Using a VPN to browse securely, and protect your privacy

With all the recent attention on Internet privacy and unwanted surveillance, more and more people are asking what they can do to protect themselves and their data. While there is no single solution to the problem of on-line security, there is one easy thing anyone can do to drastically improve their security - use a VPN.

What is a VPN?

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a private, encrypted virtual layer that operates on top of the Internet; It allows you to create a secure connection to another network(VPN host) over the Internet. Once this tunnel connection between your computer(or phone/tablet) and VPN host is made, all of your incoming/outgoing Internet traffic(data) will be sent through the encrypted tunnel, to/from the VPN host. The VPN host then routes your data accordingly. 

Why do you need a VPN?

The Internet is becoming more ubiquitous everyday. For many people, the Internet is where they do their banking, engage in confidential conversations, and spend a good deal of time browsing. More and more personal, private information about us is available to hackers, digital eavesdroppers, advertising & marketing firms, law enforcement, and the Government. 

Consider when you go to the coffee shop, and use their WiFi to connect while you enjoy your latte. Typically, these WiFi networks are public(unencrypted), using store-bought routers with default security settings. This means that, to anyone with a minimal set technical skill (and I do mean 'minimal'), all your traffic(data) can be easily intercepted. It could be a confidential business email, personal communication, or even bank & credit card information. Anyone with a laptop, and one or two freely available software tools can sit in a coffee shop intercepting the unencrypted traffic of all the other customers. This happens everyday.

In the coffee shop scenario, a VPN is the perfect solution. Upon connecting to CoffeeNET (or whatever their network name is), you immediately activate your VPN connection. Now, all your data and traffic is encrypted before it ever leaves your computer, then travels to the VPN host where it gets decrypted and routed. Any incoming data or traffic first goes to the VPN host where it is encrypted before being routed to your computer. In other words, you have full bi-directional encryption. Anyone attempting to snoop, or intercept your traffic will only get blocks of encrypted data; unreadable and unusable.

But, there's more! Most Internet users are aware that their computer(or phone/tablet) has an address assigned to it on the Internet; the IP address. This address is completely unique to your computer, and is used as an identifier in the TPC/IP network stack. Websites use this address to track your usage, determine where you are located, what Internet service you use, and more. For all intents and purposes, this IP address can be used to track all of your activity on the Internet, as well as identify where you are physically located. Once again, our VPN solves the problem. When you connect to the VPN host, your public IP gets changed to the IP of the VPN host. This makes it impossible for would-be snoops to determine where you are physically located, since their efforts would only lead them to the door of the VPN host. It also prevents any browsing activity to be linked back to your computer.

Sounds Great! What Now?

If you're ready to protect your privacy, you need to select a VPN host to provide the VPN service. Google will show you many choices, so here's a few considerations:

• Logging: Does the provider maintain customer usage logs? You're using a VPN to protect your privacy, so using a VPN that keeps usage logs defeats the purpose. NO LOGS!
  
• Exit Points: The exit point is the physical location your traffic is routed to and from. If you are trying to access sites that use geographic blocking (eg. prevent access to users of some countries), you want an exit point in an unrestricted country/area. The exit location is also where your IP address will track back to. For US users seeking the most unrestricted and protected browsing, you want a VPN host that has exit nodes in countries that value on-line privacy; Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, etc.
  
• Cost: In one way or another, you're already paying for Internet access. Nobody wants another big bill to deal with for basic encryption and routing service. The prices can widely vary from provider to provider. Don't be dazzled by pretty images and costly add-ons. More money will not get you better protection. Depending on the provider, you should expect to pay no more than $5-$8 month. 

PrivacyIO

If you want a fantastic VPN host without having to do all the homework, don't worry! I've already done the research and have found, what I feel, is the best all-around VPN service.

PrivacyIO is an off-shore VPN provider with exit points in Sweden and Amsterdam. They assign random IP addresses, encrypt all Internet traffic/data, and keep no logs. Two different industry-standard VPN protocols are offered - pptp (Point to Point Tunneling Protocol), and OpenVPN - resulting in compatibility with virtually every computer, smartphone, and tablet. There are easy setup guides for Windows, Mac, and Linux on their site. Best of all is the price. 6 months of service is only $35 (about $0.19/day).

Don't wait for something awful to happen to you because your privacy, credit, or identity was compromised. You can be secured and protected in less than 15 minutes. >> Protect my privacy now!

All rights reserved. © 2013 Samuel Walter