VPN itself has changed its stripes a bit, from when I was first introduced to it, some 18 years ago.
I know I’m dating myself here, being in the IT industry for over 20 years.
But back then, people used VPN to connect to their “office network”, remotely. They would use VPN to connect via the company’s server, from home, or a remote location outside of the office. It was “the” remote tool used for working from home in years past.
Understanding a VPN from today’s perspective requires that we go back a bit and take a look at the history of VPN, and how it has evolved.
Today, people aren’t using VPN merely to just securely connect to their work network. Yes, people are still using it for that purpose. But the average user today uses VPN to establish a secure connection to the internet, to protect themselves.
VPN service is not exclusive to just the corporate folks anymore. Your average Joe down the street can get in on that “VPN action”, simply by paying for the service via a third party.
What is VPN?
To make this short and sweet, a VPN, which is short for Virtual Private Network, is a type of technology that creates a secure (or private) connection between you and the internet. It allows browsing the internet in stealth mode via VPN software.
For more information about what software you can use for VPN, see my full review on Express VPN.
The main reason people use a VPN service today is so they can connect to the internet while keeping their identity private. You may ask…”why would someone want to keep their identity private?”
For a variety of reasons. It could be because they don’t want to be tracked, especially if they’re on a public and open network. For instance, coffee shops like Starbucks, or lounges like Panera Bread provide free Wi-Fi.
Connecting to these types of open networks always leaves you vulnerable to any type of cyber attack.
With a VPN service, you won’t have to worry about that being a possibility. Simply because you’ll be connecting to that network in stealth mode. Others wouldn’t be able to see you on that network.
Other examples where a VPN service comes in really handy would be in certain countries that block websites. A VPN service can be very helpful here, allowing you to get access to your favorite websites without a glitch in your connection.
Best of all, you wouldn’t even be noticed.
Express VPN is one of those services that’s really good in helping you achieve this.
A VPN connection hides all your browsing information, primarily your IP address, which contains a lot of geo-related information about your location. Your VPN would mask all of that information by assigning an IP address from one of its servers located in various locations worldwide.
History of VPN
VPN was first introduced to the public between 1995 and 1996. Microsoft was the first company that really brought it to the mainstream.
An employee at Microsoft started developing a protocol for VPN called PPTP (Peer to Peer Tunnel Protocol). What this particular protocol does is handle all the communication between VPN users and VPN servers…making sure the connection is solid and handled properly.
When VPN was created, it was really meant for big corporations.
They wanted a way for internal users and employees to be able to have a secure connection from any remote location. The idea was that they could do file-sharing work, remotely over the internet without that information getting into the wrong hands.
Regular online users like you and me weren’t on top of mind when this technology was first designed.
But the popularity of VPN’s benefits became so widespread, they made it available to the general public, via third parties.
Primary Usage Of VPN
Understanding a VPN comes down to seeing the main reason people are demanding this technology. As we just learned about the history in the last section, corporations were trying to find a way to securely connect to their internal networks remotely.
A way to securely file-share with fellow co-workers and colleagues, essentially.
Fast forward to present times and we’re starting to see a different trend. A lot of everyday users are seeing the value of using VPN technology, as a means to protect their own individual work.
As a result, 3rd party VPN providers like Express VPN started showing up to fill that need. They made it so the average Joe can go and sign up for a VPN service for a nominal monthly fee.
What really made this service so valuable to many, was the demand for online streaming. Sites like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube (and even some social media sites) created a frenzy for online streaming entertainment.
However, due to some geo-restrictions, as I mentioned earlier, most of these sites were blocked in certain countries. I suppose these streaming sites go against local Government regulations.
The increase of cybercrime in recent years has also caused an increase in the demand for security services like VPN. People want to feel safe and not become a victim of being hacked or scammed.
And I don’t blame them.
VPN in The Future
Because VPN is so affordable, just about anyone can purchase their own VPN service.
It’s even free in some cases. You just have to be a little on the tech-savvy side to get the free ones to work for you.
But if you’re not the techie type, then you can get started today for as little as $7 per month with a 3rd party VPN service like Express VPN. That’s the one that we recommend using because they’re reliable, easy to use, and have great support.
As I said before I did a product review of Express VPN, which you can see here.
More people will be using VPN services for sure in the near future. One primary reason is the increased cases of hackers and cybercrime.
Research done by security.org in 2020 shows that some 83% of Americans have a grasp of what VPNs can do. That’s amazing, considering that VPN was an unknown term to most just a few years ago.
So this shows that more and more people are not only understanding a VPN, they’re also seeing what it does, and how it can really benefit them. It also shows that VPN will become a household name in the very near future.
I’ll leave you with this, become familiar with VPN. It’s here to stay and its usage among home users will increase a lot. So the sooner you can get familiar with this awesome technology, the better for you. I write these articles about the topic so more people are aware and start taking advantage of VPN.