What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. At its core, it's a technical solution that creates a secure, encrypted "tunnel" between your device (computer, phone, tablet) and the internet.
When you browse without a VPN, your traffic is open and visible to your internet service provider (ISP) and the networks you're connected to — for example, an open Wi-Fi at a café or airport. The website you visit can also see exactly which IP address your traffic originates from, revealing your geographic location and network identity.
When you turn on a VPN, this changes dramatically: your traffic is redirected and encrypted via an intermediary server (the VPN server). To the website you visit, it appears as though the traffic comes from the VPN server's IP address, not your own. Your real IP address is hidden, and all data you send and receive is encrypted so no outsider can read it.
How and Why is VPN Used?
The use cases for VPN are broad and range from strict corporate secrecy to individuals' desire for privacy. The main reasons why a VPN is used are:
1. Secure Remote Access (Corporate VPN)
For businesses, VPN is absolutely critical. If employees work from home or are travelling, they need to access internal company servers, document management systems, or intranet servers. Exposing these systems directly to the open internet is a massive security risk. By requiring staff to connect via a Corporate VPN, you ensure that only encrypted, authenticated network traffic is allowed to reach critical internal systems via a "secure tunnel".
2. Protection on Open Networks
Open Wi-Fi networks (at hotels, cafés, and trains) are notoriously insecure. Since traffic is often not encrypted between your phone and the router, cybercriminals on the same network can relatively easily intercept passwords, unencrypted emails, and session cookies through so-called Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks. A VPN prevents this by encapsulating your data in an impenetrable layer of encryption before it even leaves your device.
3. Privacy and Anonymity
VPN services prevent your broadband provider from logging your browsing history (which some sell as marketing data). For journalists, activists, and business consultants examining sensitive projects, a VPN serves as a vital tool for maintaining operational security (OPSEC) and online anonymity.
4. Bypassing Geographic Restrictions
By connecting to a VPN server in another country, you appear to be located in that country. This is frequently used to bypass censorship in restrictive regimes, avoid IP-based surveillance, and access market-specific digital services.
Our Recommendation for Personal and External Use: Mullvad VPN
When it comes to choosing a public VPN provider, it's all about trust. If you protect your traffic from your ISP, you instead give the VPN company full visibility. Unfortunately, many free services (and even some paid ones) secretly sell your user data, which completely defeats the purpose of a VPN.
Beyond building and setting up dedicated, secure VPN configurations for companies' internal systems, employees and individuals often need reliable protection for their own devices. Especially when outside the secure corporate environment and needing to log in to sensitive information such as banking or government services over public networks.
For these personal and general purposes, we strongly recommend the Swedish-developed service Mullvad VPN, for several decisive reasons:
- No Account Required: You don't need to provide a name, email, or password. You receive a randomly generated account number, guaranteeing anonymity from the start.
- Strict "No-log" Policy: Mullvad stores absolutely no activity logs. If an authority requests data, there is simply nothing to hand over. Their infrastructure is known to consist of RAM servers where everything runs in memory.
- Swedish Jurisdiction & Transparency: They develop their software as Open Source and undergo frequent independent security audits. They drive fantastic privacy work in the industry.
- Modern Technology: They are pioneers behind early implementation of the extremely fast and secure WireGuard protocol and actively oppose mass surveillance.
For maximum privacy and advanced technical design, few alternatives beat them.