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A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a way of implementing a private network over public infrastructure, such as the internet. When you connect computer systems over a secure VPN, the communication between those systems is securely encrypted, keeping the data safe from unauthorised access. A VPN provides the sort of security that used to be delivered over expensive leased phone lines, but at a fraction of the cost.
If you are like most internet users, much of what you do is insecure and unprotected - even if your PC is at home behind a firewall. While your data is moving between your computer and a webserver or any other computer on the internet, much of it is easily read. This allows your ISP to monitor your activities, possibly to build up a marketing profile of you, possibly to identify if you are doing something which they would want to block. On a public wifi hotspot, you are at risk of even more snooping on your activities. A VPN can protect you from this sort of snooping by encrypting all of your interbet activity.
Your IP address can identify you while you are on the net. Your ISP assigns you the IP address and it records when you held it. Your IP address is also used by search engines, advertisers, social networks, and other websites use your IP address to track your activity. A VPN can give you a more anonymised IP address which blocks these privacy intrusions.
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Your IP address identifies where you are. This is used to decide what to show you or what to allow you access to. Have you tried looking at youtube video, or accessing content from a TV station website, or usiing any of a host of other services only to be directed to a message saying something like 'content not available in your location'? A VPN which provides you with different exit points on the net can allow you to decide where you want to appear to be. It puts you in control.
Protocols are crucial when deciding what VPN you need. OpenVPN is a popular mechanism for encrypting internet traffic (UDP & TCP) using up to 256 bit SSL. It is widely supported. PPTP is baked natively into many operating systems, while OpenVPN needs additional client software. It supports up to 128 bit encryption. L2TP is a tunneling protocol, which connects systems on a VPN, but doesn't actually encrypt the traffic, relying on one of the other protocols to do this.
We are pleased to recommend VyprVPN Personal VPN.
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