So I’m working (from home) with a big finance company (they’re my client, not my employer) and they have sent me a work laptop with details to log into their VPN.
I’ve only come across VPN being used to change locations for Netflix or to avoid your personal details being stolen if you use a free public wifi hotspot but I don’t know the reasons for a company VPN?
Is it to access their databases? To access their MS Teams/outlook? Is it just an extra layer of security cos we are all using our own wifi which they haven’t vetted?
Help please 
was too embarrassed to ask their tech support. My own employer does not require us to use VPNs.
Edit: typos
If you were in the office, there would presumably be things on the company network that you can’t access from the public internet. Whether that’s a database, a mail server, some shared file storage, networked printers, or whatever.
Connecting to the VPN is effectively a way to create an encrypted tunnel across the public internet, to put you on that private office network remotely.
A VPN is basically a secured tunnel between your computer and another computer.
It means that thanks to the VPN your computer will be identified as part as your work network, and all the information between your home and your bank will be encrypted.
A bit application of VPN is when frequent travellers need privacy. If you connect on a public wifi, everybody on that wifi can listen to your communications (It’s not that easy, but a “script-kiddie level hacker” could do it) with a VPN all that they see is a set of encrypted data going between your computer and your employer.
Let’s say you’re an airbus mechanics repairing a Lufthansa plane. Lufthansa let you use their wifi so you can look details about the part to change including drawing and price. You don’t want Lufthansa to know the real cost of the part. The VPN guarantee that they won’t see the data. Same for a lot of job.
Changing location to watch netflix is technically as illegal as direct piracy (but you need a very petty judge to annoy you for that) but works the same way, you connect to a network located in Guatemela, and now you can watch all the telenovelas you want because netflix thinks you’re in Guatemela.
Thanks all!
Did try to Google this one but articles of “why you should use a vpn at work” came up more than why does this company enforce vpn usage!
Added layer of security and it allows you to access their internal file servers as if you were plugging your computer directly into their office network
When you’re at work you log into your workplace’s private network. This network is most likely protected by all kinds security-features as they don’t want people on the public network (internet) to access your data.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) extends your workplace’s private network across the public network in order to make your workplace’s server think that you are sitting at work.
was too embarrassed to ask their tech support. My own employer does not require us to use VPNs.