When you think of VPNs, chances are pretty good your thoughts go to the tried and true virtual private networks of old, which made it possible for you to securely connect to your company network (from a remote location) such that your local computer behaved as if it were within the company LAN.

In this concise guide from TechRepublic Premium, we look at something different — mobile VPNs and why you need them, how they work and what you should look for in a VPN service.

From the guide:

INTRODUCTION

Before cloud solutions, virtual private networks of old were the best (and often) only solution for remote working.

For the most part, those solutions were considered secure. Once connected, your machine would be given an IP address associated with the topology of your company network and, if configured to do so, would use the same DNS servers as your company LAN. VPNs were a very specific technology that required a specific skill set to set up properly. And although VPNs are still in use today, they have (in many instances) been usurped by cloud solutions. After all, using a cloud platform is not only easier, but also more cost-effective and secure.

WHAT ARE THESE NEW VPNS?

First off, these aren’t entirely new. The type of VPN we’re talking about has been around for some time. Although it still stands for virtual private network, I like to distinguish them as a traditional LAN-based VPN versus a public-based VPN. No, that’s not official terminology, but it cuts to a necessary chase.

WHY YOU NEED A VPN

The answer to this is quite simple: Privacy.

Let’s examine what happens when you are working remotely. You might be at home, or you might be working on a coffee shop wireless network. With the former, you have some control over how tight the security is on the network. You can use very strong passwords and even enable added security systems to the network. With the latter, however, you have no control. You might even find yourself with no choice but to use a coffee shop wireless network with a weak password or, even worse, no password. When you do that, you have absolutely no idea if there’s any security at all on that network.

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