Macworld:
While the amount of stuff you need to protect has shrunk enormously in the last few years, with Facebook and Twitter encrypting by default, and Google and others upping their game, a VPN still buys you peace of mind.
A well written article from Fleishman. How many of you use VPN on a regular basis?
Never. Not sure I have any need for it, and I don’t think the article did a good job of answering that question.
Not me; but I don’t use random WiFi hardly ever.
That’s the only last-mile I’d be worried about enough to care.
I use ProXPN when on public networks. Maybe I am just being paranoid, but a yearly premium subscription only costs me about $60/year (with a promo code). They do have a free option as well.
Glenn should know better… There are many things wrong with the premise of his article. Here’s just the two most glaring problems:
While his main point is security of your local network, he also claims your “bits” going out on the open internet through various routers can lead to security concerns. How does he think your “bits” get from the VPN end point to the final destination? They travel over most of those same routers (minus your ISP and maybe a different transit provider). The analogy about pipes he gives is disingenuous, and saying that many websites have servers in the same data center as the VPN is just absurd.
Using a VPN at home/school/work for all traffic would mean you don’t trust your home network, ISP, school or work. Then why would you put all of your trust in largely unknown, pop-up VPN providers? This is the biggest security issue most people don’t point out when recommending VPNs – you’re placing ALL of your trust in the VPN provider. You’re explicitly and purposefully giving a third-party access to all of your internet traffic. For SSL protected traffic, this is usually fine (assuming they are not trying any MITM attacks), but all your clear-text/unencrypted traffic can now be easily snooped in one central place. The only entity that previously had that ability was your ISP.
VPNs make a lot of sense on unencrypted WiFi networks, networks with questionable security (hotel, conferences, etc), or if you’re trying to change/hide your location. If you setup a VPN server at home, even better. But using a third-party VPN for every day stuff just does not seem worth the risk or money.