You’ve probably heard about VPN and may have even used it. But do you understand what is behind this abbreviation? How do VPN access programs work, and how exactly are the data protected? Probably not. In this article I will try to explain what a Virtual Private Network is and how the operation of such networks is structured so that you can better understand what can actually be done “behind closed doors”. Use super vpn free and be protected.
What is VPN?
In this article, I will not delve into corporate VPN networks, since this is a slightly different “world” and other goals are pursued in it. Instead, I will talk about VPN as a whole and its application at home.
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network (private virtual network). Connecting to such a network occurs over your normal internet connection. This means that in order to connect to a VPN network, you need to have a working Internet connection. The main difference between a VPN and a regular connection is encryption. All data transferred via VPN is encrypted and, in theory, cannot be viewed by third parties.
Security features for both VPN connections and data transfer are different and can vary greatly between service providers. Therefore, do not think that when you connect to the VPN-server, you are automatically protected from wiretapping.
How does it work
At its core, VPNs are divided into two types:
- Remote access – connect your computer to the network;
- Site-to-site – connecting two different networks.
Corporate VPN networks are usually used for remote access of employees to internal company resources via an encrypted connection. Site-to-site VPN in this case serves to enable employees who are on different networks to work within the same virtual network after connecting.
Home users use these technologies in a slightly different way. Remote access is used to hide the location of your computer and access limited resources. For example, the popular Spotify music service is limited to access from Russia. With a VPN connection, this resource will be unlocked.
Site-to-site-connection, most likely, will be popular with fans to play network games on the local network or to share access to computer resources that are located in different local networks. The simplest example is the Hamachi program . After installing it on both computers, you will receive a virtual local area network between them. Accordingly, it will be possible to arrange sharing of resources of both computers as if they were physically located within the same network.
In fact, there is a third option: Client / Server VPN. This connection method serves when the server needs to create and provide clients with several networks. Thus, users within the same network connect to the server and transmit data over two different internal networks to it.
More precisely, the VPN can be classified by the following parameters:
- According to the degree of security of the used environment (all data is encrypted or a private network is simply created);
- By way of implementation (software solution or integrated);
- To destination (I told about it above);
- By protocol type (TCP / IP, IPX and AppleTalk);
- By network protocol level (based on comparison with ISO / OSI reference network model levels);
- By access (paid, free of charge).
How does all this work? To understand the answer to this question, you need to know the following. A VPN connection is called a “tunnel.” As I said at the beginning of the article, the tunnel is created based on your regular internet connection. A tunnel is a connection between your computer and a server computer. Both computers, in turn, are called nodes. Each of the nodes is responsible for the degree of security of the connection before they enter the tunnel.
Before setting up a VPN, you need to become familiar with common terminology and with some configuration problems. Let’s start with the terminology. A VPN connection always consists of a point-to-point channel, also known as a tunnel. The tunnel is created on an unsecured network, which is often the Internet. A point-to-point connection implies that it is always established between two computers, which are called “nodes” or “peers”. Each peer is responsible for encrypting data before it enters the tunnel, and this data will be decrypted after they leave the tunnel.
