What is the purpose of a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) serves the primary purpose of establishing a secure and encrypted connection over the Internet. This functionality is crucial for protecting sensitive data, ensuring privacy, and enabling secure remote access to networks. When a user connects to a VPN, their internet traffic is routed through a secure server, which encrypts the data and masks the user's IP address. This enhances security and privacy, particularly when using public Wi-Fi networks, making it difficult for attackers to intercept or access the data being transmitted.

While other choices discuss aspects of internet connectivity or access, they do not encapsulate the core purpose of a VPN. Enhancing internet speed or managing bandwidth is not fundamentally what a VPN is designed for; rather, these are side effects that may occur under specific circumstances. Furthermore, a VPN is not intended to provide free public internet access, as its main focus is on securing communication rather than providing internet services.