What is a VPN?
There’s more than one answer.
Actually, there are four.
We’ll explain what a VPN is in increasing levels of difficulty.
Level 1 We all want to be as safe as possible.
That’s why we need to follow rules that protect us.
For example, one of the most important rules is “don’t talk to strangers.”
That’s because strangers are — well — strangers.
They might be great people, or they might have bad intentions.
The internet is a bit different than real life.
Threats are not as easy to spot.
It’s full of strangers, and they can watch what you do online without you even noticing
it.
Using a VPN is one of the rules you need to follow if you want to be safer online.
It’s just like closing curtains.
A VPN covers your online activity to protect it from those who are trying to get a peek.
Level 2 Imagine a train arriving in a station.
Anyone looking can see who’s inside and what they’re doing through the train's windows.
What’s more, a public timetable announces where the train is headed.
And that’s great.
We all have an interest in knowing the destination.
We even have an interest in seeing what’s inside the train — maybe it’s incredibly
crowded, so we may choose to wait for the next one.
It’s a different story when it comes to your online data.
Your internet traffic is like that train.
Anyone who’s looking can see what’s going inside.
This should not be easily accessible knowledge — but it often is.
Now imagine a special train with no windows and no timetable.
The people inside know what they’re doing and where they’re going, but nobody looking
at the train has any clue.
When you use a VPN (which is short for “virtual private network”), your internet traffic
becomes like that special train.
ISPs and snoopers can see that you’re connected to the internet, but they can’t see your
sensitive information and use it to harm you.
A VPN tunnel enhances your privacy by encrypting data — in other words, making it look like
gibberish to anyone who sees it.
Level 3 A VPN is a cybersecurity tool.
It hides your IP address and online activity by routing your internet traffic through an
encrypted VPN server.
A VPN keeps your online activity secure and shields it from anyone who might want to monitor
it.
Here are a couple of examples of how a VPN works.
In some cases, you have no idea if the connection you’re using is secure.
Hackers can easily exploit poorly configured Wi-Fi hotspots.
Or they can set up their own hotspot, name it “FREE Wi-Fi,” wait until you connect,
and extract your sensitive data.
A VPN encrypts all your traffic.
Even if the connection you’re using isn’t secure, your online data remains safe.
Let’s say you’re traveling through a country that restricts internet access to some websites
or services.
With a VPN, you can change your virtual location at will.
Connect to a VPN server in your home country, and browse the internet as if you’re on
your sofa.
Level 4 When you connect to a VPN, it authenticates
your client with a VPN server.
A secure connection — a tunnel — between your device and the server is created.
But before being sent and received, any data needs to be split into packets.
To ensure each data packet stays secure, a VPN wraps it in an outer packet, which is
then encrypted through encapsulation.
This exterior packet keeps the data secure during the transfer, and it is the core element
of the VPN tunnel.
The outer packet is removed through decryption when the data arrives at the VPN server.
Hope you enjoyed this video — though I’d guess 5-year-olds didn’t really understand
the last few chapters, sorry!
Until next time!
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