What Is a VPN? How It Works, Types & More

Our lives are increasingly digital. Even basic daily tasks like paying for groceries or buying a new sweater revolve around screens and smartphones. Because of this, protecting your privacy online is as important as locking your door when you leave your house.

For this reason, most browsers, email services, and even texting platforms have some built-in security or encryption protocols. But if you’re dealing with sensitive information or professional data, you must go beyond the basics. And even if you aren’t, if you prioritize your online privacy at all, knowing what a VPN is and how it works is key.

What Is a VPN?

On a basic level, understanding VPNs is as simple as knowing what those letters stand for: Virtual Private Network. VPNs create a protected, encrypted connection for your data and activity, even if you’re using a public network. 

VPNs encrypt data like your internet traffic, messages you send, and files you download. They also help to disguise your online identity and protect your privacy. These things make it much more difficult for third parties like scammers to steal your data or track what you’re doing.

Why Use a VPN?

Broadly speaking, the answer is as obvious as what a VPN does. You use a VPN to protect your data and privacy online.

Zooming in, VPNs are crucial for businesses with proprietary software or sensitive information — whether that’s tech, finance, or healthcare. It’s not uncommon for businesses to require you to be on-site to access your work accounts and information to protect the integrity of their data.

But with smartphones in everyone’s pocket and the rise of remote work, it’s increasingly difficult to enforce this. A Google verification code isn’t going to cut it. A VPN network is a simple and safe way to allow employees, clients, or contractors to access sensitive information remotely. It’s crucial in a hybrid or remote work setting.

On an individual basis, VPNs disguise where you’re accessing the internet from. Rather than registering your individual IP address and thereby identifying information, your internet use is pinged to the VPN server. It makes it hard — if not impossible — for someone to determine where you are. This has many benefits in addition to general privacy. 

Maybe you’re working remotely from a luxurious foreign location rather than your home. While there might not be a company policy against that, it’s better to avoid raising eyebrows. Maybe you’re an international super spy, and you need to hide your location from other agents. 

All are equally valid and equally well-served by a good VPN.

How Does a VPN Work?

Think about a flashy, high-profile restaurant opening in the middle of New York City. The handful of normal people who snag a reservation enter through the front door. Everyone sees these people enter the restaurant: passersby on the street, hopeful paparazzi lying in wait, and influencers snapping their selfies.

A VPN is the secret back door entrance celebrities use. They get the same service and experience, but nobody can track or document their activity. Their privacy is protected. 

Similarly, a VPN hides your IP address from third parties or scammers by redirecting it through a remote server. The server is run by a VPN host and is naturally in a different location from you, so it obscures identifiable details.

VPNs also provide encryption for your data. That way, even if someone were to identify you, your data would be impossible for them to read or utilize. Before we get into discussing the details of how VPNs work, there are a couple of simple but important terms to be aware of.

• VPN Tunnel. The VPN is what provides a secure, confidential internet connection. Data travels through an encrypted pathway within the VPN system — that’s the tunnel.
  

• VPN Protocol. The VPN itself is, again, the overall system. The protocol is the instructions the VPN follows to keep your data secure while it’s being transmitted.

What Are the Different Types of VPN?

There are a few different types of VPN available, depending on your use case and needs. More basic options that come as simple browser extensions will be more than enough to protect your general privacy.

If you’re looking into a VPN for professional reasons and need to implement it across your business, you’ll need something that provides more protection.

Site-to-Site VPN

A site-to-site VPN creates a link between two or more individual networks. For instance, a company’s main network and satellite offices. This type of VPN is useful for safely sharing information between multiple locations. It enables seamless communication and research sharing while protecting data and privacy.

Site-to-site VPNs are also useful when it comes to connecting your company to partners, customers, clients, or suppliers. If you work with separate but related organizations that you may need to share software or private information with, this type of VPN is the answer.

Remote Access VPN

This type of VPN is most useful if you have multiple users, clients, or employees who work off-site. A remote access VPN forms a private connection between a company or individual’s main data center and a remote user.

The data that’s transferred between these locations is encrypted, making it useless even if it’s intercepted. 

Cloud VPN

If you or your company already has a cloud-based infrastructure in place, it follows that a cloud VPN is the ideal privacy solution. It enables individuals to securely access company resources — like files and apps — from wherever they are.

Because it’s cloud-based, individual remote users don’t need any particular infrastructure in their locations. Rather than having colleagues or employees constantly on the phone with IT trying to problem-solve their latest issue, they can access what they need through a dedicated app or browser-based portal.

The VPN is integrated into your dedicated portal, and individual users don’t have anything installed or saved locally. It enhances your online security without making individuals jump through any hoops. This is one of the easiest VPNs to set up and the simplest to scale as you grow.

SSL VPN

Like many of these VPNs, this type allows users to connect to private networks securely regardless of their location. It employs a Secure Sockets Layer protocol — or Transport Layer Security (TLS) — to encrypt data transmitted between the individual user’s device and a VPN gateway.

It doesn’t require remote individuals to have any specialized software or apps on their devices, making it a safe, easy way to restrict how your data or software is accessed. SSL VPNs work on standard web browsers, so it’s one of the more accessible and straightforward options.

There are two sub-types of this kind of VPN.

• SSL Portal VPN. An SSL portal allows users to access a single webpage or portal that provides links to private network resources. Using login credentials on the designated portal, users initiate a secure SSL connection. The portal then grants access.

• SSL Tunnel VPN. This is a more comprehensive option. It enables users to securely access a designated multiple network service, rather than being solely web-based. This then creates an encrypted tunnel under SSL, allowing for secure access. This type of VPN often requires additional applications, but they’re often basic ones, so it isn’t a huge hurdle.

Double VPN

This is a bit misleading — a Double VPN is more of a configuration option than it’s own type of VPN. Double VPNs channel traffic through two sequential VPN servers, enabling a double layer of encryption.

A single VPN encrypts data as it flows from the individual user to a single VPN server before arriving at its ultimate destination. A double VPN does this process and then encrypts your data again before sending it to a second VPN server. Only then does it reach its ultimate destination.

This heightens security by providing an extra layer of encryption. The only downside to using a Double VPN is that the increased complexity and encryption can increase the time it takes data to reach its destination, slowing everything down.

How Do You Choose the Right VPN for Your Needs?

The right VPN depends on your individual preferences and use case. It’s also important to consider what you can realistically expect remote users to implement, as well as your existing infrastructure.

Does your chosen VPN require people outside your company — over whom you have little control and who may or may not have technical know-how — to download, install, and utilize specialized software to protect your privacy? 

Then it might not be the best option for you. A web- or app-based portal to ensure that nobody can get around your security protocols due to ignorance or laziness will be better suited.

Regardless of which VPN you choose, look for a VPN that meets at least the following requirements.

• Encrypts your IP address. This is the most basic job of a VPN. It hides your IP address from your internet service provider as well as other third parties.

• Warns you of interruption. A good VPN should have a “kill switch.” If your VPN connection is interrupted or unstable, your connection should be interrupted. The best VPNs can even automatically shut down programs that you use with your VPN to ensure data is safe.
  

• Allows for two-factor authentication. While two-factor authentication isn’t the be-all end-all, it does make it harder for others to access your account. It’s an easy extra layer of protection.
  

• Encrypts protocols while browsing. Basic protocols like your internet history, search history, and cookies should be encrypted by your VPN to protect your personal data.

Is a VPN the Best Way To Protect Your Online Privacy?

A good VPN is reliable and secure. It protects your data and privacy on multiple fronts. That said, using a VPN doesn’t mean your quest for safety and confidentiality is over. It’s just one piece of a larger puzzle.

For instance, VPNs aren’t antivirus software. If your device is infected with malware or a virus, they’re still able to damage or steal your data regardless of the VPN. In that case, the issue is local; rerouting and encryption won’t make a difference. So, basic rules of computer safety still apply.

Another major threat to your online privacy that a VPN can’t save you from? Yourself. If you’re reading this, you likely care about your internet privacy. Especially if it’s something you think about often, innocuous details you share as a reflex are the most likely to compromise your anonymity. Details like your phone number.

We all register for dozens of apps and websites a day. Often, you’ll be asked to provide a phone number for verification or to enable alerts — and maybe, sometimes, you even want those alerts, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, having access to your number can lead scammers and third parties to even more personal details.

Next time you need to share your phone number — with or without a VPN — use a temporary phone number. It’s one more safeguard for your privacy and peace of mind.

Does Burner Have a VPN Option?

Absolutely! And it’s incredibly easy to set up. 

First, make sure you've upgraded from a Standard line to Premium. Once upgraded, simply follow the steps below:

• Open the Burner app.
• Tap VPN at the bottom of the inbox.
• Tap the middle start button to connect! Boom.

Setting up Burner VPN is simple and straightforward. Just hit the VPN power button and follow the instructions. The app will guide you through the process, which may involve installing a VPN profile or configuration.

Burner VPN has a strict no-logging policy, ensuring your online activity is never tracked or recorded. Your internet traffic is encrypted and routed through secure VPN servers, making it difficult for anyone to monitor your online behavior.

Protecting Your Privacy: VPNs and Beyond

Protecting your privacy online is a challenge. Many aspects of our digital lives are designed to get our information, whether it’s for advertising purposes or more nefarious ones, like scams and identity theft. So, it’s important to put some safeguards in place.

VPNs are a simple, effective way to protect your privacy. Making sure that your phone number doesn’t get plastered all over the internet is another. Try Burner today to ensure your private information stays that way.

Sources:

Device Security Guidance | National Cyber Security Centre

What Is Encryption? | Information Commissioner’s Office

What Is An IP Address | Technology

Online Safety | Information Commissioner’s Office