VPN or Virtual Private Network
A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a method used to add security and
privacy to private and public networks, like WiFi Hotspots and the
Internet. VPNs are most often used by corporations to protect sensitive
data. However, using a personal VPN is increasingly becoming more
popular as more interactions that were previously face-to-face
transition to the Internet. Privacy is increased with a VPN because the
user's initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider.
This method allows subscribers to attain an IP address from any gateway
city the VPN service provides. For instance, you may live in San
Francisco, but with a VPN, you can appear to live in Amsterdam, New
York, or any number of gateway cities.
VPN Security
Security is the main reason why corporations have used VPNs for
years. There are increasingly simple methods to intercept data traveling
to a network. WiFi spoofing and Firesheep are two easy ways to hack
information. A useful analogy is that a firewall protects your data
while on the computer and a VPN protects your data on the web. VPNs use
advanced encryption protocols and secure tunneling techniques to
encapsulate all online data transfers. Most savvy computer users
wouldn't dream of connecting to the Internet without a firewall and
up-to-date antivirus. Evolving security threats and ever increasing
reliance on the Internet make a VPN an essential part of well-rounded
security. Integrity checks ensure that no data is lost and that the
connection has not been hijacked. Since all traffic is protected, this
method is preferred to proxies.
Setting Up a VPN
Setting up a VPN is a straightforward process. It's often as simple
as entering a username and sever address. The dominant smartphones can
configure VPNs using PPTP and L2TP/IPsec protocols. All major operating
systems can configure PPTP VPN connections. OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec
protocols require a small open source application (OpenVPN) and
certificate download respectively.
VPN Protocols
The number of protocols and available security features continue to grow with time. The most common protocols are:
- PPTP - PPTP has been around since the days of Windows 95. The main
selling point of PPTP is that it can be simply setup on every major OS.
In short, PPTP tunnels a point-to-point connection over the GRE
protocol. Unfortunately, the security of the PPTP protocol has been
called into question in recent years. It is still strong, but not the
most secure.
- L2TP/IPsec - L2TP over IPsec is more secure than PPTP and offers
more features. L2TP/IPsec is a way of implementing two protocols
together in order to gain the best features of each. In this case, the
L2TP protocol is used to create a tunnel and IPsec provides a secure
channel. This makes for an impressively secure package.
- Open VPN - OpenVPN is an SSL-based VPN that continues to gain
popularity. The software used is open source and freely available. SSL
is a mature encryption protocol, and OpenVPN can run on a single UDP or
TCP port, making it extremely flexible.
VPN Providers
There are many choices when it comes to VPN providers. There are some
VPN providers who offer free service and there are some which charge
for VPN service. We have found that the paid VPN providers such as
VyprVPN are preffered to the free service providers. They offer robust gateways, proven security, free software, and unmatched speed.
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