Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network or a VPN is a network that utilizes a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to deliver remote offices or individual users with safe access to their organization's network. A virtual private network can be distinguished from an expensive system of owned or leased lines that can only be used by one organization. The aim of a VPN is to offer the organization with the similar competences, but at a reduced cost.

A VPN operates by using the shared public infrastructure while sustaining privacy through security procedures and tunneling protocols, that is the Layer Two Tunneling Protocol. As a result, the protocols, by encrypting data at the sending end and decrypting it at the receiving end, transmit the data through a ""tunnel"" that cannot be entered into by any data that is not appropriately encrypted. An extra level of security includes encrypting not only the data, but also the originating and receiving network addresses.