But before we dive into what you should avoid when choosing a VPN, here\u2019s a brief refresher on this decades-old technology.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
What is a VPN, and what is it used for?<\/h1>\n
A VPN, or virtual private network, is a private network that allows users to send and receive data over a public or shared network, without having to establish a physical connection with the private network. Essentially, a VPN uses a dedicated tunnel that connects through the Internet and to a private network, such as a company\u2019s intranet.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/zpesystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/How-a-VPN-works-1024x511.png\")
<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n
The year is 2020, and you\u2019ve just been sent home to work remotely. On your personal computer, you open a browser tab and try to access your everyday business applications, but to no avail. Then you remember the VPN instructions sitting in your inbox. You use them to set up your computer with a VPN configuration, which includes selecting the appropriate protocol and entering your authentication credentials. Once you finish, you turn on the VPN connection, and suddenly you gain access to your applications as if you were sitting at the office.<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u2019s more work involved when setting up on the business side, such as selecting the right services and\/or components<\/a>. But once you have these in place, you can start configuring and using your VPN for access to the resources you need.<\/p>\n Enterprises commonly use VPNs to allow their workers to remotely access their private networks and their connected resources, as in the example above. For enterprise IT staff, such as a data center network technician, a VPN gives them access to important data center management tools without exposing their actions or data to the unsecured public internet.<\/p>\n Enterprises also use VPNs to connect multiple networks or offices to each other and\/or to a data center location. This is called a site-to-site configuration. Site-to-site configurations can involve multiple sites owned by one organization, called intranet site-to-site; or multiple sites owned by multiple organizations, called extranet site-to-site.<\/p>\n Enterprises are drawn to using VPNs because they can provide several advantages. They offer a convenient way for staff to remotely access resources, but also hide users\u2019 IP addresses and can encrypt sensitive data for added security.<\/p>\n However you should be aware that not all VPN services are created equal. It\u2019s really quite the opposite, so whether you already use one or are ready to shop around, keep in mind these four things to avoid when choosing a VPN.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Aside from providing remote access capabilities, a VPN\u2019s purpose is to help you communicate securely without exposing your data to public or shared networks. However, VPN (as its name implies) is about privacy, not security. Many VPN service providers give you a false sense of security when in fact your data can still contain malware and spread to your peers. Many VPN vendors also leak and log your data. Aside from connection logs, which typically contain usage data used for optimizing the provider\u2019s operations, there are IP address and traffic logs that some providers employ. Data like your IP address, browsing history, and even recent online purchases can be stored in these logs, which means they could potentially be sold to advertisers, or worse \u2014 attackers. When you\u2019re considering a VPN provider, be sure to read the fine print in their service agreement and see whether they log IP addresses, usage, traffic, or other sensitive information.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Imagine your data center technician is trying to resolve a critical issue and uphold your stringent service level agreement (SLA). Recent social distancing guidelines restrict the technician from resolving the issue on site, so they must connect via VPN for remote troubleshooting. The problem is, it\u2019s peak usage time and the public network is overloaded. What would have been a five-minute job turns into an hour-long waiting game punctuated by unresponsive experiences.<\/p>\n Slow speeds are common with VPNs. That\u2019s because data packets need to be re-routed and encrypted through a VPN server. The farther this server is located from your users, the longer it will take for your data to reach this server. This slowness is exacerbated when you opt for a free VPN service or plan, as these likely don\u2019t offer or prioritize high-speed connections. When considering a VPN, be sure to get a free trial that will enable you to check your speeds.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n If instead of setting up your own VPN architecture, you opt to use a VPN service, keep in mind that there are many providers on the market. And if you choose a provider whose services are operated and maintained in a country where regulation is minimal, such as in China or Russia, you need to understand that your data is vulnerable to abuse<\/a>. Providers who offer bulletproof hosting (BPH) services in foreign countries, for example, often serve as safe havens for criminals and cyberattackers. Because these operations are typically well insulated against judicial action from governing bodies in the U.S. and other western nations, there\u2019s no legal remedy for customers who suffer from abuse. When considering a VPN service, always choose a trusted provider who operates in a well-regulated country, so you can have the confidence that your data won\u2019t be abused.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n If instead of setting up your own VPN architecture, you opt to use a VPN service, keep in mind that there are many providers on the market. And if you choose a provider whose services are operated and maintained in a country where regulation is minimal, such as in China or Russia, you need to understand that your data is vulnerable to abuse. Providers who offer bulletproof hosting (BPH) services in foreign countries, for example, often serve as safe havens for criminals and cyberattackers. Because these operations are typically well insulated against judicial action from governing bodies in the U.S. and other western nations, there\u2019s no legal remedy for customers who suffer from abuse. When considering a VPN service, always choose a trusted provider who operates in a well-regulated country, so you can have the confidence that your data won\u2019t be abused.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n This somewhat reiterates the first point above, but can\u2019t be understated. The fact is that with thousands of VPN providers to choose from, many exist solely to make money.<\/p>\n Trusted providers may use RAM-based servers that don\u2019t have the ability to log any of your data. To further protect you, they typically encrypt your traffic using 256-bit encryption<\/a> or higher, which makes it impossible to hack your sensitive information. These are just a couple features that reliable VPN services provide in order to keep your data private and secure, but unfortunately there are many providers who lack these basic components.<\/p>\n Some providers turn on logs temporarily to identify suspicious users. This can be beneficial in preventing abuse, cybercrime, and illegal activities, but also puts the average user\u2019s data at risk, especially if the provider retains all logged data. Some of the worst VPN providers don\u2019t even employ VPN servers, and instead use peer-to-peer connections, which forces users to share bandwidth and use each other\u2019s IP addresses. Insecure practices like these show that companies don\u2019t truly have their customers\u2019 best interests in mind, and are instead focused mostly on minimizing infrastructure costs in order to make more money.<\/p>\n When choosing a VPN, opt for a trusted provider who can provide secure service to your remote users as well as your branch office employees. Or simply deploy ZPE Systems\u2019 Nodegrid portfolio of flexible branch routers, which serve as your on-ramp to VPN-as-a-service. These make it easy to secure your connections, because you can deploy virtual machines directly on Nodegrid devices and run apps from security leaders like Palo Alto Networks or Fortinet. You could also use Nodegrid routers simply as your access to Secure Service Edge (SSE) providers like Zscaler or CloudFlare, and easily build your Secure Access Service Edge architecture.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Your IT infrastructure\u2019s integrity is a top priority, especially with cybercrime on the rise and expected to cost $10.5 trillion by 2025<\/a>. Your staff need secure remote connectivity to maintain network and business operations. But with so many options available, it can be difficult to choose the best approach \u2014 VPN or otherwise.<\/p>\n To make sure you don\u2019t expose your staff or your business to unsafe services, contact one of our experts today<\/a>. We can show you the most secure way to gain remote access to your IT infrastructure, with or without using a VPN! You can take a free tour of ZPE Cloud<\/a>, which gives you VPN-less access to your distributed infrastructure, and provides completely secure, end-to-end encryption to and from the cloud. Get in touch for a first-hand look.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you know what to avoid when choosing a VPN? These virtual private networks are commonly promoted as the key to online privacy and security, as they employ dedicated point-to-point connections, tunneling protocols, and encryption. With the sharp increase in distributed workforces and Ransomware outbreaks during 2020, it\u2019s no wonder why consumers and enterprises alike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" It\u2019s Friday morning, and you\u2019re bringing a new site online with <\/span>zero touch provisioning<\/span><\/a>. Your remote branch devices arrived the night before, and all you want the store manager to do is plug them in. A few minutes later, your job is finished and you\u2019ve still got your entire day left. What are you going to do with all your free time?<\/span><\/p> This is the picture that\u2019s commonly painted of zero touch provisioning. And why not? When <\/span>compared to manual provisioning<\/span><\/a>, zero touch brings drastic improvements and efficiency to deploying networks. Its biggest benefits include:<\/span><\/p> With zero touch, you don\u2019t have to be on site for days or weeks manually configuring individual devices. You also shrink the risk of human error that can unwind all your deployment progress and force you to start over. And when it comes to scaling, it eliminates so many of the shipping costs and technician expenses, and instead lets you spin up new sites in a single day.<\/span><\/p> The trouble with zero touch provisioning is that it usually comes with hidden obstacles that vendors don\u2019t tell you about. Zero touch promises to make deployments quick and easy, but these obstacles can eat up your time savings and make you vulnerable to attacks.<\/span><\/p> Here are 3 big drawbacks you need to know about zero touch provisioning.<\/span><\/p> Imagine you\u2019re on location setting up a plethora of devices from different vendors. You plug in your zero touch solution, but you still have to manually configure three other vendor devices that make up your stack. This is the first major drawback to zero touch provisioning.<\/span><\/p> For the most part, zero touch is limited to one vendor\u2019s solutions and doesn\u2019t extend to devices or solutions from other providers. This is usually to encourage purchasing multiple solutions from or standardizing on one vendor.<\/span><\/p> Why is this a drawback?<\/span><\/i> This is just another approach to vendor lock-in. It limits your freedom when trying to leverage zero touch provisioning, which can be a major drawback especially in custom, multi-vendor environments. When you\u2019re choosing a zero touch solution, consider how much of your stack it can actually automate and how much time you\u2019ll still have to spend on manual provisioning.<\/span><\/p> What happens if you set up your site with zero touch provisioning, only to discover that your network is already under attack? You wonder how it could have happened, but then you remember all of the preconfiguring required to make zero touch possible. This is another major drawback.<\/span><\/p> Most solutions do live up to the promise of being \u2018zero touch,\u2019 but only after you\u2019ve performed extensive preconfiguring of your devices. This is a major security concern because you\u2019re loading up your stack with sensitive information about your network. <\/span>Recent reports<\/span><\/a> show that ransomware claimed a victim every 10 seconds in 2020.<\/span><\/p> Why is this a drawback? <\/span><\/i>With your network attack surface more distributed now, especially during the pandemic, it\u2019s critical to minimize your exposure to threats. But having to preconfigure your devices for zero touch provisioning makes it easier for you to become a victim. Even if you can keep careful watch over your devices to ensure no physical attacks occur, hackers can easily exploit your systems through something like an open port that one of your employees forgot to close. In a nutshell, preconfiguring puts you at unnecessary risk.<\/span><\/p> The ultimate goal of using zero touch provisioning is to add convenience to deployments and management. You want to save time and effort all around by eliminating manual work. But another major drawback to zero touch is that it puts a limit on how much and how many of your processes you can orchestrate.<\/span><\/p> Automation is when you can automate simple tasks, while orchestration is when you can automate entire processes and workloads. Most zero touch solutions allow you to implement a little bit of both automation and orchestration, but limit or simply lack support for orchestrating across devices and environments.<\/span><\/p> Why is this a drawback? <\/span><\/i>The more manual work you have to perform, the less value you get out of zero touch provisioning. And most solutions require you to manually bootstrap VMs, activate service licenses, run Docker apps, and even update device firmware as new patches are released. Though zero touch might save you time and effort on initial setup, consider how these savings might evaporate in the long run.<\/span><\/p> Imagine you\u2019re setting up a new network. Your environment is tailored specifically to your needs, which includes a custom-built monitoring application, Palo Alto NGFW, data thinning workloads, and a host of other solutions meant to optimize operations. And the best part is, you don\u2019t have to worry about vendor lock-in, security gaps, or limited orchestration. All you need to do is plug in your devices, and the entire environment will build itself in just a matter of hours. Everything just works so you don\u2019t have to.<\/span><\/p> That is what true zero touch provisioning feels like, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re passionate about at ZPE Systems. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve spent years building zero touch convenience features into our Nodegrid solutions. You don\u2019t have to put up with these major drawbacks any longer.<\/span><\/p> Nodegrid\u2019s zero touch provisioning extends across vendor solutions, even to devices that don\u2019t support automation. This means that you can automate and push configurations to whatever you connect to Nodegrid \u2014\u00a0including legacy switches, routers, and other equipment.<\/span><\/p> Nodegrid\u2019s zero touch provisioning also eliminates the need to preconfigure devices. ZPE Cloud serves as your repository for configuration files and allows you to remotely push these files to 100% factory-default devices. Physical attacks no longer pose a threat, while built-in security features and alerts automatically block and pinpoint attacks.<\/span><\/p> Because Nodegrid OS is Linux-based, it gives you the freedom to orchestrate across devices and environments, with a rich API library and your choice of tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and REST. You can save time and effort on deployments and ongoing management. This means that you can implement a zero touch provisioning solution that automatically spins up VMs, deploys Docker containers, activates service licenses and configures service chaining, updates firmware, and carries out any number of workloads you need.<\/span><\/p> When you\u2019re choosing a zero touch solution, carefully consider how these drawbacks will impact your deployment and management efforts. To help you, download <\/span>The Definitive Guide to Zero Touch Provisioning<\/span><\/a>, and when you\u2019re ready to implement your solution, use our <\/span>4-Step Checklist for Setting Up Zero Touch Provisioning<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p> For regular updates to help you streamline enterprise networking, sign up for our newsletter using the form below.<\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-improve-network-security"],"yoast_head":"\n4 things to avoid when choosing a VPN<\/h1>\n
False sense of security<\/h3>\n
Slow speeds<\/h3>\n
Potential abuse<\/h3>\n
Potential abuse<\/h3>\n
All for the money<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t fall into VPN traps<\/h1>\n
<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Business](\"https:\/\/zpesystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Business-person-using-laptop-300x169.jpeg\")
<\/p>So what\u2019s the problem with zero touch provisioning?<\/b><\/h1>
Drawback: Zero touch provisioning is limited to one vendor<\/b><\/h1>
Drawback: Zero touch provisioning isn\u2019t secure<\/b><\/h1>
Drawback: Zero touch provisioning limits orchestration<\/b><\/h1>
Can you avoid these drawbacks?<\/b><\/h1>
Get free resources to help you deploy zero touch provisioning<\/b><\/h1>