Virtual private network
virtual network extending a single private network across a public network like the Internet, appearing to users as a private network
A virtual private network (VPN) is an overlay network that uses network virtualization to extend a private network across a public network, such as the Internet, via the use of encryption and tunneling protocols. In a VPN, a tunneling protocol is used to transfer network messages from one network host to another.
Host-to-network VPNs are commonly used by organizations to allow off-site users secure access to an office network over the Internet. Site-to-site VPNs connect two networks, such as an office network and a datacenter. Provider-provisioned VPNs isolate parts of the provider's own network infrastructure in virtual segments, in ways that make the contents of each segment private with respect to the others. Individuals also use VPNs to encrypt and attempt to anonymize their network traffic, with VPN services selling access to their own private networks.
VPNs can enhance usage privacy by making an ISP unable to access the private data exchanged across the VPN.
However, the VPN provider and the online service being accessed via the VPN may have visibility of the user's activities.
Through encryption, VPNs enhance confidentiality and reduce the risk of successful external data sniffing attacks.
Background
A network is a group of communicating computers known as hosts, which communicate data to other hosts via communication protocols, as facilitated by networking hardware. Within a computer network, computers are identified by network addresses, which allow rule-based systems such as Internet Protocol (IP) to locate and identify hosts.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Virtual private network” as virtual network extending a single private network across a public network like the Internet, appearing to users as a private network. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as virtual network extending a single private network across a public network like the Internet, appearing to users as a private network. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q170963. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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This entry incorporates text from “Virtual private network” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.