What is a VPN?
The world has changed quite a bit in recent months, particularly in regards to how business is conducted. The ability to work remotely has become a necessity in many industries. While many places moved quickly to gain the ability to remote access, that haste occasionally left room for security to be improved - and at a time when others are seeking to setup their own remote abilities or more permanent setups for the future.
A Virtual Private Network
VPN is short for Virtual Private Network. They are programs that can be installed onto web-enabled devices. In essence, what they do is create an isolated channel for the device to connect directly to the servers/websites being accessed. It may seem odd, but there is a benefit to this.
While they are gaining prominence with the increase in remote work being done, VPNs are not something only for those who are now working remote. They are also available for those working in their offices and can prove to be beneficial in that environment as well.
Why Use It?
What it boils down to is security. A VPN takes a public network or even a password-protected network and locks it down into a private network. This makes it so that others on the network and even ISPs like Comcast or Verizon are unable to see what actions are being taken on the network.
That may seem like a silly thing to some. Does it really matter if someone sees you're using Facebook, sending emails or playing games? The issue is that much more occurs online than that, including banking, shopping, applying for jobs and school, transfer of medical records, etc. These things all involve confidential information that a bad actor could be looking to grab from you. A VPN creates a barrier from that happening and can even stop ISPs from collecting data to create customized ads to show you.
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