Currently, due to the great demand for security in companies and specifically the need to send encrypted data through a network, VPN technology has been developing more strongly and is becoming more widespread in the business environment.
What is a VPN?
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a way of connecting different geographically separated networks through the Internet, using security protocols that allow maintaining both the authenticity and the confidentiality of the information that travels through the VPN connection.
Image on the advantages of using a VPN connection
So, what advantages does a VPN connection offer us?
In addition to creating a “private environment for computer communications”, VPN technology has many other advantages:
- Enhanced security. When you connect to the network through a VPN, your data is kept encrypted and secure. In this way, it allows to ensure several services through the same system. All this keeps the information protected away from possible external threats.
- Saving. It allows us to connect physically separated networks without the need to use a dedicated network, but through the internet you can securely connect your different private networks.
- Remote control. In the case of a company, the great advantage of having a VPN is that the information can be accessed remotely, from home or from any other place, allowing displaced users to access the content of our fixed network. Therefore, a VPN can increase the productivity of a company.
- Share files. A VPN service can be used by a group that needs to share files for a long period of time.
online anonymity. Through a VPN you can browse the web with complete anonymity. Compared to stealth software or using IP web proxies, the advantage of a VPN connection service is that it allows you to access web applications and websites completely anonymously. - Unblock websites and filters. VPNs are very useful for accessing blocked websites or getting past established internet filters. That is why there is a greater number of VPN services in countries where Internet censorship is applied.
- Change of IP address. If you need an IP address from another country, you can get it through a VPN.
Performance improvement. Bandwidth and network efficiency can be increased overall once a VPN solution is implemented. - Cost reduction. Once a VPN network is created, the maintenance cost is very low. And if you go with a service provider, network setup and monitoring are no longer a concern.
How a VPN works
When a common device connects to the Internet, the outgoing connection communicates first with the network service provider, and then with the requested site or service.
In contrast, if the device is connected to a VPN, the path is different: The device still connects to the service provider first, but then communicates with a VPN server. Finally, it will be from the server that the connection to the site or service to which the device wants to access will be made. Also, all connections made when a device is using a VPN are made through what we know as a VPN or data tunnel. These have various characteristics, but the most important is that they encrypt the information that travels within them, making it unreadable for those who intercept it.
So, a VPN tool makes two changes to the way devices connect to the Internet: First, it adds an intermediary to the connection and, furthermore, it encrypts all of its sections. This first feature is responsible for camouflaging the original location of the device, as well as its original IP address, since the final connection is made from the VPN server. In addition, the encryption of the entire connection makes it one of the most recommended tools when it comes to protecting network connections.
When to use a VPN
There are multiple reasons why a VPN can be useful. Its main uses are:
Telework: Probably the most frequent use of VPN connections, this tool is essential for remote work. They are used by employees to be able to access the corporate networks of their organizations, and thus access services or sites within the same networks. In addition, by granting an encrypted connection, they are usually of mandatory use within those corporations that implement them, becoming a robust security tool that can prevent attacks caused, for example, by the overexposure of corporate equipment to the outside, as is the case of attacks on the RDP protocol.
Connections in public networks: A VPN is also often used when you need to access a public Wi-Fi network; that is, it does not have any type of credential protection. And with the increase in virtuality, accessing public networks in places such as bars, cafes, coworking spaces or airports is becoming more and more common, both for work and leisure. But since these networks do not have any type of verification, it must be a VPN tool that encrypts the connection, being protected both for those who can intercept it and for those who manage this network, who are often unknown to the user.
Censorship evasion: In countries where certain content is inaccessible or its consumption has legal consequences, VPN tools are often used to access it. This is possible thanks to the VPN server, which acts as an intermediary in the connection. Thus, the network providers will not see the final destination of the connection and, therefore, will not be able to stop access to it. However, and because of this feature, there have been recent bans on the use of VPNs in places where censorship is common.
Location-based services: Not all uses of these tools are related to cybersecurity. There are services and applications, such as video games, online stores or consumption of series and movies that offer their content according to the country of origin of their users’ connection. Thanks to the change of location of the connection, since the user’s location will actually be the location of the VPN server that acts as an intermediary, it is possible to consume content from different locations. This is also why several tools of this type offer the possibility of choosing the country or region from which the Internet connection is made.
In short, a VPN will be useful when we have to protect a sensitive or previously insecure connection (such as a public Wi-Fi network) or when we want to hide or modify the location of origin of the connection.
What are data tunnels
When we talk about the operation of a VPN, what is really happening in the communication is that the data that is sent in this type of communication is encapsulated using an encrypted network protocol to travel over the communication network. This technique, called tunneling, precisely creates a tunnel or encrypted data channel within a computer network.
As the important information travels encrypted within the communication protocol data unit (PDU), all the intermediate nodes that participate in the communication will interact with the packet, but only at the end of the communication can the information be decapsulated and decrypted for its use.