Virtual private network or VPN has been the number one or go to option for internet users all over the world to achieve the internet connection they always wanted. Data and internet connectivity encryption is one of the main highlights of a VPN. In this article we shall discuss in detail about the different types of VPNs, protocols and encryption on offer. This should give you a complete picture on the VPN service in general.
Types of VPN
There are mainly two types of VPN service providers and let us now discuss more about those two in this section.
- Remote Access VPN – As the name indicates, in this particular service option, the user could connect to a VPN remotely. This remote connection occurs through the internet connection and is one of the secure ones. Remote access vpn connection is useful for both private and business specific users. From a business perspective, the employee of a business organization could make use of this type of service and gain remote access to all the business contents. Individuals on the other hand, could make use of this service to bypass all types of online restrictions and access their favorite websites.
- Site-to-site VPN – This particular service is predominantly used in large business organizations and is also termed as router-to-router vpn solution. Multi-national companies with offices operating from different locations make use of this service to connect one branch office network from another office location. This gives great flexibility and governance to the subscriber. Site-to-site vpn can be classified into two types namely Intranet and Extranet.
- Intranet – Businesses that use site-to-site vpn to connect multiple offices of the same company, it is known as Intranet.
- Extranet – Businesses that use site-to-site vpn to establish connection with another company office is termed as extranet connectivity.
We have discussed about the different types of VPN and now we shall discuss more about the different types of protocols.
VPN protocols
Protocols are the ones responsible for ensuring security, anonymity and overall performance of the internet connection offered by a VPN service.
- IPSec – Internet Protocol Security is the protocol used to ensure security in IP network communication. IPSec uses session verification and data packet encryption to secure IP communication. There are 2 different run modes of IPSec and they are – transport and tunneling. In the case of transport, the message is encrypted whereas in the tunneling mode, the entire data packet is encrypted. Another interesting aspect about IPSec is that, it can be used along with other types of protocols.
- L2TP – Layer 2 tunneling protocol is one of those protocols that is often used alongside another protocol connection just to give you the much needed security. L2TP along with IPSec is the perfect combination since the former established connection between two L2TP points whereas the latter implements data connection and provides an encrypted tunnel.
- PPTP – Point to point tunneling protocol creates an encrypted tunnel and implements data packet confinement. PPTP is the most popular protocol choice in the market and is available ever since Windows introduced it. It is one of the most compatible and easy to setup protocol interface which is the reason why it is very popular and it can be setup even on your Linux and Mac OS X systems.
- TLS and SSL – Transport layer security and Secure sockets layer creates a VPN connection. In this connection type, the web browser is the client and the the user could access only certain applications and not the whole network. SSL and TLS protocols are mainly used by trusted websites where you could find https in the URL and also in shopping website platforms.
- OpenVPN – This is one of the secure protocols you could have but the only drawback of it lies in its setup. Not all OS platforms support this so setup might be complex but with time you can make it work.
- SSH – Secure shell protocol uses SSH client and the tunneling is encrypted and all the data transfer occurs via this tunnel.
Encryption
Encryption is a security form that protects your network and device from any kind of online threat that might affect the user in some way or the other. The level of security and encryption will vary depending on the encryption level. AES cipher is based on which the overall security is rated for the encryption you have. There are different types of encryption bits starting from 1, 2, 8, 16, 64, 128, 192 and 256-bit. With this increasing encryptions, the level of security you could achieve also improves. The more the bit encryption, the more will be the level of operations necessary to crack it. If you need maximum security and anonymity then opt for the one that offers 256-bit AES encryption.
Best 5 VPN service providers
We have discussed about all the different types of VPN, protocols and encryptions. Now let us look at some of the best VPN service providers in this section below.
| Rank | Provider Name | Starting Price | Money Back Guarantee |
Visit Provider Site |
| 1 |  |
$6.67/ Month | 30 Days |  |
| 2 |  |
$11.52/ Month | 30 Days | |
| 3 |  |
$14.95/Month | 7 Days | |
| 4 |  |
$10.00/ Month | 7 Days | |
| 5 |  |
$21/ 3 Months | 7 Days | |
