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As businesses grow, they expand by opening offices in different regions within a country and across borders. In order to ensure a seamless flow of operations, different employees need to keep in touch with each other from their locations. On the other hand, if you have salespeople within your ranks, they too require means to link to the company's network remotely. That is where a VPN connection comes into play.

VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network. In this regard, a VPN connection can be defined as a medium through which users are able to connect to a remote site through the internet. From your business, you can route a private connection via the internet. An employee can then connect to the business site from whichever location they are based in. VPN connections are so secure. If unauthorized users try to intercept the data, they won't be able to read its content.

Before this technology, internet users could use leased lines to connect several computers in more than one location. Normally, a telecommunication firm leases the connection to a customer. Through this line, you can expand your network to a wide area. However, leased lines are costly. The cost increases as you move away from the main office.

Today, you can access the internet at a lower cost and there is also a way to enjoy the same facility that a leased line accorded. That is how businesses moved to intranet technology. This is an internal network that can only be used by your employees. Add a VPN connection to your intranet and you have an efficient and secure way through which you can work from home or a remote office.

To understand how a VPN connection works, think of yourself living in an archipelago. You are on island and surrounded by other islands too. To travel from one island to another, you have to use a ferry. While on the ferry, there are other travelers meaning privacy is almost non-existent. All the islands around you are like a network; the ocean you cross is your connection media, in this case the internet. The authorities decide to construct bridges to connect the islands. You realize this is an expensive undertaking. That is what users of leased lines go through.

To solve this puzzle, we need a VPN connection. How? Let's assume each resident acquires a small water vessel for use in moving from one island to another. Take a submarine for instance. You can travel whenever you want and at a fast speed. People on other vessels cannot intrude on your privacy. This analogy simplifies the description of how VPN connections work.

Each member in your private business network is able to communicate securely and reliably through the internet. They can connect to your LAN just like the people in the above illustration get into the ocean through a marine vessel and travel to their islands of choice.

If you are looking for a VPN provider, consider the highly popular HideMyAss VPN service.