What Is a VPN Provider and How to Choose the Right One

If you’re looking to protect the data within your organisation, it may be that you’ve found yourself asking “what exactly is a VPN provider?”

It may be you already have a rough idea, and it may be a new concept for your security team, however it’s important to know the benefits a VPN can offer.

When considering how to best protect the confidential and important information within your organisation, a virtual private network (VPN) is an option that works for millions across the globe.

By encrypting your data, VPNs make it virtually impossible for cyber attackers to infiltrate your network and steal your data, meaning you can safely surf the internet without fear of data loss or a data breach.

In this post we will be exploring what a VPN provider is, how it can benefit your organisation, and how to decide which one is best for the protection of your business.

So, let’s get started.

What is a VPN Provider?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and is a type of service provider that helps to protect the data of users and entire organisations.

A VPN provider ensures customers have a private and secure network and are able to move data around, surf the internet, or connect with other networks without the risk of a cyber attack.

How Does a VPN Work?

A VPN is essentially a filter that changes the way your information looks to others on the internet, making it inaccessible and virtually impossible for other users to decrypt.

First of all, using a VPN service provider hides your IP address so wherever you are in cyberspace other users and potentially attackers don’t know.

However, the main feature of a VPN is that this service will encrypt your data by running it through a remote server run by the host, making your data impossible to reach and access for others.

This means you can surf and work safely, as your ISP and other users in the space don’t know what sites you’re visiting or accessing, and what data you are sending or receiving.

What are the Benefits of Using a VPN Provider?

The main benefit of using a VPN is of course that it disguises your data for you through encryption, which is a great advantage when it comes to hackers and cyber attacks.

However, this is not the only benefit of purchasing a virtual private network service, so we have listed a few reasons why you might invest in a VPN.

Secure Encryption

By using a VPN, your data will ultimately be secure and safe from the risk of an attack.

As your data is encrypted, users will need an encryption key in order to decrypt and then access your data, and without one it will be virtually impossible for a device alone to conduct this process.

This means that hackers will be unable to access your information as even if they conduct a brute force attack or use ransomware against you, it won’t help them to succeed.

Access to Content Across Different Regions

Generally you can’t access some web content from other countries day-to-day, and this can often cause delays in research and for projects within your organisation.

Some websites from across the world may be key for you to continue to work, and a VPN can make this possible.

VPN location spoofing allows you to switch to another “location” without travelling at all, meaning you can access the content from anywhere from within your office.

Safe Data Transfers

Whether you work remotely, hybrid, or you’re away on a work trip, there may be company files that you need access to, or need to send to colleagues wherever they may be.

This should be done as securely as possible to avoid hackers intercepting and stealing data, or data leaks that users may find later down the line.

A VPN can act as an extra layer of protection as the encryption of data can prevent this kind of cyber challenge.

Protection in Public Internet Spaces

Finally, VPNs can help to protect your data when working in a public space.

When working remotely you may choose to work in a public area such as a coffee shop or coworking space, and with this comes a cyber security risk.

Essentially when connecting to a public wifi network you are putting your device and data at risk, as hackers can lurk within the network and infiltrate your device to steal, delete, or tweak your data.

When in a public network the traffic is often unencrypted and other users can monitor what others can do, therefore it’s a breeding ground for threat actors to steal credentials in particular.

However, if you connect to a network such as this using a VPN the only data that will be visible to other users will be encrypted and therefore unattractive to attackers.

How to Choose the Right One for Your Organisation

When considering which VPN to choose for your organisation, there are a few things to take into account.

Although the security goals for your individual business may differ from another organisation, VPN’s need to be reliable when it comes to security, speed, cost, and reputation.

Reliable Security and Encryption

First things first, if you’re paying for security and protection of your data, you want the service to meet your cyber security goals.

When searching for a VPN for your company, you should look for features such as no logs, anonymity policies and IP hiding, as these features in particular will ensure the protection of your important information.

Ultimately, the privacy of your organisations data is the top priority so it may be as an added measure, you may wish to use a VPN that transmits your data through more than one encryption service.

This process ensures this first encryption process hasn’t missed anything, and acts as a “double check” before you can continue with your task.

Consider VPN Cost

Some VPNs may be advertised as free, but this isn’t always the case, as companies still need to make profit in order to keep providing you with a service.

Some VPN service providers do this with adverts, which may or may not affect your use of the service, and others are slower or have less features.

Therefore, this may be a compromise your organisation has to take in order to use a VPN for protection, as the more cost-effective options may not be as effective in practice.

The Experience and Age of the Company

Much like the reliability of the security and encryption of the VPN, it’s equally important to consider how old the company is and how experienced they are in the world of virtual private network services.

VPN provider options are appearing all the time but this doesn’t necessarily mean they have their security locked down and secure.

It’s important to ask for complete transparency about what their server can provide for you and what features it is lacking in, as this will help you narrow down your list of choices.

Alongside this a background check or a complete history of the company can help to assure you that the company is competent in data protection and encryption.

VPN Speed

One important feature of a VPN provider is the speed at which it can encrypt your data and allow you to continue with your daily work tasks.

Most VPN’s are incapable of maintaining the fastest speeds on the internet and if it is particularly slow, it may have an effect on your organisations productivity.

Overall, VPNs will be slightly slower than the regular internet speed due to the encryption process, but invest in a slow one and it will have a knock on effect across your business

TLR’s Protection Solutions

A VPN provider may be for you but it may be that your organisation requires extra protection for your important and confidential data.

It may be you wish to use a VPN along with another security solution or go for something different altogether.

Either way there are alternatives out there to protect your network and data, so we are going to discuss a few of our technology services that can help to keep your organisation safe and cyber aware.

Digital Risk Protection

At TLR we provide digital risk protection that aligns with your organisation and continuously monitors for threats and risk indicators.

This service differs from others as it gives actionable intelligence to secure your organisation’s network, outside of general search tools, feeds, reports and briefings.

Once threats have been detected this service provides recommendations based on your company’s individual and specific risks, and this gives your security team the ability to crack down on the critical threats.

Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Scanning

By using penetration testing and vulnerability scanning you will be able to detect, analyse, and exploit weaknesses or vulnerabilities within your network and devices.

Our well developed services can catch gaps in your network before threat actors do and decrease the risk of attacks.

By conducting regular testing and scanning your security team can quickly identify security holes and put plans in place to rectify issues before they become a critical threat to your organisation.

What Is a VPN Provider and How to Choose the Right One

We hope this post has outlined exactly what a VPN provider is, and how to choose the right one for your organisation.

Although a virtual private network provider is an effective option for protecting your company data, there are other options out there that may be more suited to your business goals.

At TLR we provide a variety of services to help protect your data and prepare you and your organisation for the event of a cyber attack.

We can help to ensure that threats to your network are dealt with efficiently, by providing you with the correct services such as vulnerability scanning and digital risk protection, to patch security holes and ensure your data remains securely in your network.

If you feel your organisation could benefit from our services, get in touch today!