Meaning Of VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, such as the internet. It enables users to
send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing
devices were directly connected to the private network, and thus are benefiting
from the functionality, security and management policies of the private
network.[1] A VPN is created by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections,
virtual tunneling protocols, or
traffic encryption.
A VPN spanning the Internet is
similar to a wide area
network (WAN).
From a user perspective, the extended network resources are accessed in the
same way as resources available within the private network. Traditional VPNs are characterized by a
point-to-point topology, and they do not tend to support or connect broadcast domain.
Therefore, communication, software, and networking, which are based on OSI layer 2 and
broadcast packets, such as NetBIOS
used in Windows networking, may not be fully supported or work exactly as they
would on a local area network (LAN). VPN variants, such as Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), and layer 2 tunneling protocols, are designed to
overcome this limitation.
VPNs allow employees to
securely access the corporate intranet while traveling outside the office.
Similarly, VPNs securely connect geographically separated offices of an
organization, creating one cohesive network. VPN technology is also used by
individual Internet users to secure their wireless transactions, to circumvent
geo restrictions and censorship, and to connect to proxy servers for the purpose of protecting personal identity and
location
Why You Need VPN ?
A VPN is useful
facility and is essential if you travel with a laptop computer, tablet or smart phone. It can be
used by both private users and businesses, but in different ways. There are
free and paid versions, and each has pros and cons, so let's take a look at
what one is and what it does. See also: How
to use a VPN service.
A Virtual Private
Network (VPN) connects two computers securely and privately over the internet,
even though that is a public network. A VPN client on one computer connects to
a VPN server on another computer and by using encryption and other security
measures, no-one can see what information is being exchanged.
One use of this
technology is to extend a private network across the internet to another
location. For example, a businesses can enable workers with laptops on the road
or at home to connect to the company network as if they were sat at a desk in
the office. The network traffic is routed across the internet from the user to
the company, but it is encrypted and therefore secure from eavesdropping and
interception. A company that has offices in two locations can connect them
using a VPN across the internet so there appears to be one network.
VPNs aren't just
for businesses and because the connection is private and secure, another use is
to access the internet anonymously. Anyone that wants to protect their privacy
and security online should use a VPN. Everywhere online someone is tracking
your activities. ISPs monitor internet usage and may restrict the bandwidth if
they detect certain activities. P2P file sharing and Bit Torrent traffic is
speed-limited for instance. Websites you visit get your IP address, location,
browser and operating system, screen resolution, ISP and more. To see what
information you reveal, go to stayinvisible.com. A VPN stops websites spying on
you by hiding data that could identify you.
If you use a
laptop, tablet or smart phone at a public Wi-Fi hotspot like a cafe, hotel,
train station and so on, your activities could be monitored and private
information collected. Online shopping and banking may not be safe because of
the open nature of the network, and among the people around you could be a hacker.
It's unlikely, but you never know. A VPN boosts security because eavesdroppers
cannot make sense of your encrypted communications.
If you travel
abroad and have tried to watch live TV or catch-up TV such as BBC iPlayer you
will have discovered that they don't work. That's because they check your
location to make sure you're in the UK. So even though you are a BBC license
payer and a UK resident, you can't watch BBC when you are away on holiday or
business abroad. A VPN can make it seem like you are in another country, so you
can unlock services and websites that are normally blocked. (See also: How
to use a VPN: set up VPN for private browsing.)
How Do VPN Work ?
VPNs make use of a
client and a server. A client program is run on your own computer, tablet or
smart phone and it connects to a server to establish a secure and private link.
When you run a web browser and enter a website URL the request is sent to the
VPN server. The server requests the web page from the site and sends it back to
you.
If the website
tries to work out who you are and where you live, it queries the computer that
requested the web page, but that was the VPN server, not you. If the server is
located in the US and has a US IP address for example, the website sees the
request coming from a US resident. Similarly, if you are in the US on holiday
or a business trip and connect to a UK VPN server then websites you access
think you are located in the UK. Your location appears to be the country where
the VPN server is running.
Communications
between the server and your computer are encrypted, so someone spying on you
wouldn't know which websites you access and can't see private information like
passwords, usernames, bank or shopping details and so on. A VPN can be turned
on and off as and when you need it.
Free Vs Paid VPNs
There are many VPN
servers on the internet and some are free, but the best ones require a monthly
subscription. By all means try a free server, but there are disadvantages. For
example, they attract lots of users, which means they may be slow. Some are
ad-supported and place adverts on web pages you access. Others limit the speed,
your time online or data transferred.
4 comments:
Write commentsnice article
ReplyDeleteThis is very nice article, however yes we usually use vpn for unblocking geo-restricted content such as bbc iplayer, Netflix and for many other purpose specially for torrent. Although for torrenting I will prefer highly encrypted best vpn service provider and I will not prefer any sort of low quality vpn however it’s up to you what you need.
ReplyDelete#JAMSESHOUSTON135
DeleteVPN is very important when you are outside from your workplace. because it's chance to hack your Emails by others there,so vpn can make you secure for that. I also recommend the high quality vpn to secure yourself. Thanks for your opinion.
Thanks to your precious comments, keep visiting..
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