What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

David Ludlow
Technology journalist

Parent Guide

15 min

This free online safety guide focuses on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The guide takes a look at how to tackle a range of potential risks such as age-inappropriate content, malware infections and bypassing restrictions.

A free online safety guide on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a privacy tool used to hide internet activity from prying eyes. Without a VPN, internet traffic is sent directly from your computer or smartphone, letting anyone in-between you and a site or service that you’re accessing (such as a wireless hotspot owner or your ISP) see what you’re doing. With a VPN, a secure tunnel is created between your computer or phone and what’s known as the endpoint. The endpoint is merely the part of the internet where your connection comes out: it can be in the same country as you or could be located anywhere else in the world.

In the guide, you'll find tips on avoiding potential risks such as age-inappropriate content, malware infections and bypassing restrictions.

David Ludlow

David has more than 20 years' experience in publishing, having written for a wide audience including business and consumer technology publications.

Launching Expert Reviews in 2010, he grew the site from less than 100,000 to more than 5m unique users per month. Currently, he edits the Home Technology Section on Trusted Reviews, writing reviews and tutorials on smart home, home appliance and consumer technology. He has also written several whitepapers for global IT companies alongside corporate blog posts.