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 that only the client can see it. It allows you to connect to another computer or network from anywhere. By using a VPN, businesses and government ensure security so that no one can encrypt data transmitted between location A and location B. For example: a person has an office located in California and had to travel to the East Coast to be able to successfully connect to their business. network in California via VPN to access their files because they are not physically on the same LAN (local area network), that's why they have a VPN, which allows them to search or transfer the sensitive information via an encrypted connection which usually requires a username and password. The VPN works through a server and a client base. A server is basically where 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 first used a leased line, which is a telephone connection between two points that can be used to transfer data, but this became expensive over the years and most businesses moved to VPN. VPN has three fundamental security features: authentication, encryption and tunneling. There are many types of VPN protocols, such as PPTP, L2TP, and SSL VPN. Encryption is used for VPN to ensure the connection between the client and the server. There are two types of encryptions used, symmetric key encryption and public key encryption...... middle of paper ...... logout is basically everything in the middle that is transferred from point A to point B. It summarizes the data packets into another data packet and encrypts them which are sent through the tunnel to another point. At the end point, the tunnel converts the package and gets rid of the encapsulated data packets and the user can access the original message that was sent. Authentication is one of the security features used for VPN. When connecting a client to a server, both ends of the tunnel must first be authenticated, which involves identifying the client and the user. Because without authentication, what happens if a company sends its private data to a hacker without identifying the hacker's name, the company essentially gives the hacker all the information about the company. Authentication is therefore required at both points when using a VPN. VPN gives you privacy, freedom and security..