Internet development and government-imposed restrictions make it easy to keep track of your online activities. Your provider can track and store your Internet banking data, browsing history, and personal messages.
It means you are not safe online. If you read important emails, browse social networks, or broadcast and download videos and other content, VPN will protect you from most threats when using public and private Wi-Fi networks.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a network that is built using public networks to connect to a company’s local network. The security of transmission is implemented using encryption, which creates a closed channel for the exchange of information.
Now VPNs are used at least once a month by 25% of Internet users. And experts predict that by 2022 the VPN market will reach almost $36 billion. Besides private use, VPN services attract more and more businesses. Keep reading to find out the reasons for it,
Why Do You Need a VPN for Business?
In the networks that you use in cafes, airports, or hotels, usually, there is no protection or even a password. It allows hackers and cybercriminals to easily monitor network traffic.
Thus, your online activity may become known to unauthorized persons who want to receive your data. Cybercrime is an incredibly profitable illegal business, and open and unprotected Wi-Fi makes it easy for hackers to find unsuspecting victims.
Now the situation has worsened in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone is at risk, especially those who work online.
There has been a surge in cybercrimes around the world since most employees switched to the remote mode of work. Accordingly, they do not have secure home communication channels, and the risk of information leakage has become several times higher.
In the global economy, total losses due to cyber-attacks are estimated at trillions of dollars. Many companies have already realized that preventing hacking is much cheaper than eliminating the consequences of a data leak or stopping a business functioning.
“Information security is important for any business whose work is somehow connected with cyberspace. Even with a minimum budget, you can find appropriate VPN service for your business and prevent huge losses,” says Alexis Smith from Ivory Research.
Advantages of VPN for Business
After checking their authenticity and the correctness of the IP address, the client enters the local network of the enterprise and gets access to its resources – file, mail and other servers.
VPN technology is used by companies to create secure data channels between the head office and geographically remote branches. Besides, you are getting additional advantages:
1- VPN will ensure your security
By using a VPN, all data transmitted and received by your device is encrypted, which ensures the confidentiality of your information and prevents unauthorized access to it by third parties. Internet providers and hackers can access your information simply by intercepting it, however, VPN protects it from those who do not have the key to decrypt it.
2- Access to content with geo-spatial restrictions
It is easy to use VPN to bypass geospatial blocks, as the service changes your IP address to a server address and misleads the website. However, some sites recognize and block VPN users. So you should use only the best VPN for Netflix from users’ reviews to bypass its geo-blocks.
3- Internet speed increase
Providers try to limit the speed and amount of data transfer to get users to spend more money, while VPNs try to provide unlimited access so that users can visit sites, watch videos, and download files without any problems.
4- Full Anonymity
You can do business on the Internet without revealing your identity and prevent your IP address from being blocked.
5- Remote access
VPN enables you to get secure access to your information from many places. This feature is very important to business owners and remote employees.
6- Improvement of SEO strategy
Few people understand this, but in fact, a VPN helps a lot to improve a website’s promotion strategy in search engines (SEO). Since the service hides your real location and makes you a foreigner, you can view the local results of the traffic, as if you really visited the site from the target country.
The above benefits make VPN more and more attractive to business because a secure and fast network significantly increases productivity, which is an inevitable success factor.
What VPN to Choose?
Among a big variety of communication protocols, some of them support the same set of features regardless of the VPN brand. They differ mainly by speed and safety. Your choice depends on your requirements, so the following list may be a good hint if you are going to use a VPN.
- OpenVPN. It is an open-source protocol that has average speed but provides strong encryption support.
- L2TP / IPSec. This protocol is very widespread and offers good speeds. However, some sites know how to block it.
- SSTP. It is not so popular and common, though it has very good encryption.
- IKEv2. This protocol provides very fast performance and is especially good for mobile devices, though it offers less standard encryption.
- PPTP. Its speed is excellent, but in recent years many security failures were reported.
VPN is a simple tool, but its applications significantly influence the Internet. Its advantages are huge for business: creating a wide network, managing data and users, and ensuring the security and reliability of everything.
Therefore, if you are a business owner, consider using a VPN today. Many VPN services are free, and some require payment. You can start with the free version to test the functionality of the system (the most popular virtual private networks offer a free trial).
However, for long-term use, the paid option will provide a more stable connection.