Super Easy 8 Step CyberGhost Linux Installation Guide

So, we all know that Linux is not the easiest operating system out there. While it’s pretty self-explanatory to install apps like VPNs on a Windows computer, it can be quite tricky to install them on Linux-based devices.

That being said, premium VPNs like CyberGhost actually make everything a lot simpler in terms of installation. By providing a command-based Linux app, CyberGhost makes it super easy to get started.

But in case you’re new to the Linux operating system, I’ve compiled this super short CyberGhost Linux installation guide for all Linux distros including Ubuntu 16, Ubuntu 18, Ubuntu 19.04, Fedora 29, and Fedora 30.

CyberGhost Linux features

The Linux app of CyberGhost comes with just the same features you get on any other app of CyberGhost. You get access to 7700+ servers in 90+ countries. You can also use premium features like Leak Protection, Automatic Kill Switch, Fast speeds, 256-bit AES Encryption, and secure protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP-IPsec, and even PPTP.

To know more about this service you can check out our detailed CyberGhost VPN Review.

How to Install CyberGhost VPN CLI App on Linux?

1. First things first, head over to CyberGhost Account Management page and log in to your premium account

2. Next, click on “My Devices” then “Desktop” and then click on “Configure New Device” located just next to “CyberGhost VPN for Linux”

3. Once you click on “Configure New Device”, go ahead and select whichever Linux Server Distribution you’re using currently and click on Download Linux App

4. Now, wait until the app downloads. In the meantime, note down your CyberGhost Username and Password as you’ll need it in just a bit

5. Once the installation file is downloaded, select the ZIP file and use the Extract Here option to unzip the setup file. You can rename the file as per your liking

6. Next, open up a Terminal window and type in this command: cd Desktop/cyberghost and press Enter if you saved the installation folder exactly as shown in the screenshot above

7. Now type in: sudo bash install.sh and then press Enter. Once you press enter, type in your sudo password

Note: If prompted to install Python 3 and OpenVPN, just choose “Y”

8. Once the installation process begins, you will be asked to enter your username and password. You’ll see something like this:

Enter CyberGhost username and press [ENTER]:

Enter CyberGhost password and press [ENTER]: 

Once the installation process finishes, you’ll see this message on your screen: install completed. Now you can simply type in CyberGhost VPN to see the complete list of available commands for the CyberGhost Ubuntu app.

How to Set Up CyberGhost OpenVPN on Linux Debian via Terminal

Follow these steps to set up CyberGhost OpenVPN on Linux Debian via Terminal. Keep in mind that this option is more technical than the first one.

1. Visit your CyberGhost account online via its website and log in.
2. From the side panel, click VPN and then click on the option Configure Device. 
3. Each server has a different configuration file that you can create. After creating them, you can download the files.
4. Once you have chosen the desired server country, protocol, and other options, click ‘Save Configurations’.
5. Click View Configuration to see the OpenVPN credentials.
6. Click ‘Download Configuration’ and download the file on your computer. It will be downloaded in a zip file.
7. Extract the file, and rename the file containing the ‘openvpn.ovpn’ to

    'CG_Country.conf.'

Copy Configuration File to OpenVPN Directory

In the next step, you need to copy the file into your OpenVPN configuration directory. To do that follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal window, and move to the folder in which you have extracted the file. To do that, type:

   cd [path to the folder with the extracted configuration files]

2. Now copy the files:

   • sudo cp CG_XX.conf /etc/openvpn/

   • sudo cp ca.cert /etc/openvpn/

   • sudo cp client.crt /etc/openvpn/

   • sudo cp client.key /etc/openvpn/

Begin Configuration

Before you begin the OpenVPN configuration, you need to make sure all the packages are installed. If they are missing, follow these steps:

1. Open the Terminal console, and to download the package information, type:

   ‘sudo apt-get update’

2. Download the package with:

   sudo apt-get install openvpn openssl openresolv

3. Now you need to save your username and password in a file named ‘user.txt’ to log in automatically and store it in the OpenVPN folder. Follow these steps:
   • In the OpenVPN folder, enter:

     cd /etc/openvpn

   • Enter ‘sudo nano user.txt’ to create a text file.
   • Enter your credentials:

     1. YourUsername

     2. YourPassword

Save changes with ‘CTRL+O’ and to leave the editor click ‘CTRL+X’.

Note: Don’t use your regular CyberGhost username and password.

1. Now open the configuration file, by typing:

   sudo nano CG_XX.conf

2. Extend the line ‘auth-user-pass’… with the path to your credential file:

   • [...]

   • auth-user-pass /etc/openvpn/user.txt

   • [...]

3. At the bottom of the configuration passage, add the following:

   • up /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf

   • down /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf

4. Save via ‘CTRL+O’ and leave the editor with ‘CTRL+X’.
5. To autoload the file, type:

   1. sudo nano /etc/default/openvpn

   2. AUTOSTART="CG_XX" (the name of the file WITHOUT the file extension ‘.conf’)

6. Again click ‘CTRL+O’ to save and leave the editor with ‘CTRL+X’.
7. In your console, type:

   sudo update-rc.d openvpn enable

Start OpenVPN

Before starting your OpenVPN, make sure to check the configuration by typing:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

Now to start OpenVPN, type:

sudo service openvpn start

Now, check your DNS by performing a leak test to make sure it’s working.