Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are a special tool that allow computers to talk on specific networks over the Internet.

For some context, it’s important to understand some basics how the Internet works. The Internet isn’t just one “thing.” It’s a network of networks, each of which has computers on it. The Internet facilitates the communication from a computer on one network to a computer on another network.

Not all of these networks are created the same. While some networks are open to the entire Internet, operators on the Internet may choose to limit who can connect to computers inside of their network and what computers inside of their network can connect to. There are a few reasons why an operator might do so, including:

• To protect their own assets from intrusion by external threat actors,
• To protect their users from harmful or offensive content, or
• To censor free speech or prevent perceived poor influences on their users.

The “scope” of an operator depends. These limits can be placed by a government over an entire country or nation. They can also be placed by you on an individual device, like your laptop, to protect it from hackers.

There are a few reasons to seek out these limits or to try and bypass them. You might want to get access to technology that protects you from external threats better, or you might want to bypass censorship. One of the tools that lets your device connect to another network is called a virtual private network, or a VPN.

You can think of a VPN as a “tunnel” to another network. When you are connected to a VPN, your connection will be a part of that network, so it’s important that you trust your VPN provider. Any data that’s transmitted through the tunnel is encrypted until it leaves the tunnel in your VPN provider’s network—this means that your VPN provider can see your traffic if the traffic itself isn’t encrypted.

Do I need one?

Maybe, but probably not.

If you’re only looking to protect your data, a VPN won’t help any more than the tools you already have. Encrypting your web traffic is as simple as making sure that padlock’s in the address bar and that the web address starts with HTTPS. The encryption used in HTTPS is as strong (if not stronger) than the encryption that your VPN provider may give you.

However, if you’re traveling and need to get around georestrictions, or you need to access Denison’s corporate network, you may need a VPN.

How do I connect to Denison’s VPN?

Search MyDenison for VPN to instructions on how to install and connect to Denison’s GlobalProtect VPN.

What about hackers?

VPN marketing often tries to claim that if you’re not using a VPN, you’re risking your passwords, banking details, and private data.

This is not true. As long as you’re using HTTPS (the little padlock in the address bar), your data is being transmitted over a secure connection.

“Over the air” theft used to be a big problem, back when most websites weren’t using HTTPS. It wasn’t hard to run an ARP spoofing attack or, eventually, to just sniff passwords packets out of thin air.

That’s simply not true anymore. Now, anything that sends any personal or sensitive information uses a trusted, encrypted tunnel: HTTPS; every website with a padlock in the address bar, every iPhone app since 2016, and every Android app since 2018.

How strong are VPNs?

Not any stronger than HTTPS. Bog-standard HTTPS uses AES encryption, the very same encryption that governments use to secure their confidential and top-secret communications.

Do I need one?

Maybe, but probably not.

If you know you’ll be traveling somewhere that places restrictions on content that you’ll need to get around or you need to access a corporate network, it may be beneficial to have access to a VPN.

However, if you’re only looking to protect your data, a VPN won’t help any more than the tools you already have. Encrypting your web traffic is as simple as making sure that padlock’s in the address bar and that the web address starts with HTTPS. The encryption used in HTTPS is as strong (if not stronger) than the encryption that your VPN provider may give you.

Why does Denison offer a VPN?

Denison restricts who and what can connect to certain services at Denison, and the network you are connecting from can matter.

If you need to get to certain services at Denison, you’ll need to connect to Denison’s VPN. Denison’s VPN is run by ITS, and it allows to access services as if you were on-campus. Think back to the “tunnel” analogy. When you connect to Denison’s VPN, you’re tunneling into Denison’s network, so your traffic appears to come from Denison’s network.