What type of security mechanism can you use to protect your data in a tunnel?

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is specifically designed to create a secure tunnel over the internet for transmitting data. This mechanism encrypts the data that travels between the user's device and the VPN server, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected from unauthorized access and eavesdropping during transmission. By using a VPN, users can securely connect to a remote network, maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of their data.

In contrast, a firewall primarily acts as a barrier that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. While essential for network protection, it does not create a secure tunnel for data transmission like a VPN does. A proxy server serves as an intermediary between the user's device and the internet, which can help hide the user's IP address and can cache content, but it does not inherently encrypt data in transit. A DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone, provides an additional layer of security by isolating an organization's internal network from untrusted networks, but it does not focus specifically on protecting data in transit.