Most of us have used VPNs one way or another; either in a personal setting or a professional one where we need to utilize them to connect to our work applications. Although VPNs are incredibly popular in this day and age where we all need online protection, most people still do not know the different types of VPNs and how they are used.
Well, VPNs do have several types which are designed for very specific purposes, especially for professional use rather than commercial. Virtual Private Networks have come a long way over the years with different security protocols which all aim to protect sensitive data in essence.
Without further ado, let’s try to understand what a VPN is, and then talk about the common types of VPNs we have in the market so you choose the best VPN service for your company.
What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
VPN is the abbreviation of Virtual Private Network, which is a great tool used to get online privacy. To explain, all devices on the internet have an IP address, which is to define that specific device and to locate it. This is more like your physical address where you get your online orders to. In the same way, IP addresses are used to specify the destination of information on the internet.
The bad side of all this is that when you have a local IP address, you will be an easy target for malicious users, you will be easy to be tracked, the information you share will be in danger, and you will not be allowed access to some content due to regional restrictions.
When you use a VPN, it gives you a temporary IP address which is a different one than your local IP. This brings a cloak of invisibility which ensures that hackers are not able to track your online activities. It also encrypts the information you share and receive, thus offering ultimate online privacy.
VPNs are great tools for businesses for these reasons since most of the time they will be sharing sensitive and valuable data between employees. Data transfers and hiding the demographic location on the internet help immensely when it comes to protecting a private network.
How Does a VPN Work?
VPN services hide your location and your local Internet Protocol (IP) address and provide you with a remotely located, temporary IP address. This new IP address belongs to your VPN provider and the location changes depending on where their server is located.
Since you connect to and communicate from your VPN provider’s server and IP address, your digital fingerprint is reduced and even your service provider cannot track your online activities along with the malicious users on the internet.
VPN services also encrypt all the information as said above, so even if the data is to get into the wrong hands, they will not be of much use for them. It will be a meaningless mass of highly encrypted, impossible-to-solve puzzles.
Different Types of VPNs
VPNs come in different sizes and shapes. There are VPN tools focused on personal use while there are also VPNs designed to serve big companies. These VPN types also differ in terms of functionality, so let’s see some of the most common VPNs and what they are good for.
1-) Site-to-site VPN
Site-to-site VPNs are focused on connecting several networks in a secure, encrypted way. This type of VPN service will make sure that the different networks that need to work together can share information and work on the same thing but be secure.
There are two types of site-to-site VPNs; intranet-based and extranet based. To put it simply, intranet-based VPNs are great for sharing information that is located on separate networks. They virtually combine all the information in a single place so everyone can work on it. This is great for companies with remote offices.
On the other hand, extranet-based VPNs allow companies to partner up and work on certain things by sharing only specified information while keeping others secure and inaccessible.
If you are in the market for your company’s VPN needs, check out some of the greatest site-to-site VPN solutions we have as of now.
2-) Remote Access VPN
Remote Access VPNs are what their name suggests; they make possible secure remote connections. Think about all the companies with remote workers due to COVID, they need a way to get business applications and company information to their work-from-home employees to keep their business running.
This VPN tool comes to the aid of these companies. Remote workers might be using personal devices on questionable connections, but remote-access VPNs allow these users to connect to the company network regardless of their physical location. They also make sure to keep the data encrypted and well hidden while it travels between parties.
Work-from-home end users can use their computers and simply work as if they are in an actual office with a physical data center. Although they might experience connection issues, they can access all the information and applications they need.
3-) Personal VPNs
VPN services are not always for companies, people use VPNs every day just for their things. The issue with local IPs is that they are location-specific and are affected by regional restrictions. One of the best things about using a VPN is being able to access content that is banned in your location. Since they make you look like you are connecting from elsewhere, you bypass all these restrictions.
Another big issue with not using a personal VPN daily is cybersecurity concerns. We are putting ourselves in danger with all the personal information we leave behind online, and this information being trackable and visible by malicious users is not much help.
Long story short, investing in a personal VPN for everyday use will not only allow you to get more of the internet by lifting the content restrictions, but it will make sure that you are safe surfing the internet.
Key Takeaways
If you are worried about cyber threats which can be detrimental to company information, using a VPN would be a great choice for the success of your business. But the process of getting a VPN is more complicated than you think as there are multiple types of these tools.
The best thing to do here is to check out what these are used for and which one is the best for your company’s setting and needs. It is also important to encourage the use of personal VPNs as well as enforce this tool as a company policy for cybersecurity. Make sure to check these out and choose a great provider; this will be a worthy investment.