Virtual Private Networks: What They Do and How They Work

As a business owner, you know how difficult it can be to stay connected to the office while traveling. Despite being on the road, you’re still responsible for responding to clients, employee troubles, and other important tasks that must be addressed throughout the workday. You don’t want to use public WiFi to access corporate data, so your best bet is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Defining VPNs
A VPN is simple to understand. It’s basically a network that privately sends and receives data. This makes it useful for accessing corporate information. The best part about it is that only you, your employees, and authorized personnel can use it, which makes it a secure, private connection that you can count on.

How VPNs Work
VPNs encrypt information that’s sent to and from a network. Gizmodo describes the process which a VPN tends to use in more detail:

Because VPNs use a combination of dedicated connections and encryption protocols to generate virtual P2P connections, even if snoopers did manage to siphon off some of the transmitted data, they'd be unable to access it on account of the encryption. What's more, VPNs allow individuals to spoof their physical location—the user's actual IP address is replaced by the VPN provider—allowing them to bypass content filters.

Basically, using a VPN is the most secure way to access sensitive information. Your data is hidden while it’s in transit, and any attackers won’t be able to see your physical address, either, allowing you to hide your physical location from the hackers.

Why VPNs Are Necessary
The primary reason to use a VPN is that you can’t trust public WiFi to be secure enough to handle the transfer of your sensitive data. Hotspots like those found at airports, train stations, or cafés could be host to any number of threats, and it’s your job to protect your business’s data from them.

While you’re moving around, it can be easy to forget that your data means more than just a couple of files or numbers. Your data represents the life’s blood of your business, and if it’s compromised, you can say goodbye to your future. Don’t allow this to happen because of a lack of foresight. Let the skilled IT professionals at Computerware help you integrate a powerful, flexible VPN solution that’s designed to keep your data safe while mobile. Give us a call at (703) 821-8200 to learn more.