The programs on a laptop are the same as on a desktop. What differs is the networks: a home router today, a hotel tomorrow, a phone instead of a router the day after. Below: what to install on Windows, macOS and Linux, in what order to turn the secure connection on in someone else's network, and what we checked ourselves and what we did not. Everything here is as of 2 October 2026.
In short. A VPN for a laptop is a client on the laptop itself plus whoever provides the servers. On Windows and Mac that is the free Happ client with a subscription link; on Linux, a settings file for AmneziaWG. In someone else's network turn the connection on before you open anything important, and in a network with a login page, after that page. We have not measured sharing internet from a phone that has the tunnel on: a client on the laptop itself is the safer path.
We make Mayak, a private network. Our own app is for Android; for Windows and Mac we give a subscription link for Happ, for Linux a settings file. This article is about laptops; only one section is about us.
🍎 On iPhone Mayak works with the subscription link from your account, in Happ or INCY (INCY is in the Russian App Store): where to tap on iPhone.
What to install: Windows, macOS or Linux
The laptop's system decides, not its size or brand. Here is what works with Mayak and what of it we checked ourselves:
| System | What to install | Checked by us |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | Happ (setup-Happ.x64.exe, on ARM setup-Happ.arm64.exe) and a subscription link |
Yes, live connection on 25 September 2026 |
| Windows 10 | The same Happ and subscription link | No |
| macOS (MacBook) | Happ (Happ.macOS.universal.dmg, one file for Apple chips and Intel) or INCY from the App Store, plus a subscription link |
Happ: yes, 25 September 2026; INCY on a Mac: no |
| Linux | A settings file for AmneziaWG from your account | The file: yes; Happ for Linux we have not checked |
Detailed steps for each system are in separate articles: a VPN for Windows 10 and 11, a VPN for Mac and MacBook, and Linux in the computer article. That article also explains how a browser extension differs from an app: an extension covers only its own browser, while mail, messengers and every other program on the laptop go around it (details).
Four steps for any laptop
- Create an account in your account area. The trial needs no card.
- Download the client from its developer's page. Happ for Windows and Mac comes from its GitHub releases page (as of 2 October 2026 the latest regular release is 4.3.0 of 15 September). A download site or a link from a chat may hand you someone else's file under the right name, and you have no way to check it.
- Get the subscription link in your account: the “Connecting by link” card → “Show the link”. For Linux, use the “File for Linux” card instead.
- Add the link to the client and connect. The app loads the server list itself (how to add a link to Happ).
The AmneziaWG file will not do on Windows or Mac: as the account area itself says, third-party apps on those systems do not accept it yet. The link is one for all your devices, but each device that has loaded servers from it takes a slot in your plan.
Someone else's Wi-Fi: hotel, café, station
The main reason to put a secure connection on a laptop is networks you do not own. The owner of a hotspot sees not the content of pages (HTTPS hides that) but the names of sites. We checked this on our own traffic on 20 September 2026: without the tunnel the network record showed 4 site names out of 4; inside the tunnel, none — only one stream to our server's address (how we measured).
- Turn the connection on before you open anything important. A site's name goes out with the very first request: open the bank, then connect, and the name has already left.
- Never accept a certificate warning. It means someone else stands between you and the site.
- A tunnel does not make you invisible. The network owner still sees that the laptop talks to one address and how much data went through. What else stays visible is in the same article.
Networks with a login page: log in first, then the tunnel
In hotels, trains and cafés Wi-Fi often does not open straight away: first you accept terms or enter a code on a login page. Until you do, such a network lets through only that page — the client cannot reach our servers, and it looks like “the VPN will not connect”. The order is:
- Join the Wi-Fi with the tunnel off.
- Open a browser and go through the login page. If it does not appear by itself, open any site without HTTPS or reload the tab.
- Make sure sites open, and only then turn Happ on.
If the tunnel was on already and the login page will not open, turn it off, log in to the network and turn it on again. That is how such networks work in general; we have not tested any particular hotel network. If the network let you in and Mayak still will not connect, the general troubleshooting order is in “Happ not working”.
Sleep, the lid and changing networks
A laptop gets closed, carried and opened in another network, and the connection has to come back. In the Happ 4.3.0 release notes the developer says they fixed the tunnel being lost after sleep on Linux and macOS; Windows is not mentioned. We have not tested sleep ourselves on any system. The practical rule is simple: opened the lid somewhere new — look at the Happ icon and, if in doubt, check your address (how, in a minute). Keep Happ at 4.3.0 or newer.
Internet from a phone
- Sharing from a phone that has the tunnel on. Whether the laptop's traffic goes through the phone's tunnel, we have not measured, so we promise neither. The reliable path is a client on the laptop itself: then it does not matter where the internet comes from.
- Mobile internet with its own rules. If the operator has switched on whitelist mode, Mayak will not connect either on the phone or on a laptop that gets its internet from that phone (why).
- Traffic. A laptop eats mobile data faster than a phone: system updates and cloud folders download by themselves. The tunnel adds on top: in our measurement, about 10 % on a large download (the full measurement).
Battery
Encryption runs on the laptop's processor and takes some energy. How much, we have not measured for Happ or for AmneziaWG, so there is no number here. If you notice the laptop draining noticeably faster with the tunnel on, write to support with your system and model: that is exactly the measurement we lack.
Travelling abroad
Abroad a laptop gets a local address, and some Russian sites open only from a Russian one. For that, pick “Russia” in the list of countries when it is there. Which sites behave this way and why is in “A Russian IP from abroad”. Your account, plan and devices stay the same while travelling: devices are counted, not addresses or countries.
Mayak on a laptop: what exists now
- We have no Windows or Mac app of our own yet, and we give no dates. You can connect now: Happ with the subscription link or, on Linux, the settings file. The buttons are on the “Where to tap” page (with Mac and Linux there too).
- The link delivers one way of connecting. A third-party client has no automatic path switching like our Android app (what is in our link).
- A laptop is one slot in your plan, like a phone. Plans differ by the number of devices: “Start” up to 3, “Family” up to 5, “Max” up to 10. The trial is 3 days on two devices after you confirm your email: a laptop and a phone both fit. What it costs and what is included: “How much does a VPN cost”.
- What we do not promise. That we “work everywhere”: every new network is a new test, and only you see its result.
Try it on your own laptop. Create an account, open “Connecting by link” in your account area and add the link to Happ. We ask for no payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
What we checked
- Happ with a Mayak subscription link on Windows 11 and on a Mac — live connection, 25 September 2026. The macOS version and Mac chip were not recorded.
- The settings file on Linux — works with our servers (as the help centre says).
- What is visible in someone else's network — a capture of our own traffic on 20 September 2026: 4 names out of 4 without the tunnel, 0 inside it.
- Happ's release and files — from its GitHub releases page, read on 2 October 2026: 4.3.0 of 15 September, with the line about sleep on Linux and macOS.
What we do not know
- Whether a laptop's traffic goes through a phone's tunnel when sharing. Not measured.
- How much battery the tunnel takes on a laptop. Not measured on any system.
- How Happ survives sleep. We have only the developer's words about Linux and macOS; nothing on Windows.
- How Happ behaves on Windows 10 and INCY on a Mac. Not tested live.
- How the connection will behave in your hotel or café. Only visible on the spot. If it did not work, tell us where and from which system: that is how we learn what we do not know yet.
Quick answers
Which VPN should I install on a laptop? One that has a client for your system. With Mayak: Happ with a subscription link on Windows and Mac, an AmneziaWG settings file on Linux.
Is there a free VPN for a laptop? The Happ client is free; someone pays for the servers. We have a trial without a card; how paid differs from free is in a separate article.
Where do I download a VPN for a laptop? Only from the client developer's page: for Happ that is its GitHub releases page, for INCY on a Mac the App Store.
Do I need a VPN on the laptop if the phone has one? Yes, if the laptop should go through the server: the phone's connection protects the phone. The laptop takes one more slot in your plan.
Why will the VPN not connect in a hotel? Most often the network is waiting for you to pass its login page. Turn the tunnel off, log in to the network, turn it back on.
Are a Windows laptop and a MacBook set up the same way? Almost: Happ with a subscription link works on both; the install file and system windows differ. Steps are in the Windows and Mac articles.