Which term refers to a private tunnel that protects internet traffic from monitoring when connecting from a home location to the internal network?

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A private, encrypted tunnel over the internet to reach an internal network is a Virtual Private Network. This setup creates a secure channel that protects your traffic from eavesdropping and tampering as it travels across the public network, using encryption and tunneling protocols (such as IPsec or TLS). It’s designed for remote-access from a home location to an organization’s internal network, ensuring confidentiality and integrity even on untrusted networks.

The other devices serve different roles but don’t provide that encrypted tunnel as part of their primary function: a router directs packets between networks; a switch forwards frames within a local network; and a gateway can connect networks or translate protocols but does not inherently establish the secure, private tunnel used to protect traffic over the internet.