The VPN abbrevioation sounds rather mysterious. For some it may be even a bit threatening. However, it is not as devil as it is painted. Three inconspicuous letters hide great power that can prove to be salutary.
What is a VPN?
To start with, it’s worth explaining what a VPN network is. The abbrevaiotion stands for Virtual Private Network. That already says a lot. Although it is a virtual network, i.e. a network for which no cables are required to be connected, it is somewhat protected. As a result, access to it is limited and moderated. This has the aim of increasing the security while working or exchanging files.
The Virtual Private Network is secure when it is first created in the company’s infrastructure, and only then the access to it given to users. How does VPN work in practice? This is not a complicated thing. In order to connect to the company’s local server, the user uses an encrypted VPN connection. It masks the user’s location, and at the same time allows full access to company’s files from anywhere on earth. Thanks to this, surfing the Internet through free, public Wi-Fi networks becomes safer.
How does VPN work?
More specifically, VPN encryption can be compared to encrypting websites, e.g. those of banks. They use the ” https ” protocol to encrypt sensitive data provided on such sites. In the case of VPN it is similar, except that it is called tunneling.
Tunneling captures all packets that we send when connecting to a given website, encrypts them and puts in a new packet each time. This is a bit like creating a .zip archive. The server then unpacks these packages. However, anyone who intercepts them while sending them will only receive encrypted data and no further information, what was ultimately our intention.
A VPN facilitates the use of public networks in cafes, parks or airports, the use of which in normal conditions is categorically discouraged because of a lack of security. The VPN network hides from users of the same network any information about what we currently do on the Internet. Thanks to this, one for instance gains the opportunity to check e-mail or account balance freely, without risking of being spied.
Using a VPN has great benefits and even more possibilities. The effectiveness and popularity of this solution increases day by day. First of all, cause it enables safe use of public network and allows access to its resources from every corner of the world.