A virtual private network (VPN) is a type of network that creates a secure private network connection over a public network such as the Internet over an encrypted connection so only the client can see it. It allows you to connect to another computer or network from anywhere. By using VPN, businesses and government ensure security so that no one can encrypt the data going from location A to location B. For example: A person has an office located in California and had to travel to the east coast to be able to connect successfully to their company network in California via VPN to access their files since they are not physically on the same LAN (local network), that's why they have a VPN, which allows them to search or transfer sensitive information through an encrypted connection which usually requires a username and password. The way VPN works is through a server and a client base, a server is basically where the information is stored and the client is the user who wants to access that data. For example: NJIT would be the server and the client would be the students, so there would be a private bridge between the server and the student who wants to access their school files over a secure connection. Businesses initially used a leased line, which is a telephone connection between two points that can be used to transfer data, but over the years it has become expensive and most businesses have switched to VPN. The VPN has three fundamental securities: authentication, encryption and tunneling. There are many types of protocols that VPN has, such as PPTP, L2TP, and SSL VPN. Encryption is used for VPN to secure the connection between the client and the server. There are two types of encryption: symmetric key encryption and public key encryption are used en...... middle of paper ...... unneling is basically everything in the middle that is transferred from the point A to point B. It wraps the data packet into another data packet and encrypts it as it is sent through the tunnel to another point. At the end point the tunnel converts the packet and discards the encapsulated data packets and the user can access the original message that was sent. Authentication is one of the security systems used for VPN. When connecting a client to a server you must first authenticate both endpoints of the tunnel, i.e. identify the client and the user. Because without authentication, what happens if a company sends their private data to a hacker without identifying their name, the company basically gives the hacker all the information about the company. Therefore, authentication is required from both points when using VPN. VPN offers you privacy, freedom and security.