Windows and Linux installer prompts
The one-time prompts when you install ForestVPN on Windows, the publisher name to look for, how the traffic block works, and what ForestVPN has not verified.
This page covers what Windows and Linux ask for when you install ForestVPN, how the traffic block works on each, and which questions ForestVPN has not verified.
Symptoms
- Windows asks for administrator approval when you run the installer.
- Windows shows a warning or an unfamiliar publisher before the installer starts.
- On Linux, the network is gone after ForestVPN stops or the machine restarts.
- Name lookups fail on Linux after ForestVPN connects.
Likely causes
- A background tunnel service. The Windows installer asks for administrator approval because it installs a background tunnel service. Windows may prompt once to approve the installer and once to install the tunnel driver; both are expected, one-time steps.
- The traffic block is working as designed. On Windows, Windows Filtering Platform rules block traffic outside the tunnel while ForestVPN is connected. On Linux, nftables rules do the same, and they stay in place after a restart until you turn the setting off. Neither is absolute.
- SmartScreen. ForestVPN has not documented how Windows SmartScreen reacts to the installer and publishes no guidance on it.
- Linux resolvers. ForestVPN has not verified how Linux name resolution interacts with the tunnel and publishes no guidance on it.
Fix each cause
Windows prompts. Install from the Microsoft Store, or with a signed installer from the Windows download page. Windows shows Digital Services LLC as the publisher; if the publisher name is different, do not run the file. Approve the one-time administrator and driver prompts only for that installer.
SmartScreen. If SmartScreen warns about the installer, do not guess. ForestVPN publishes no guidance on it. Check that the publisher is Digital Services LLC, and write to support with a support code if you are unsure.
The Linux network is gone. The Linux download page has a recovery section for exactly this: it says how to stop the running ForestVPN service and how to clear the firewall tables it leaves behind. Open that page and follow it; both steps work with no service running.
Linux name lookups. Write to support with a support code and say which Linux distribution and which resolver you use.
Still stuck
Write to support with a support code from Account → Get help. Never send your account number. Say what the screen showed, for example the connection state the app named.