A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one of the basic web security practices for professionals. Thanks to its ability to encrypt data and IP addresses, it makes surfing the internet safer, and collaboration easier. It’s particularly useful for accessing gatekept content.
Seeing as VPNs help with internet security and access to the larger web, it’s not a surprise that video production agencies would adopt it for different reasons. Given that video production agencies handle a lot of sensitive data, having a VPN installed is an important web security practice. You can’t risk getting hacked and losing sensitive personal or client data. Here’s what you should know:
What is a VPN?
Imagine creating a secure, private channel for surfing the internet. That’s essentially what a Virtual Private Network (VPN) does. It creates an encrypted connection to a remote server run by a VPN provider, which allows you to browse the internet securely. Basically, all your internet activity – from browsing websites to sending emails and downloading files, travels through the VPN secure tunnel.
With your devices connected to a VPN, what happens is that your IP (Internet Protocol) address – which is basically your identifier on the internet, gets masked and replaced with the VPN’s server IP address. Simply put, the VPN gives you a new IP address from a remote location, thus hiding your online identity. This encryption prevents anyone – malicious or not, from spying on your internet activity or tracing you. Just like most high-level VPNs, Cybernews Surfshark VPN review shows that it uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and WireGuard for encrypting internet data against spies and hackers – especially when you’re connected to public WiFi networks which are popular for weak security and cyberattacks.
How VPNs Work
When in use, a VPN works by creating a secure connection – which is usually called a tune, between any device and a remote server that’s run by a VPN provider. Note that VPN providers typically have several remote servers across different locations. And once a device requests a VPN connection, it either connects the device to a preferred server, or randomly selects a server. The randomness often strengthens the anonymity of a VPN connection, instead of sticking to just one VPN server all the time – which risks malicious tracing. Here’s how it works:
Initiation and Authentication: When you activate a VPN on your device, your device tries to connect to one of the VPN provider’s servers. The VPN authenticates your connection request to verify your subscription and the available servers.
Data Encryption: Once the connection is established, the VPN encrypts all data leaving your device. This ensures that your internet traffic is scrambled and unreadable to anyone who might try to intercept it e.g. your Internet Service Provider (ISP), hackers on public Wi-Fi, or government surveillance. Most top-notch VPNs use the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) for IP encryption.
Secure Tunneling and IP Masking: Having encrypted your data, the VPN reroutes all your internet traffic through an active server. This process is known as tunneling, and it hides your online activities from the outside world.
When encrypted data from your device reaches the VPN server, it first gets decrypted before being sent out to the internet. But instead of your original IP address, it’s the VPN server’s IP address that’ll be visible to the websites and internet services you access. This way, your identity and location remains secure.
Decryption and Receiving Data: The final act is when internet traffic is to get to your device. It’s first routed through the VPN server before reaching your device. Data received from the internet are typically encoded to flag and quarantine suspicious data before being transferred to your device through the secure VPN tunnel. In all, the VPN acts like a tough middle-man that shields you from potential threats online.
4 Reasons Why VPNs are Essential for Video Production Agencies
Looking at how a VPN works, it’s easy to pick a few reasons why VPNs are important for video production agencies. Here are four reasons why:
Enhanced security for managing sensitive video data:
For starters, video production typically involves handling confidential client information, pre-release content, and valuable intellectual property. What’s more is that there are always spies and hackers waiting to steal these sensitive data. A data breach could result in costly loss and even lawsuit from an angry client. Imagine the footage of a blockbuster movie getting leaked before its premiere. This is where a VPN comes in.
Thanks to its encrypted connection to the internet, video editors could work online without risking a data breach. Web spies, hackers, and even government surveillance systems would find it difficult to intercept sensitive files during uploads, downloads, or collaborations, thus the agency and its client data stay protected.
Secure remote collaboration even on public WiFi networks:
These days, video production – especially editing, is no longer confined to an office space. Most video production teams now collaborate online using cloud storage and topnotch software. But this is risky since to collaborate online you need strong and consistent internet connection. Unfortunately, internet bills are high, and that often causes some team members to work while connected to public WiFi networks. Needless to say, public WiFi networks are hotspots for hacks, data theft, and spying. It’s freely accessible but highly unsafe.
With a VPN active, video production team members can conveniently use public WiFi networks without the risks of cyberattacks. Since VPN encrypts and reroutes all data going out and coming in, team members can securely access project files and collaborate from anywhere around the world.
Accessing region-locked content and resources:
While the internet is like a global network, some content and resources are unavailable to different places around the world. Sometimes, video projects might need access to stock footage, music libraries, or online resources that aren’t available within a geographical location. To bypass these restrictions, a VPN comes in handy by rerouting a device’s IP address to a remote server in a location without the restrictions. As such, video production teams can conveniently access the necessary resources online without breaking a sweat. Needless to say, the access to a vast array of resources helps with inspiration and productivity.
Maintaining consistent internet performance:
One major challenge for most online collaborators on intensive projects like animation and video editing is that the internet connection fails from time to time, which is highly frustrating especially when working with a deadline. Sometimes Internet Service Providers (ISPs) tamper with the bandwidth for specific types of internet traffic – especially video files. As such, file transfers which are usually large in video production, get hindered by slow internet. In some cases, heavy file transfers are forced to restart repeatedly. But, with a VPN encrypting a device’s internet traffic and data, the risk of bandwidth throttling or uneven internet performance is reduced. And in the event that a particular VPN server has been marked for its high traffic, it’s easy to switch to another VPN server to keep working.
Conclusion
In essence, a VPN is a solid tool for video production agencies thanks to its security features. Besides providing secure internet connection, it ensures internet privacy, ease of collaboration, and helps smoothen internet performance. Luckily, there are both free and paid VPNs of high quality like Surfshark.