What is the best VPN for remote workers? More importantly, why is it necessary to use a VPN when telecommuting?
March 2020 has seen the world plunge into chaos. Every day sees millions of more people globally go into Covid-19 lockdown. As a result, the current pandemic is seeing telecommuting to work become the new normal for millions of global employees.
What is the Best VPN for Remote Workers and Why do You Need One?
At face value, how telecommuting works is simple. Where it is possible to do so, company employees use applications like Microsoft Teams to connect with coworkers remotely.
In many cases, people telecommuting also use applications like Team Viewer to connect to remote company servers. This way, employees can access software applications and databases with the same ease they might in their usual office space.
Sadly, while telecommuting is booming in popularity, remote working can leave businesses and employees susceptible to Internet security threats.
How Can a VPN Increase Internet Security?
When you work from your company office, the devices you use to go online benefit from several layers of cybersecurity protection. In most cases, your employer will also use real-time security monitoring to detect potential cyber-attacks.
Sadly, when working from home, all that protects you from cybersecurity threats is your wifi router security passphrase.
- When connecting to the Internet via unsecured wifi hotspots, it is easy for
opportunistic thieves to intercept data sent between your PC and the router you are using. - Wifi network spoofing can see cybercriminals clone your wifi hotspot to steal your network login credentials.
- Even when using a secure connection when telecommuting, it is still possible to inadvertently leak sensitive company information online if your connection is not encrypted.
Thankfully, using a VPN when telecommuting can reduce your exposure to many common cybersecurity threats.
How a VPN Works
To browse the Internet, your PC or laptop has to constantly send data backward and forwards between every website you visit.
Sadly, data that you exchange online isn’t always encrypted. Some cybersecurity experts even liken sending emails to sending letters via regular mail without envelopes.
Without encryption, the data you exchange online can easily fall into the hands of hackers and cybercriminals. However, using a VPN addresses this problem.
- VPNs relay all your Internet traffic through encrypted tunnels.
- When you use a VPN, you anonymize your physical IP address. This makes it impossible for criminals to identify your real-world location.
- By using end-to-end encryption, any data you send across the Internet remains secure, even when you are using unsecured public wifi hotspots.
What is the Best VPN for Remote Workers in 2021?
Remote working statistics show that many people telecommuting in 2021 are already using a VPN to do so. However, some popular VPN services are starting to struggle to meet increasing demand.
Are you starting to telecommute to work as a result of the current Covid-19 crisis? If so, make sure that your Internet connection is secure and we recommend PureVPN to handle the job.

Kevin
Online freelancer, owner of Shielded VPN and long time website creator and designer. Happily married man and father of two amazing boys.