Question

A ____________ is a network connection that typically carries encrypted data over the Internet to and from a remote access server.

Answer 1

VPN, Virtual Private Network. It forms an encrypted tunnel to the access server. With that, you can for instance join your corporate network from your home. You'll have all the corporate (intranet) facilities reachable from your home computer, because the VPN extends the network to your home. Nobody on the internet can eavesdrop.