In our blog we plan to talk about “Privacy” and “Security” on the Internet and the use of VPN’s. A VPN, for those of you who don't know, is a “Virtual Private Network” which some of you may already have come across at work.
What a VPN allows you to do is to connect to the Internet Securely and without worrying about anyone (ISP’s, Employers, Governments, Hackers/identity thieves etc) being able to open your traffic and see what you are doing.
Back in 2008, BT was caught spying on 36,000 internet users. BT tested secret 'spyware' on tens of thousands of its broadband customers without their knowledge.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British inventor and founding father of the worldwide web, said a person's data and web history are private property.
'It's mine - you can't have it,' he added. 'If you want to use it for something, then you have to negotiate with me. I have to agree, I have to understand what I'm getting in return.'
More recently TalkTalk were rapped by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for failing to disclose enough about a malware system it was launching, but even more concerning is that in the last couple of months BT PlusNet and Sky have both admitted that customer personal data was leaked on the Internet.
These UK Broadband providers have been caught spying on their customers and guilty of leaking customer data, so it is very likely that other Broadband providers in the UK and around the globe are guilty of doing the same things.
Normally, when you send an email, browse the Web, send messages, talk using Skype or download from the Internet, you send packets of information in clear text format which anyone with a little knowledge can open and read (this is what BT, Talk Talk and probably other ISP’s have been doing). This is like using the Post Office to deliver a letter without an envelope.
However, when you are connected to a VPN and you send these packets of information they are locked inside a secure container, which cannot be read by your ISP, before they are delivered to the Internet by Armoured Car.
Hopefully, you will now have a better idea of how to ensure your "Privacy” and “Security” on the Internet, and recognise that a VPN is every bit as necessary and important as any Anti-Virus and Firewall software you have installed on your computer.
In our next blog we will look at how to protect your "Privacy” and “Security” when using Public WiFi Hotspots like McDonalds, Starbucks, Costa and others.
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