One day Mickey was shopping in the market when he saw Minnie
Mickey – Hey Minnie
Minnie – Oh! Hi Mickey
Mickey – How are you and what are you doing here
Minnie – I am good, came here for shopping
Mickey – You look lost, what are you looking for
Minnie – Oh! Thats something else. I have been reading about VPN since morning
Mickey – What for
Minnie – I need to explain it to my class tomorrow, but I don’t know about it
Mickey – Don’t worry, I know you understand better with a story
Minnie – Yeah
Mickey – Lets have something to eat and I will tell you about VPN
Minnie – Sure
Mickey – Ok Minnie, do you use internet
Minnie – Yes, always
Mickey – Ok, let’s imagine that web is a road, On one end of the road is the client, that is you and on the other end there is server, say a pizza shop. Now when you type a web address on a browser and hit enter, it is like you (client) walking to the pizza shop (server)
Minnie – Ok
Mickey – Now people can see you and you are exposed
Minnie – Yes
Mickey – Now in case you dig a tunnel from your house to the pizza shop, you can use it to travel unnoticed
Minnie – What is the problem in getting a pizza
Mickey – There is no problem, I am just making this up to explain
Minnie – Ok, but where is VPN here
Mickey – So here the idea is no one should know who are you, what is your location, What is the data you are sending or receiving etc
Minnie – Okay then I will just hire someone to get the Pizza for me
Mickey – Exactly, and this person is VPN
VPN = Virtual Private Network
Mickey – This person also is in disguise so he cannot be identified by public and he does the work for you and keeps you anonymous. He can use the tunnel from your home to the pizza shop
Minnie – Ok, tell me more
Mickey – you can think of the internet like the highway system that connects different cities across the country. You travel with hundreds of other vehicles on public roads and they can see exactly where you’re going.
Mickey – But what if you had the ability to drive your own private tunnel instead of the highway. You’d probably take that, wouldn’t you? that’s exactly what a VPN does for you.
On the internet highway, a VPN creates a dedicated lane that is encrypted so that nobody else can see what you’re doing, where you’re going or where you’re coming from.
A VPN, or “Virtual Private Network” is a technology that creates an encrypted, private connection on a public network so that data can be sent and received with an extra layer of security
Minnie – I am getting this, but why do we need VPN, I can connect with the internet directly
Mickey – Yes, you can but then it will not be secure. In other words your location (IP), destination (server) and data is all exposed.
Minnie – Ok, is that the reason I need to connect to my company’s VPN when I work from home
Mickey – Exactly,
Your company is using a VPN to connect to the internet for security and for blocking some sites. To enter your company’s network remotely, you first need to connect to the company’s VPN using a VPN client that is installed on your computer
Minnie – Wow, it was easy and now I will never forget it
Mickey – Great, shall we go home now
Minnie – No lets stay and order more coffee
Mickey – Ok
Minnie – You are my best friend
Mickey – I am always here for you 🙂
about the author | more stories
References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2019/06/20/how-does-a-vpn-work/?sh=ba6ac6c70cd8
https://www.allthingssecured.com/vpn/faq/what-is-vpn/
