Installation of Tailscale on Windows for ScrapIT

Step 1: Create a Tailscale Account

Before installing Tailscale on your Windows machine, you need to create an account to connect your devices to your Tailscale network.

1. Go to the Tailscale Website:

   • Visit the official Tailscale website: https://tailscale.com.

2. Click "Sign Up":

   • In the top-right corner, click the Sign Up button to create a new Tailscale account.

3. Choose Your Sign-In Method:

   • Tailscale supports the following sign-in methods:
     • Google
     • Microsoft
     • Apple
   • Choose the authentication method that works best for you and follow the prompts to authenticate.

4. Confirm Your Email (if required):

   • Depending on the method you used to sign up, you may need to confirm your email address by clicking on a confirmation link sent to your inbox.

5. Complete Account Setup:

   • Once you've signed in and confirmed your account, you can proceed to the next steps to install and configure Tailscale.

Step 2: Download the Tailscale Client for Windows

1. Visit the Tailscale Download Page:

   • Go to the official Tailscale download page: https://tailscale.com/download.

2. Download the Windows Installer:

   • Click on the Windows button to download the .msi installer for Windows.

Step 3: Install Tailscale on Windows

1. Run the Installer:

   • Once the download is complete, double-click the .msi file to start the installation process.

2. Follow the Installation Prompts:

   • Follow the on-screen prompts to install Tailscale. The installer will automatically configure Tailscale to run in the background once installation is complete.

3. Complete the Installation:

   • After the installation finishes, you should see the Tailscale client icon in the system tray (bottom-right of the screen).

Step 4: Log In to Tailscale

1. Open the Tailscale App:

   • If the Tailscale app does not automatically open, click the Tailscale icon in the system tray to launch the app.

2. Sign In:

   • Click the Log In button. This will open a web page in your default browser.

3. Authenticate:

   • Sign in using the authentication method you selected when creating your Tailscale account (Google, Microsoft, or Apple). Follow the instructions in the browser to authenticate.

4. Complete the Login:

   • Once authenticated, Tailscale will complete the login process and connect your Windows machine to your Tailscale network.

Step 5: Advertise an IP Subnet with Tailscale Command

To advertise an IP subnet (e.g., 192.168.xxx.xxx/24), you'll need to first identify the subnet you want to advertise from your network.

1. Find Your Subnet

To determine your subnet:

• For a typical home or small business network, the subnet is usually 192.168.1.0/24 or 192.168.0.0/24. You can confirm this by checking your local network's IP range in the router's configuration or by looking at the IP address of your computer.

Find your local IP and subnet on Windows:

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Type the following command:ipconfig
3. Look for the IPv4 Address (it will look like 192.168.x.x) and Subnet Mask (typically 255.255.255.0 for a /24 network).
4. The subnet will usually be the same as your local network's IP range. For example, if your IPv4 Address is 192.168.1.10, the subnet is likely 192.168.1.0/24.

2. Run the Command to Advertise the Subnet

Once you know the subnet you want to advertise (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24), you can use the following command to advertise it to your Tailscale network:

tailscale up --advertise-routes=192.168.1.0/24 --unattended

• Explanation:
  • --advertise-routes=192.168.1.0/24: This tells Tailscale to advertise the subnet 192.168.1.0/24 to other devices on the Tailscale network.
  • --unattended: This allows the command to run without requiring any manual interaction (such as authentication).

Note: Replace 192.168.1.0/24 with the actual subnet you want to advertise (from Step 5.1).

3. Verify the Subnet Advertisement

After running the command, you can check if the subnet has been advertised by running:

tailscale status

This will show the devices connected to your Tailscale network, and you should see the advertised route (your subnet) listed.

Step 6: Verify Connection

1. Check the Connection Status:

   • After logging in, Tailscale will connect your Windows machine to your Tailscale network, and you should see the device listed in your Tailscale Admin Console.

2. Verify IP Connectivity:

   • On your Windows machine, you can use the Command Prompt to verify your Tailscale IP address:tailscale ip

3. Test Communication:

   • If you have other devices connected to your Tailscale network, you can try pinging them using their Tailscale IPs to verify connectivity.

Step 7: Using Tailscale on Windows

1. Tailscale Menu:
   • You can access the Tailscale client by clicking the Tailscale icon in the system tray. The menu allows you to:
     • View connected devices.
     • Switch between different networks (if applicable).
     • Disable Tailscale by clicking Exit Tailscale.
2. Configure Settings:
   • Advanced settings such as DNS or subnet routing can be configured in the Tailscale Admin Console.

Step 8: Troubleshoot (if necessary)

1. Check Firewall/Antivirus:

   • Ensure that Tailscale is not blocked by any firewall or antivirus software. You may need to allow it through your firewall settings.

2. Restart Tailscale:

   • If you encounter issues, right-click the Tailscale icon in the system tray and select Quit Tailscale, then restart the app.

3. Reinstall Tailscale:

   • If issues persist, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Tailscale client using the same installer.

Step 9: Disconnecting or Uninstalling Tailscale (if necessary)

1. To Disconnect:

   • Right-click the Tailscale icon in the system tray and choose Exit Tailscale to disconnect your device from the Tailscale network.

2. To Uninstall:

   • Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features and uninstall Tailscale like any other application.