Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Good morning,

Apologies for posting this here in addition to the gaming section. The latter isn't well populated, so I am fearful of getting no response there. (Admins, Please merge the two posts if you see fit.)

Our twin sons have a Windows 10 gaming PC each. We built these ourselves with the highest spec we could afford. Our Virgin Media connection gives us 550Mb/37Mb consistently over Ethernet connections from our Asus RT-AC88U router. (CAT5e cable) Everything has been running beautifully for two years. We keep software, video drivers etc fully up-to-date.

As part of their wish to improve negotiation with the best game servers they installed Logmein Hamachi VPN. (free version)

"LogMeIn Hamachi is a hosted VPN service that lets you securely extend LAN-like networks to distributed teams, mobile workers and your gamer friends alike -within minutes". https://www.vpn.net/

Immediately the twins noticed that their downstream speed was pegged back to a maximum of 120Mb, not only whilst in contact with gaming servers for game play and software updates, but also when not running games. This still applied after reboot and using different speed tests.

We looked for configuration issues, but no choices were apparent in Hamachi settings that let the user decide bandwidth. We checked out and reinstalled any network adaptors including the Hamachi VPN adaptor. We updated all Ethernet adaptor drivers and ensured that they were still set to Full Duplex 1GBs. No improvement!

In desperation we uninstalled Hamachi VPN - remove settings and files option. To our amazement - No improvement! I went through their systems including the registry deleting all evidence of Hamachi Logmein. (User comments observe that the software is very poor at fully uninstalling itself.) Still the bandwidth was pegged back, even after resetting network adaptors.

Next step was to take one of the PCs back to bare-bones Windows 10 Home and then reinstall everything step-by-step, conducting speed tests at each stage. This was to eliminate all other possibilities. Sure enough, broadband speed had gone back to normal 550Mb, even with all previous games installed. So, we reinstalled Logmein Hamachi. Immediately, even without using game servers, speed had dropped to 120Mb. Uninstallation did not restore full speed.

My questions are this: Has anyone any idea what is going on here? Has anyone else had a similar experience? Has anyone a clue what Windows settings Hamachi could have permanently changed that remain even after Hamachi is completely removed from a PC? All suggestions welcome.

With no solution available, we will, of course, do a Windows refresh on both PCs and stay completely clear of Hamachi VPN.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Can you not use system restore to get back to the time the VPN was first used?

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

We tried that, but none of the relevant old restore points would restore Windows to its pre-VPN status. Installing Hamachi didn't even create a restore point. Slightly older restore points failed to function. They faltered and stopped on both machines. This is why we did a fresh start, taking Windows back to scratch.

The end result is the same though. We have identified Hamachi as the sole problem.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Having never used a VPN, after reading this thread I'd be very wary about using one in the future . . especially a free one.

Not to worry you, but I'd also be wondering what else it was doing, apart from lowering your internet speeds :shocked:

Fresh windows install definitely a must IMO.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

This particular VPN specialises in negotiating with games servers. It isn't a hide your ass VPN. It is used widely by gamers and was recommended to my sons. They have taken the free option, which limits some of their abilities to set up networks, but there is a paid-for upgrade.

A Windows install is a likely outcome, but we want to see what this post brings up and we have a help ticket awaiting the attention of Hamachi.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

See, told you I'd never used one :D I learn something every day on here . . some stuff is best forgotten though ;)

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Personally, I am curious how a VPN can enhance the gaming experience.. I know that this system can enable people to play LAN games (games limited to local network) over the internet, and I can see that depending how the VPN routes your connection, it may give you a shorter route to your game servers (shorter route=more responsive game), but there is also an overhead in that that data needs to be encrypted and decrypted, which may not only wipe out the advantage of the shorter route, but may take longer than the time you save.

I am genuinely curious about this.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Maybe it protects against a DoS attack.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

The twin have been mostly using Hamachi to create or join a network of remote friends, to play games, as if they were in a local network. This is completely private and secure to the gateway and client computers.

I'm not sure how this enhances game play either, unless Hamachi networks used by enthusiasts are connected to optimum games servers. There are lists of Hamachi networks dedicated to particular games: http://www.hamachinetwork.info/Defau...Game=Minecraft

How to install: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryvSWIKwcB4

How to set up a private network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q67KUafEl8

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

I've had the problem but also never resolved it re: Bandwidth cap. The program also caused DNS issues and adapter issues leading to 'No Internet connection' or Web pages just failing to load.

I remember removing Hamachi didn't resolve any of the above issues. It definitely fiddles with the network adapter or something else. Its been that long I can't remember the steps I used to take to restore everything to normality, that might have given an insight.

I remember the 'No Internet connection' issue being fairly common and widespread. A quick Google confirms as such.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Sounds a bit like the program is applying a kludge, probably in the BIOS, because a faster connection causes problems for the VPN.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Yes, a Google search does highlight similar problems 1) with getting slow bandwidth and 2) the difficulty of getting back to normal even if you uninstall Hamachi. In both instances none of the suggested solutions worked, including treating Hamachi as malware and rooting it out with malware detectors. Do let me know if something pops into your head from the past.




Kludginess seems to be a design feature of Hamachi. What do you think is the most likely setting to have been messed with in Bios that could cause network speed to be pegged back to 120Mb? I Googled that and found discussions about bios possibly affecting network speed, but it turned out that bios didn't unless it was an ancient MOBO without 1Gbs Ethernet ports.

I did see discussion about Hamachi servers storing your client IP for future reference and pegging back all connections to this. Hamachi does apply a different IP to private network client machines even if more than one client machine is running off the same router. IPs are in the range 192.168.2.** Could Hamachi have some remnant on the machine, even after a full uninstall, that pegs your global internet connection back? If so, that is one diabolical Kludge!

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

I suggested a BIOS or similar low level setting as it could have set the Ethernet to be, say, 100T compatible. Such a change might only be sorted by a fresh OS install.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Could that result in speed tests of 120Mb?

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

In the absence of any solutions, we have taken the inevitable step.

Yesterday we we took my son's PC back to bare-bones Windows 10. Immediately, 550MB/37Mb was restored. All previous apps and games, apart from Hamachi, have been reinstalled, taking a speed test at each step. No problems.

Despite it's excellent ability to create private networks for gaming purposes and to help you find private networks linked to good games servers, I cannot recommend Logmein Hamachi, unless you don't mind sacrificing any bandwidth above 120Mb.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Not likely in the Bios, as before UEFI, motherboards didn't offer a standardised mechanism for altering BIOS settings in Windows or DOS.

Although UEFI does provide a mechanism for Windows to alter the firmware settings, this may not offer enough control over the machine's hardware.

It is possible (indeed likely) that the VPN client is altering the Windows settings in such a way that it would limit speed.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Yes. However, despite weeks of trying I couldn't find which setting and Google didn't come up with solutions either.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

All it needs to do is alter one, maybe two registry keys. The trouble is there are potentially a *lot* of registry keys that it can alter.


I do a lot of mucking around with Windows, and while I don't do the low level mucking around I used to (I used to be someone who tweaked every single setting he could in an effort to tune Windows so it performs better, but I've long since found that Windows is now actually quite good at tuning itself, so the minimal performance gains I was getting weren't worth the hours of work I put into them), but I have frequently found the best solution if Windows is misbehaving, assuming you have good backups, and can re-install any applications easily, is a re-install.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

I'm sure you are right. Although I deleted everything in the registry that had anything visibly to do with Logmein Hamachi, it is possible that a registry setting as altered. Frankly, few folk would have the time to trawl through all that systematically. I went for the quick solution.

Also, an app that messes up your settings like that with no option to change them and leaves a legacy of kludginess after uninstallation, is probably best avoided.

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

I wonder if TCPOptimiser would fix things?

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Blimey! I haven't used that in years - not much call for it in W10.

I understood that TCP optimiser was more to do with traffic management or making he best of the bandwidth you have. Which parameter would be the most relevant to raise download rate by nearly 80%?

Re: Logmein Hamachi VPN permanently affecting downstream speed.
 

Not used it for a few years, but isn't the free version limited in speed?

It should also not affect the performance of your internet when it's not running unless it's doing something in the background that it shouldn't be.

What games or game are they playing?

I used it for Minecraft and in the end I just ended up renting a server, cost about £40 for a year and was sufficient for the Feed The Best mod and 4 to 10 players.

I do know however that these types of programs are being used by alot of scammers out there and should never be recommended by any company to play games because, all they do is limit your bandwidth and generally increase the latency and allow you to get around region restrictions, and to try and get around anti cheat programmes like in PUBG.