Security Challenge
A VPN stands for Virtual Private Network which basically sets up an encrypted tunnel from your machine to the VPN Server. Our Internet Service Providers (ISP’s), Attackers, and other actors are constantly trying to monitor our internet traffic. It’s important to secure and ensure the privacy of our Internet activity.
Recommendation
VPN’s have been gaining popularity as a way to protect your security and privacy from ISP’s, Attackers, and other potentially malicious actors. You should ask yourself the following questions to determine whether you truly need a VPN.
Questions to ask yourself
How often am I on an untrusted network? (e.g., Coffee Shop, Friend’s wifi, different country)
Who am I trying to protect my traffic from? (e.g., ISP, Threat actors, Government)
Do I really need to be connecting to a network I don’t trust?
How much is my privacy worth to me?
What are VPN’s needed for?
Some people use a VPN by a trusted vendor because they don’t trust their internet service provider and want to hide their internet activities
Some people use a VPN because they live in a country that monitors and controls their internet and they want to hide their internet activities
Some people use a VPN because they live in a different country and want to access online content that is only available outside of their country so they find a VPN that has an IP in the source area
Some people use a VPN because they are on an untrusted network like a coffee shop with free public wifi and they want to add an extra layer of protection to keep malicious actors on the same network from snooping on their traffic
Your needs will determine which VPN provider you should go with or if it’s needed at all. I would say having good security hygiene could minimize the need of a VPN but it’s also important to know what you are trying to protect yourself from to determine if you need a VPN.
Good Security hygiene
Keep your software up to date
Only connect to trusted networks. Turn off wifi and bluetooth on your mobile device when they are not being used
Only access sites that use HTTPS
This makes sure the connection between your browser and the website is protected from anyone trying to snoop
Closing Thoughts
A VPN can be a useful tool to protect your security and privacy from untrusted networks and potentially bad actors. I am a pretty technical user so I connect to a VPN I created for myself whenever I’m out to protect my traffic but everyone can’t do that. Below I’ve created the “Do I Need a VPN Game” Play it and if you determine you need a VPN below are the ones I recommend. I do not recommend using a VPN to do anything malicious but a good trusted vendor can add an extra layer of security to protect your internet traffic when you are out.
VPN Vendor I recommend