What is a VPN and How Does It Work?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one of those technologies that everyone’s heard about but few truly understand. If you’re serious about network security and privacy, you need to know exactly how VPNs work under the hood. I’ve deployed VPN infrastructure for everything from small startups to enterprise environments, and the fundamentals remain critical regardless of scale.

Let me break down what a VPN actually does, how it accomplishes its goals, and when you should (and shouldn’t) rely on one.