But on the flip side, cellular data limits might be an issue - setting up a situation where both a laptop and phone need VPN protection. Many folks avoid the public WiFi risk by recruiting their phone's hotspot.

Other hackers use public WiFi to unleash malware to all of the suckers using the network without protection. This Man-in-the-Middle situation is like eavesdropping, but on emails, credit card info, and work logins. Often, the easiest thing for hackers to do is slide in between your device and the connection point. That network is littered with unsecured devices, many times belonging to working professionals with bank accounts and business credentials that have phishers frothing at the mouth. Hackers love free WiFi for the same reason you do: Connecting to the internet requires no authentication. VPNs are as wise of a precaution as antivirus software or a password manager ( yes, this applies to Macs too).

A VPN's job is to plug the holes that could be making your data vulnerable to nefarious eyeballs, like creeps scouring public WiFi networks for personal information that could be used to steal your identity. It acts as a bodyguard between you and your internet service provider (and hackers, and other third-party weirdos) by hollowing out a personal anonymity tunnel through which you perform all of your internet activities. The bottom line is simple: People don't want other people watching what they're doing online, even if they're not doing anything wrong.Ī VPN (virtual private network) is an internet security subscription that basically allows you to make up your own internet rules.

But if you wanted a more raw take on the day-to-day VPN experience from normal people (with no filter), there's only one place to go: Reddit (Opens in a new tab). In turn, Google has become littered with VPN reviews and lists of the best VPNs according to experts, tech publishers, and regular consumers alike. Whatever the reason, people are becoming more and more paranoid about the vulnerability of their internet usage (that, or they're just really tired of American Netflix).

Is tunnelbear safe reddit