How does a VPN protect me?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers a secure connection to the internet. It will generally encrypt the data one sends over the internet in a link to protect it. With a VPN, you’re sure to protect your online privacy. So, how does a VPN protect me, you may wonder. Join us along as we uncover the answer to your question.

Interestingly, the VPN technology has been around for quite a while, but there has been an increased interest for the past few years. Perhaps the increased concerns by the governments to monitor online activities fueled the whole process, or the ISPs potential to resell user data. Either way, we’ve got to get deep with it!

The corporate VPN vs. the consumer VPN

Generally, there are two types of VPNs; the corporate and the consumer VPNs. The corporate also referred to as Remote Access VPN is a type of VPN protection technology that allows an individual to connect to a private corporate intranet securely while offsite. The security of this technology is maintained through a password, security token, or even one time passwords by a smartphone app. The two essential pieces of the corporate VPN include the Remote Access Server and the VPN Client software.

Traveling the world and still having a job

That doesn’t mean much to you? You came here for a straight answer to the question ‘how does a VPN protect me’? Alright alright alright. Think of the corporate technology. Offsite workers or workers on the road who still require access to resources on the private internal network of the business find this technology very useful. When a remote worker is authenticated, he or she connects to the corporate intranet through an encrypted tunnel. This establishes a private connection over the public internet. Thereupon, remote workers can collaborate with their colleagues using services such as the sharing of the desktop. There you go, your trick to traveling the world and still making money.

Of course, when it comes to large businesses, a more robust solution might be required. Multiple locations might call for numerous LANs and site to site VPN. Hence, workers at various locations can safely connect and share corporate resources despite the physical distance.

Don’t put your company at stake

Let’s say you’re working remotely and need to access sensitive data on the private servers of the company. Well, using an insecure public network can put your company at stake. With a VPN, a user can access a closed system and share data remotely through the public networks. VPNs acts more like firewall protection on the data in your computer; one can safely hide internet activity. While a VPN protection technically works as a Wide Area Network, the front end retains the same functionality. Hence, you’re assured of online protection.

VPN and Internet provider

Perhaps you’re wondering, how does a VPN protect me from my internet provider?

Better still, why VPNs have grown enormous popularity with corporations as a way of securing sensitive data during remote connections? Well, a VPN is a combination of a dedicated connection and encryption protocol which generates a virtual P2P connection. Even though some unscrupulous individuals would sniff into some of the transmitted data, it is impossible to pass the encryption.

Establishing a secure connection is quite easy. You’ll first need to connect to the public internet through an ISP. Then, you’ll initiate a VPN connection with a company using the client software.

So what does a VPN hide?

Interestingly, there are some security protocols developed over the past few years with various security features and levels which include:

• IP Security: This is generally used to secure communications through the internet. IP Security operates in two modes; the transport and tunneling mode.
• Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol: This protocol combines the best individual features of L2TP and IPSec to create an excellent VPN. The L2TP handles the tunneling whereas the IPSec works on the data encryption.
• The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS): The SSL and TLS are extensively used to develop secure internet connection for retailers and service providers. The protocol operates using the handshake method. At the beginning of each SSL session, an SSL handshake is performed. The handshake gives the cryptographic parameters of a course.
• Point to Point Tunneling Protocol: The PPTP has formed a ubiquitous VPN protocol. The PPTP can work on a variety of operating systems. Unlike the L2TP, PPTP does not do encryption. Hence, a secondary protocol such as GRE or TCP is used to handle the encoding. You might also want to try the Secure Shell Protocol that creates both the VPN tunnel; and the encryption, making it more secure!

Thereupon, if you’re looking to secure your personal or company data, you might want to think about the virtual private network!