"Go to your room! Now!"

Obeying the parental mandate, a young, sulky Andy stomped upstairs to his room. He slammed his door, causing the Twilight Zone poster to flutter madly. He then realized all was not lost. He turned on his CB radio, channel 19, and tried to contact George, the kid one house over.

"I'm here, Andy. Got sent to your room too, huh? Over. "

"Yeah. Just cause I put popcorn in Mom's-"

"Breaker one-nine. Hold on. Let's go to secure mode. Make sure no one can hear us. Over."

"Ten-four."

Andy opened his window. George opened his, and tossed over a can with a string attached. Andy caught it, and both boys pulled gently, stretching the string between them. Whispering into the cans, they continued their conversation about, well, no one knows. That's their secret. They made this secure communication with the use of a very primitive VPN.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a way computers talk to each other privately and securely. You can be away from your office or home, say with your laptop at a coffee shop, and still access remote files without anyone eavesdropping.

A normal communication between computers (wired or wireless) is like broadcasting on a CB radio – anyone with the right equipment and knowledge can listen. A VPN is private and secure, protected by unbreakable encryption: No one can hear the conversation except the people on each end.

Access your home or office PC files when you're away. Use equipment like printers or scanners from your remote computers. It's easy with a VPN. For all your laptop knows, it's not at the coffee shop: It thinks it's right next to your home or office equipment.

While the concept is fairly easy, setup is slightly more complicated. It requires at least a basic understanding of data routing and encryption techniques. You may need special equipment or software at both ends of the connection. If you're lucky, your office computer administrator may already have something set up. It won't hurt to ask.

If you have a home network, you can create a home VPN connection by purchasing a "VPN router". The VPN router you want depends on how you'll be using it, so more research is needed before recommending specifics. However, in increasing order of quality and price, check out the Linksys BEFSX41, Netgear FV318, CyberGuard SG300, or the Cisco PIX firewalls. CyberGuard and Cisco ($250 and up) is considered high end, and will meet most needs of small to medium-sized businesses. Linksys and Netgear routers (under $100) are more for small office or home use, and each have certain limitations buyers should know before purchasing.

With the right VPN equipment, we can indeed live the dream of working while relaxing on the beach. A VPN gives us a high-tech can-and-string telephone for all secure data communication. And for those wondering whatever happened to Andy, he doesn't get in trouble as often these days. He only got sent to his room twice this week.