VPN for Dummies

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Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a type of network technology that allows communication between 2 computers or groups of computers via a public channel, usually the internet. In this article, VPN for Dummies, a basic understanding of VPNs is provided.

What is a network? According to Webster's Dictionary, it is "a system of computers interconnected by telephone wires or other means in order to share information." Before the internet, computers in different offices, cities or even countries could talk to each other like people could - through telephone wires.

As the needs for businesses to do that grew, telephone lines became replaced by higher volume wires, like T3 circuits, but the concept was the same. For computer A to talk to computer B, there had to be a physical wire connection. For security reasons, you would want to make sure that only your 2 computers used that line, so you would contract with a vendor to "lease" that circuit.

Now imagine if you have hundreds of computers all across the country, all needing to speak to each other and share information. The cost of leasing private circuits to connect all of these computers together would grow with the distance between computers and the number of connections.

But with the advent of the internet, connections no longer needed to be physical. As long as each computer had access to the internet, information could be shared across the internet in much the same way that it was when the computers were physically connected. This is where the "virtual" part of the term VPN comes in; a network exists, but it is virtual because the connections are not hard-wired dedicated, leased lines anymore.

Now dear VPN for Dummies readers, we come to the part of our explanation regarding privacy. When networks were still run on leased lines, the issue of privacy relied in large part on the commitment of the circuit provider to keep the integrity of their circuits, and therefore the client's information. But with a Virtual Private Network, privacy is achieved by encryption.

When information leaves a computer on the network, it is encrypted in a certain protocol, or code. It is then sent in a private "tunnel" or pathway across the internet to the recipient computer, where it is decoded and received. No one can read the data while it is transmitting, or make any changes to it without it being rejected by the recipient, so the data is secure.

In order to create a VPN, you would need to decide who needs to share information, in what directions, and how often. Next you would need to prepare a listing of the hardware and software systems you are currently using at each location.

You might need to make changes so that the computers can talk to each other easily. You'll also want to consider just how important it is that your data remains secure. Once you've reviewed this information, you're ready to move from the VPN for Dummies type information out there to more complex information regarding types of protocols and the possible vendors you can work with.

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