MY ONE BLOGby Manishdai
Cybersecurity

What is Virtual Private Network?

Quick answer

A service that creates an encrypted tunnel between a device and another network, protecting traffic and masking the user's IP address.

Virtual Private Network, explained

A virtual private network (VPN) routes your internet traffic through an encrypted connection to a VPN server. To websites, your traffic appears to come from that server rather than your own IP address, and anyone on your local network, such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot, cannot read what you send.

Businesses have long used VPNs to let remote employees securely access internal systems. Consumer VPN services are popular for privacy and for accessing content available in other regions. A VPN does not make you anonymous or protect against malware or phishing, and you must trust the VPN provider, which can see your traffic. Many organizations are moving toward zero trust network access, which grants access per application rather than to an entire network.

Related terms

Encryption

The process of converting readable data into scrambled ciphertext that only someone with the correct key can decode.

IP Address

A numeric label assigned to each device on a network that uses the Internet Protocol, used to route data to the right destination.

Secure Access Service Edge

A cloud-based approach, known as SASE, that combines networking and security services so users connect safely from anywhere.

Zero Trust

A security model built on the principle never trust, always verify, requiring every user and device to be authenticated and authorized continuously.

Guides that mention Virtual Private Network