What is a VPN and how does it work?

It seems like they’re everywhere nowadays: smartphones, tablets, laptops and even sport watches and bands. Our mobile devices allow us to not only make and receive phone calls, but also stay in touch with the things that matter most to us: email, news, weather, social networks and even our health and fitness. All you need is a wireless connection.



As a customer convenience (or perhaps clever marketing ploy), many businesses offer free Internet access. Hotels, coffee shops, stores, and even fast food restaurants offer WiFi networks that allow us to connect mobile devices to Internet services.

These open, unsecured networks can present security threats from the unscrupulous. With the proper tools, hackers can access your files, read your email, see the sites you visit and steal passwords to the bank and shopping sites you log into.

By using a VPN—one of the five of unhackable people—you can make things much, much harder for them.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) establishes a secure link that prevents others on the same network from seeing your activity. A VPN creates a private tunnel between your device and a server, encrypting communications so no one else on the network can monitor what you’re doing online.   Usually, a software package installed on your device is used to connect to a VPN service after being authenticated with a userID and password.

Many businesses today provide VPN services to employees working from home or remote locations. This type of connection to corporate servers ensures sensitive company data stays secure. All activity within the VPN connection is unreadable to anyone else sharing a free, unsecured network. Typically, you’d have access to your files and documents as though you were logged in locally and both the company and employee are protected.

Personal VPNs are an option, too.

As mobile communications become more essential, personal VPN services are becoming popular. Many anti-virus applications provide built-in VPN services to top-tier, paying subscribers.
There are many personal VPN services available, most for a small monthly fee. Some are free, although they may be supported by advertisements and lack features such as anti-virus protection. If you’re budget-conscious,  you might also want to consider an OpenVPN. As with anti-virus, the benefits of paid versus free may come down to how much you value protection.

Choosing the right VPN for you

Are you having a hard time choosing a VPN that best fits your personal or company needs? Stay tuned! We’re preparing a tutorial to help you determine which option is just right for you, right here in Companion.

Source: Lenovo Insider