VE3ESN wrote:
We're looking for a recommendation for a free VPN that will allow us to safely and securely do some limited internet banking while on the road and using wifi hotspots. Are there any of you who use "Hotspot Shield" or similar services like "Free VPN", and what kind of results are you experiencing? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
I have a few thoughts on this.
1. Free.. you get what you pay for.
2. Remember that you have to be able to trust your VPN service. The encryption is only to them. They decrypt the info and then pass it on. The VPN provider is "able" to see all of the raw non-https traffic that you are trying to protect by using a VPN.
3. They only thing you are protected from is others on the hotspot site being able to see your traffic with a sniffer. Remember that any sites you connect to using HTTPS are already encrypted traffic and yes using a public wifi and if it has been compromised you could become a victim of a man-in-the-middle attack where your encrypted https traffic is decrypted by the bad guy read and then forwarded on without you knowing it.
4. If you are truly concerned then I would use my phone's data plan and a wifi hotspot. You control who else is using that connection and I find that the speeds I get on the internet is faster than using the local campground wifi. I would trust that better than a 3rd party free vpn provider.
5. You are more likely to be compromised by an e-mail with an attachment. For example it is well known that the hackers craft e-mails that look official from banking, shipping and even co-workers at your company.. with an attachment or link that looks real. BUT once you click on it your system is compromised and your antivirus will not help you. Many many people have been victim to this and don't even know it. Every keystroke is sent to the bad guy and they may even have remote control of your computer and be able to turn on the camera without your knowledge.
Just my thoughts and I'm sure others have their opinions.
