VPN

Lola is waiting at the airport to hop on her flight back home when she realizes that she missed making an important bank payment. She connects her laptop to the public wi-fi at the airport and goes ahead to carry out the bank transaction.

Everything goes well and Lola completes her transaction. After a couple of days she was wiped off her feet when she learned that her bank account was subjected to a cyber attack and a hefty amount was wiped from her account. After getting in touch with the bank authority she learned that her account was hacked at the airport. She didn't realize that the public wi-fi she used might have caused her this trouble.

Lola wishes that had her bank transfer escaped the hacker's eyes she would not have been a victim of a cyber attack. Bank officials advise her to use a VPN for future transactions especially when connecting to an open or public network. Like most of us Lola had come across the term VPN several times but didn't know much about it and little did she think that the repercussions of not using a VPN would be this bad. 

Let's understand how the hacker would have exploited Lola's transaction in the absence of a VPN. In this process Lola's computer first connects to the internet service provider (ISP) which provides access to the internet.

VPN

She sends her IP address which is a unique address that recognizes a particular device be it a laptop or a smartphone on the internet. When these details pass through the public network the hacker who passively watches the network traffic intercepts it. This is a passive cyber attack where the hacker collects Lola's bank details without being detected. More often or not in such an attack payment information is likely to be stolen.

The targeted data here are the victim's username passwords and other personal information. Such an unsecured connection exposed Lola's IP address and bank details to the hacker when it passed through the public network. 

So would Lola have been able to secure her transaction with the help of a VPN? Well yes. Picture Lola's bank transaction to be happening in a tunnel that is invisible to the hacker. In such a case the hacker will not be able to spot her transaction and that is precisely what a VPN does. 

A virtual private network more often known as VPN, creates a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. For using a VPN Lola's first step would be to install software-based technology known as the VPN client on her laptop or smartphone that would let her establish a secure connection. 

VPN

The VPN client connects to the wi-fi and then to the ISP. Here the VPN client encrypts Lola's information using VPN protocols. Data is encrypted to make sure it is secure. 

Next, the VPN client establishes a VPN tunnel within the public network that connects to the VPN server. The VPN tunnel protects Lola's information from being intercepted by the hacker. Lola's IP address and actual location are changed at the VPN server to enable a private and secure connection. 

Finally the VPN server connects to Lolas's bank server in the last step where the encrypted message is decrypted. This way Lola's original IP address is hidden by the VPN and the VPN tunnel protects her data from being hacked. This explains how VPN makes your data anonymous and secure when it passes through the public network and the difference between a normal connection and a VPN connection.

After learning about this, Lola was certain that she should start using a VPN to carry out her online transactions in the future. This is also applicable to each one of us even if you work remotely or connect to public wi-fi using a VPN is the safest option. 

In addition to providing a secure encrypted data transfer VPNs are also used to disguise your whereabouts and give you access to regional web content. VPN servers act as proxies on the internet this way your actual location cannot be established. VPN enables you to spoof your location and switch to a server to another country and thereby change your location. 

For example by doing so you can watch any content on Netflix that might be unavailable for your region. So here's a question for you from the given options below identify the correct flow of a VPN connection. Do give it a thought and leave your answers in the comments section below. Three lucky winners will receive a shout-out. Given the current scenario cyber attacks are on the rise more than ever. 

So we have to stay alert and protect our digital information. If you are interested in protecting networks and computers from cyber criminals, a cyber security career is what you should venture into. 

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