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Cisco WRVS4400N Wireless-N Gigabit Security Router with VPN Administration Guide 13
Planning Your Virtual Private Network (VPN)
This chapter provides information for planning your VPN and includes the
following sections:
• Why do I need a VPN?, page 13
• What is a VPN?, page15
Why do I need a VPN?
Computer networking provides a flexibility not available when using an archaic,
paper-based system. With this flexibility, however, comes an increased risk in
security. This is why firewalls were first introduced. Firewalls help to protect data
inside of a local network. But what do you do once information is sent outside of
your local network, when e-mails are sent to their destination, or when you have to
connect to your company’s network when you are out on the road? How is your
data protected?
That is when a VPN can help. VPNs are called Virtual Private Networks because
they secure data moving outside of your network as if it were still within that
network.
When data is sent out across the Internet from your computer, it is always open to
attacks. You may already have a firewall, which will help protect data moving
around or held within your network from being corrupted or intercepted by entities
outside of your network, but once data moves outside of your network—when you
send data to someone via e-mail or communicate with an individual over the
Internet—the firewall will no longer protect that data.