24), the printer works with the laptop. I was really only wanting to whitelist the printer at 192.168.50.100. However, all the commands that I try to whitelist only the one ip returns with "Command '192.168.50.100' doesn't exist." I have tried the following:
nordvpn whitelist add 192.168.50.100
nordvpn whitelist add ip 192.168.50.100
nordvpn whitelist add "192.168.50.100"
nordvpn whitelist add ip "192.168.50.100"
nordvpn whitelist add ip-address 192.168.50.100
nordvpn whitelist add ipaddress 192.168.50.100
nordvpn whitelist add ip_address 192.168.50.100
Most of those were just stabs in the dark thinking maybe the command had changed, and I just could not find the new nomenclature. I will just whitelist the entire subnet if need be, but before I just gave up, I thought that I would ask if anyone had any other ideas...Thanks
According to the documentation provided, there is no command available to add individual IP addresses. Run man nordvpn to see the manual, or nordvpn whitelist add --help to get more focused synopsis.
However, you could only add an exception on a specific port, instead. Zorin OS uses CUPS as the printing server which works on port 631, so you could try that:
Thank you! man nordvpn is much more useful than the command nordvpn --help that I was using, which basically just gave me a list of commands. I tried to whitelist the port, but I still could not reach the printer. I have one last idea. Please tell me your thoughts on this. I am considering adding the NordVPN app so that I can use the GUI. The app might have the ability to split tunnel and allow me to whitelist 192.168.50.100 there. Please, let me know if this is a dumb idea before I start. This will be my last ditch effort. It is all an internal network and very low risk network at that. The only things on the network is a work pc and a printer, which I would like to share with my main network.
Well, it won't hurt to try that, if nothing else to at least learn a little more about how NordVPN works (I myself don't use it and I'm not very familiar with what settings are possible).
However, keep in mind that the purpose of a VPN is to connect a computer to a remote network. I assume you're already next to your printer, so this doesn't seem necessary.
Another possibility is a reducing the IP ranges in your subnet:
nordvpn whitelist add subnet 192.168.50.0/28
This would only whitelist a few addresses, from 192.168.50.0 to 192.168.50.15. Of course, you'd have to change the printer's IP address to be in that range, and watch out for other devices that are also in that range.
But this seems like more trouble than it's worth. If you're worried about snoopers, keep in mind that it'd be a lot easier to just access the printer's history to see what you've printed.
Correct on the purpose of a VPN. I did not understand why I could not connect to the printer when I was on the same network. I finally figured out something about the way the VPN routes the traffic. I am actually now fine with whitelisting the entire subnet. This is my personal PC and the subnet (actually just a second router that is double natted) are only for my work computer and printer. Now, you have given me a new research project...why the /28 limits it to just 0 - 15. Not asking the question. That is a learning opportunity for me. Thanks for the help!