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Lumia
February 17, 2015

Keep your data private: VPN on Windows Phone

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One way to stay safer online is to use Virtual Private Networks (VPN) on your Lumia.

We now live in an era where we exist in two worlds: real and digital. While we’re used to avoiding the pitfalls of the real world, the dangers of the online world are a little less obvious.

Fortunately, Windows Phone is here to help.

Virtual Private Networks, which add an extra layer of security when connecting to your company’s network, have been a part of Windows Phone 8.1 since the Lumia Cyan Update.

Lumia-930_cafe

VPNs are a good way to ensure that the data, sensitive or otherwise, you receive or send is seen by just you and the company–no one else.

Typically, when you connect to the Internet on your smartphone or computer, you’re routed via your Internet Service Provider (ISP), which logs your visit and potentially any other information you enter.

Connecting through a VPN avoids the ISP route. Instead, you’re taken through an encrypted tunnel to where you want to go, leaving you and your employer secure in the knowledge that no data has left that VPN tunnel.

Windows Phone 8.1 supports two VPN protocols:

  • SSL-VPN – Supported for third-party servers via a plug-in model*
  • IKEv2 – Supported natively

The latter option uses a username+password or a certificate.

Windows Phone 8.1 with the Lumia Denim Update adds this:

  • L2TP with IPSec – Supported natively

This addition includes the option to connect using a username+password+pre-shared key, or a pre-shared key on its own.

Consumer VPN

Lumia-Denim-Update_VPN

Companies aren’t the only ones with sensitive data.

The Lumia Denim Update brings consumer VPN to Windows Phone, allowing individuals to browse the Web securely and privately when connected on any Wi-Fi connection, be it at home or a public hotspot.

There are several apps in the Windows Phone Store** to help make connecting to a VPN easy. And if you’re particularly tech-savvy, you can turn your home PC into your own VPN server. That way, you can connect to the Web on your Lumia via your PC when you’re out and about.

For additional information about using VPN, check out the Windows Phone support pages. For a more technical overview, TechNet has all the details.

Are you using VPN on your Lumia?

*Such as Juniper Networks JunOS Pulse VPN, SonicWALL Mobile Connect, F5 BIG-IP Edge Client, and Checkpoint Mobile VPN.

**Such as VPN One Click, VPNme45, and Flow Cloud.