whatismyip.com

What is a VPN - Virtual Private Network?

VPN or Virtual Private Network

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a method used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, like WiFi Hotspots and the Internet. VPNs are most often used by corporations to protect sensitive data. However, using a personal VPN is increasingly becoming more popular as more interactions that were previously face-to-face transition to the Internet. Privacy is increased with a VPN because the user's initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider. This method allows subscribers to attain an IP address from any gateway city the VPN service provides. For instance, you may live in San Francisco, but with a VPN, you can appear to live in Amsterdam, New York, or any number of gateway cities.

VPN Security

Security is the main reason why corporations have used VPNs for years. There are increasingly simple methods to intercept data traveling to a network. WiFi spoofing and Firesheep are two easy ways to hack information. A useful analogy is that a firewall protects your data while on the computer and a VPN protects your data on the web. VPNs use advanced encryption protocols and secure tunneling techniques to encapsulate all online data transfers. Most savvy computer users wouldn't dream of connecting to the Internet without a firewall and up-to-date antivirus. Evolving security threats and ever increasing reliance on the Internet make a VPN an essential part of well-rounded security. Integrity checks ensure that no data is lost and that the connection has not been hijacked. Since all traffic is protected, this method is preferred to proxies.

Setting up a VPN

Setting up a VPN is a straightforward process. It's often as simple as entering a username and sever address. The dominate smartphones can configure VPNs using PPTP and L2TP/IPsec protocols. All major operating systems can configure PPTP VPN connections. OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec protocols require a small open source application (OpenVPN) and certificate download respectively.

VPN Protocols

The number of protocols and available security features continue to grow with time. The most common protocols are:

PPTP - PPTP has been around since the days of Windows 95. The main selling point of PPTP is that it can be simply setup on every major OS. In short, PPTP tunnels a point-to-point connection over the GRE protocol. Unfortunately, the security of the PPTP protocol has been called into question in recent years. It is still strong, but not the most secure.
L2TP/IPsec - L2TP over IPsec is more secure than PPTP and offers more features. L2TP/IPsec is a way of implementing two protocols together in order to gain the best features of each. In this case, the L2TP protocol is used to create a tunnel and IPsec provides a secure channel. This makes for an impressively secure package.
Open VPN - OpenVPN is an SSL-based VPN that continues to gain popularity. The software used is open source and freely available. SSL is a mature encryption protocol, and OpenVPN can run on a single UDP or TCP port, making it extremely flexible.

VPN Providers

There are many choices when it comes to VPN providers. There are some VPN providers who offer free service and there are some which charge for VPN service. We have found that the paid VPN providers such as VyprVPN are preffered to the free service providers. They offer robust gateways, proven security, free software, and unmatched speed.

Recent Forum Posts

Tracking an individual by Admin , Limits?!
If an admin has decided not to let one in bulletin forum, what are the limits? How far can one track an individual? As far as I undestood VPN is of...
Extending the distance of my router's signal.
:)Hi, I'm new to IP Forum. The main reason I joined was to hopefully learn how to access my IP's website and change some settings on my router to...
wireless ip camera problems
i recently bought a northq wireless ip camera. when i connect the camera via ethernet and run the northq setup it will recognize it. I set all the...
Email rejection with different IP address
Hi, I am a user not a network person and am very puzzled by some odd behaviour. I have a number of email addresses and am finding mail from one of...
I have 5 static IP's from COMCAST - advice needed
I have a Comcast Internet connection with 5 available IPs. I have 5 computers in my office. I want to have each computer its own IP individual IP...
List of VPN services?
I see that people are starting to use VPN services to access the net for several reasons. There is one suggested service on this site. I am asking...
New Member
Hallo, I am a new member here. It's just today, Mei, 12th 2012. I am hosting a NAS at home to share files with my family. I provide my family...