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VPN
Virtual Private Network
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
Lots of software security providers include a VPN in their software because they know how important it is to protect your data between your network and the network it is intended for.
Once your data leaves your network it is no longer protected by any of your security measures (ordinarily speaking). It is then protected again by the recipient network's security. However, this leaves a huge gap between the two networks as your data pings between lots of different servers across the internet.
So in 1996, a Microsoft employee began developing what would become the idea of a VPN.
Since then, the idea has been developed and tweaked to make very perfect software to keep users safe at work and at home!
Watch our video below to get a better understanding.
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THE 4 THINGS A VPN DOES TO KEEP YOU SAFE
ENCRYPT YOUR DATA
Your VPN will encrypt your data so that if it were to be stolen while in transit then it would not be readable.
Encryption has an opposing battle with decryption as most codes can be cracked. Fortunately, VPNs usually use encryption methods which have yet to be cracked.
So for now, your data is a secret between your device and the recipient device / server.
HIDE YOUR LOCATION
Every website you connect to and every server you interact with, knowingly or unknowingly, will be able to see your IP address (this is your device's digital address to the rest of the internet). This can be used to build a profile against you and your network which could then be attacked.
However, when your VPN is active your IP address will appear as the address of your provider's server, and not your own. Meaning your data cannot be tracked back to you.
Further to this, most VPN providers do not log your actions. So not even the providers could trace your actions back to your device.
TUNNEL
VPNs create a tunnel between your device and the network you are in a session with. i.e. Between your phone and youtube, if you are watching a video on their site. You'll also have a tunnel between your device and the server which this website is stored on.
This tunnel, in summary, encapsulates data being sent back & forth to make it harder to access for an attacker.
DETECTS COMPROMISES IN THE ROUTE
Any data that is sent over the internet is divided into tiny pieces. Each with details on it like your IP address and the IP address of the server you're trying to connect with. That is along with a very small portion of the data being exchanged.
These divided segments are called packets.
When you communicate with another device or server over the internet you will exchange thousands of these little packets, which an attacker could scoop up and piece together.
However, VPNs are ahead of the game here, as they will detect a compromised packet and immediately reroute the remaining packets.
As a result, only one packet can be lost at a time.