All sensitive consumer, employee, or financial data must be shielded from prying eyes within a corporation. When you leave the business network, maintaining this protective wall around sensitive data becomes a little more difficult.
We previously discussed the three cyber security essentials for protecting your organization, including the use of a VPN (virtual private network) to protect sensitive data. Not all VPNs, however, are made equal.
What exactly is a virtual private network (VPN)?
A VPN, or virtual private network, is essentially an encrypted tunnel between your computer and the internet or another network, such as the one used by your workplace.
Its purpose is to keep people, computers, and bots from looking at the traffic between these two points. A good and free VPN will encrypt your internet traffic and mask your IP address, all while protecting your privacy and security online.
A virtual private network (VPN) is a network service that encrypts Internet traffic and thereby protects your online identity. In a strictly corporate setting, a VPN can be compared to a geographical extension of a private local network (LAN), which allows the sites of the same firm situated throughout the area to be securely connected to one another. To do this, data packets are routed via the IP protocol for transit on a large scale: this enables the creation of a “virtual” and “private” LAN that is completely equal to a dedicated network’s physical architecture.
VPNs are primarily utilized in the business world and by government agencies, with the goal of lowering expenses in the establishment of one’s own secure network, which is accomplished by utilizing the public network’s infrastructure. Many private users, on the other hand, prefer to utilize a VPN to explore and exchange data on the internet anonymously and without restrictions or geoblocking. Some providers give the option of choosing which protocols to use for the connection, either by using a VPN for Windows server set up within their own network (corporate/private) or by connecting to one controlled by a third party.
It’s important to remember that because data on the internet can be intercepted by anyone in their path (through sniffing techniques) if it’s not properly protected, the subjects interested in knowing the details of users’ network activities could be diverse and serve a variety of purposes: investigative, commercial, or fraudulent. The types, operational principles, and protocols that define a VPN are discussed in detail below.
Final thoughts
The following are the primary elements that must lead to the adoption of a VPN:
For the private sector: a) privacy and anonymity; b) the potential of unrestricted access to services and websites; c) improved protection from cyber risks if utilized with a full understanding of the facts, caution, and a decent antivirus.
In addition to the rules that apply to persons, the following rules apply to businesses: a) Cost-cutting. The costs of running a network are greatly lowered thanks to the usage of the internet as a distant connection infrastructure for VPNs; b) communications are more usable.
Remote users can safely connect to business network resources or to each other 24 hours a day, from anywhere; c) flexibility. VPN architecture is easily adaptable to changing network needs and is extremely flexible since it can construct a private network both between fixed and distant offices as well as between remote terminals; d) security. The employment of tunneling protocols for the establishment of a point-to-point topology gives the best free VPN for Windows its security and reliability.