Tunneling Like a Boss: NordVPN Setup for Kali

How to install NordVPN on Kali Linux

🛡️ Ethical Use Reminder: All tools and techniques discussed in this post are intended for ethical, legal, and educational use only. Only perform security testing on systems you own or have explicit permission to test. This content is for researchers, students and professionals following responsible disclosure and legal guidelines.

NordVPN is a no-logs VPN service offering encrypted tunnels, auto-connect, and kill-switch protection to secure your traffic. In this guide, we’ll walk through installing NordVPN on Kali Linux, whether you’re on a VM, VPS, or physical machine. In just a few minutes, you’ll have a secure VPN client ready.

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1. Prep your VPS

SSH into your Kali Linux host, then update and upgrade your packages before proceeding:

2. Add the NordVPN repository

Install prerequisites, import the GPG key, add the APT source, and refresh your package lists:

3. Install the client

4. Log in & connect

Authenticate and establish a connection:

4.1 Manual browser-assisted login

If your VPS doesn’t have a GUI browser you can still log in from it and finish the OAuth flow on another computer:

• On your VPS, run:
  nordvpn login
  It will print a URL — copy that URL.
• Paste it into a browser on another computer, log in with your Nord account and click “Continue”.
• Copy the **Continue** button’s redirect link (it looks like nordvpn://login?action=login&exchange_token=…&status=done), then back on your VPS run:
  nordvpn login –callback “nordvpn://login?action=login&exchange_token=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA%3D%3D&status=done”

This will complete the login without needing a browser on the VPS itself.

Important: Prevent losing SSH access when using NordVPN on a VPS

When you connect NordVPN on a VPS, all network traffic—including SSH—may be rerouted through the VPN, causing your SSH session to hang or disconnect. This is especially common when you’re connected via your VPS public IP.

To prevent NordVPN from interfering with your SSH connection, whitelist port 22 before connecting:

This ensures that SSH traffic always bypasses the VPN tunnel, keeping your VPS accessible even while NordVPN is active. You can verify whitelisted rules anytime with:

5. Optional: Auto-connect on boot

If you want NordVPN to start automatically after a reboot, enable the systemd service and configure auto-connect, kill-switch, and DNS protection:

6. Troubleshooting

• Permission errors? Run commands as root or prefix with sudo.
• DNS issues? Run nordvpn set dns 1 then sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.
• Login fails? Verify credentials, then nordvpn logout && nordvpn login.

NordVPN is now installed, secured, and optionally auto-connecting on your Kali Linux host. Run nordvpn --help to explore more options.

7. Bonus Setup NordVPN Script

✅ Best practice: Make the script executable before running it:

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