University of Education

Network Security
Virtual Private Networks
(VPN)
BS-IT 07th

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 1

 What is VPN
Virtual Private Network is a type
of private network that uses
public telecommunication, such
as the Internet, instead of leased
lines to communicate.

Became popular as more

employees worked in remote
locations.

Terminologies to understand
how VPNs work.
10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 2
 What does a VPN hide?
VPNs work on the operating system level, so they
reroute all your traffic through other servers.
That means all of your online traffic, along with your
physical location, stays hidden while you surf the web.
When you access a site through a VPN server, the
source of your connection is shown as one of the many
VPN routers — called a proxy server.


10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 3

 What does a VPN do?
 Instead of sending your internet traffic (e.g. your online searches, uploads,
and downloads) directly to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), a VPN
first routes your traffic through a VPN server.
 That way, when your data is finally transmitted to the internet, it appears to
come from the VPN server, not your personal device.
 Without a VPN, your IP address — a special number unique to your home
network — is visible to the web.
 A VPN makes your IP address by acting as an intermediary and rerouting
your traffic.
 It also adds encryption, or a tunnel around your identity, as you connect.
 The combination of the VPN server and the encryption tunnel blocks your
ISP, governments, hackers, and anyone else from spying on you as you
navigate the web.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 4

 How do VPN works:

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 5

How does the encryption tunnel work?
 Encryption is a method of changing normal text into an unreadable jumble
of code. A key, or decryptor, unscrambles the text and renders it back into
readable information. When you use a VPN, only your device and the VPN
provider contain the decryption key. Anyone else trying to spy on you
would only see a mess of characters.
 There are three main types of encryption: hashing, symmetric
cryptography, and asymmetric cryptography. Each type has its own
nuanced strengths and weaknesses, but they all succeed in scrambling your
data and metadata so that it is useless in anyone else’s hands.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 6

Types of VPN’s
Remote-Access VPN

Site-to-Site VPN (Intranet-based)

Site-to-Site VPN (Extranet-based)

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 7

 Remote-Access VPN
 A remote access VPN is for home or travelling users who need to access
their central LAN from a remote location.
 A remote-access VPN allows users to connect to another network, be it the
internet or their company’s internal system, through a private encryption
tunnel.
 This is made possible by installing a client software program on the remote
user’s laptop or PC that deals with the encryption and decryption of the
VPN traffic between itself and the VPN gateway on the central LAN.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 8

 Site-to-Site VPN (router-to-router)
 Intranet-based - If a company has one or more remote locations that they
wish to join in a single private network, they can create an intranet VPN to
connect LAN to LAN.
 Extranet-based - When a company has a close relationship with another
company (for example, a partner, supplier or customer), they can build an
extranet VPN that connects LAN to LAN, and that allows all of the various
companies to work in a shared environment.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 9

All 3 types of VPN

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 10

 Protocols used in VPN
There are several VPN protocols, or methods of security. The
oldest is PPTP, point-to-point tunneling protocol, which is still
in use today but widely considered one of the least secure.
Others are IKEv2, L2TP/IPSec(Internet protocol security),
SSL, TLS, SSH, and OpenVPN. As an open-source protocol,
OpenVPN is amongst the most secure because any
vulnerabilities in its programming will quickly be noticed and
patched.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 11

 VPN Advantages
 Stream from anywhere: If you’re abroad and you try to access a
streaming account you use in the US, you may find some shows are not
available in that region. But if you choose a US-based IP address, all your
favorites are at your fingertips, just as if you were home.
 Access blocked websites: Certain institutions — schools, libraries,
companies — restrict access to specific web pages such as social media,
but the encrypted connection provided by your
VPN will tunnel right through.
 Avoid censorship: Every government has an agenda, and some go to
extremes to control information. While circumventing government
restrictions could certainly be considered illegal in some of these countries,
we believe in unadulterated free speech.
 Don’t be tracked: It bears repeating as its own section — don’t let
yourself be tracked by hackers, cybercriminals, corporations, the
government, or even your own ISP. Keep yourself free from repression,
targeting, and discrimination.
10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 12
 VPN Disadvantage
Not total privacy: While a VPN blocks your ISP, governments, hackers,
and other snoops, the VPN provider itself can see your internet activity if
they want. That’s why it’s so important to choose a trustworthy provider
that doesn’t keep logs, such as Avast ,Cisco.
QoS challenges: QoS stands for “quality of service” and describes the
performance of a service or network. VPNs do not yet have a standard in
place to gauge and report such measurements. With no metrics to analyze,
you need to rely on professional reviews and word-of-mouth to learn what’s
most reliable.
Potentially slower speed: Your web traffic goes through more steps than
usual when connected via VPN, so there could be a perceptible slowdown.
Since this has always been the #1 complaint about VPNs, developers have
taken notice. Many have had success optimizing speed and performance, so
much so that their VPN users can stream and game fluidly without a hiccup.

10/08/2023 Network Security Lec No-10 13