FAQ for PandaPow on Mac

Using PandaPow on Mac? Then you may want to check out some of the below frequently asked questions.

 

NOTE. The below describes the latest version of the application which may differ somewhat from earlier versions. In case you’re having trouble with the app, if you’re using an older version of PandaPow, it’s recommended to download and try the latest version before trying anything else.

 

 

FAQ for PandaPow on Mac

PandaPow is an easy to use VPN service available for Mac and most other popular platforms. For a more general info about the service check out the main FAQ.

The steps are:

  1. Download and install the PandaPow app for Mac.
  2. Click the PandaPow icon in the menu bar to the upper right and choose the location you want to connect to.
  3. Fill in username and password (or click "New User" if you don't have any).
  4. Click OK.

For a more detailed description see here.

Note: If you notice problems connecting you may be in a country which blocks some of our servers. Try the selecting locations from the New sub menu instead.

Normally you should choose the to connect to the location closest to your own location. For instance if you are in Asia, it's usually better to connect to Los Angeles, than New York which is farther away.

Naturally, if you're planning to access some web content that is specific to UK, you need to connect to a UK location. Likewise for other country specific content.

If you have problems connecting via the normal connections, you can try the TCP connections (in the TCP subfolder). If the normal connections are working, there's real point in using the TCP connections.

Following are general guidelines that should help you solve problems you may bump into.

  1. Please make sure you've updated recently. If you have been using PandaPow a while, chances are you are using an old version of the PandaPow application, and the problem you've encountered has already been solved.
  2. Check this FAQ for known issues and solutions to them.
  3. Please check announcements. Login to the client-area and see if there are any announcements, in the right column, that might explain the problem. If so there should also be info and workarounds available.

If you've tried trouble shooting, but need further support, simply send us an email. Please include the log details: select "Details" from the PandaPow menu, click Log and Copy Log to Clipboard. Please also include screenshots of any relevant error messages.

  1. If the problem appear after updating to OS X Yosemite, please make sure you have turned OFF the "Share Connection" option in the PandaPow Settings. See here for details: the Share Connection option
  2. Some countries block the default VPN used onMac, so you then need to select server from the 'New' sub menu. See here for an example.
  3. You get a message about wrong username or password. Login to the client area to find the proper username and password, and to make sure the account hasn't expired. Try to use copy-paste to fill in the password, and make sure you only copy the password and no blank spaces before or after it.
  4. The username and password has been entered incorrectly including unknown characters. Delete the PandaPow credentials from the Keychain
  5. The connection process keeps going but doesn't complete. The Log contains error message about "TLS handshake failed". This is usually an UDP problem, which can be fixed by connecting vi TCP instead (choose a connection from the TCP sub menu instead).
  6. The connection attempts stop, and the log contains some error message about "Failed to load tap.kext". This can happen if some other VPN program or similar is running. To solve this follow the instructions here

If the problem started after upgrading your OS X version to Mountain Lion (10.8) or later, to resolve the problem you need to: update to the latest version of PandaPow.


DNS Setting problems 
Your DNS servers needs to be set either automatically or statically to public DNS servers. If you're unsure, then you may change the DNS settings as described here.

DNS Poisoning problem 
You may have a "poisoned DNS cache". To fix this proceed as described here:

How To clear DNS cache

IPv6 problem 
Your internet connection may be bypassing the VPN by using IPv6. If so you need to disable IPv6.
This is a bug in earlier versions of the app. To resolve the problem, just quit PandaPow and start it again. To ensure the problem doesn't return, please update to the latest version of PandaPow.

They are stored in your computer's Keychain. To modify them you need to use the Keychain Access application. You find it in your Applications folder under Utilities.

The username and password are stored as 2 separate entries in the login Keychain. Their names starting with 'PandaPow-Auth'. If you wish to change the stored username/password, simply remove the entries. Next time you connect PandaPow you will be asked to fill in a new username and password.

For tips on how to handle this problem, please see our general trouble-shooting guide.
We do our best to make sure that the latest version of our app works at least as good as older versions. If, however, you run into some issue with the app you may want to download an older version of the app to see if the issue is the same. You can then find more download options here