VPN...Virtual Private Network..Worth It?

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by alano

PIA supplies an app that resides in the tray (for Windows machines). You can easily enable/disable and select which server you would like to connect. Not sure about Macs or phones though.

iOS / Mac OS devices have an app from PIA as well. Easy to use and can switch between tcp and udp easily. Ports are easy to change as well.

[paiceman]

Our son is an IT person with an internal network of probably 100,000 + users he is partially responsible for. They have a VPN. When we retired and were starting our trips he took my wife's laptop and put a VPN that he has on his own onto her laptop as she does all the banking and bill paying. He specifically told her do not connect to any WiFi, be it a campground, store or my Android hotspot without first opening the VPN. Then he put it on mine and told me the same thing.

He assured us, if we follow "his" rules of connection we are secure. Generally we use the hotspot on my android to connect as it's almost always much faster than anything provided in campgrounds. She checks all accounts daily as prior to the VPN we had been hacked and it all ended ok, but was a painful process.

Bud

[DaveCamp]

Originally Posted by alano

Sorry I keep my Synology at home. I sync a 1TB drive of my Plex media folders so I have something to watch while on the road! I highly recommend the Synology device, it's so much better than the previous two Drobos that I previously had.

Agree with you about the Drobos, I had one, bad mistake. I like your idea of syncing Plex as well. I don't have Plex Pass though, maybe this is a good time to consider getting it. Do you have an Apple TV or similar inside your rig to play the actual streamed files?

[alano]

I haven't bothered with Plex Pass and have tried, unsuccessfully, to access Plex remotely. I don't have Apple TV but the Samsung TV and DVD in my trailer both can stream Hulu/Netflix among others but I don't bother. Every time I've tried with a park's WiFi connection I've been disappointed and even though I have a 15 gb plan, my daughters don't leave me much by the end of the month! Either way, I found it easy to simply sync a harddrive before our journey.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by DaveCamp

Agree with you about the Drobos, I had one, bad mistake. I like your idea of syncing Plex as well. I don't have Plex Pass though, maybe this is a good time to consider getting it. Do you have an Apple TV or similar inside your rig to play the actual streamed files?

Yep, I too wasted money on a bunch of drobos before I came to my senses. Terrible product, worse customer service.

[interstateflyer]

We settled on Express VPN. It got the best reviews with Mac users and reviewers. Works flawlessly with very little speed degradation.

Btw. We also have a Verizon Jetpack which is fairly secure. However it is not covered as part of the Verizon TravelPass that we'll be using in Canada thus we need to use public wifi.

[dhroberts]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I'd like to be able to use my Mac laptop on the road and use RV Park/Public WiFi. I've been told that I should use a VPN, Virtual Private Network to ensure security.

Has anyone had experience with VPNs and if so could you recommend a particular one?

VPN? Yes! I use the service offered by PIA - Private Internet Access. All of my devices and my wife's are covered by one subscription: cells, tablets, laptops and a desktop. PIA was named as an Editor's Choice by PC Magazine in its June 13, 2016 edition.

Bottomline: you just can't be too secure particularly when you tap into unknown wifi sites regardless if you are in your hometown or on the road.

Good luck.

[interstateflyer]

expressvpn has great Mac compatibility. I've used it in US and Canada.

[Rocinante]

We use Cloak VPN on all our Apple products whenever we're on public wi-fi. Works great!

https://www.getcloak.com/

[elgo]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I'd like to be able to use my Mac laptop on the road and use RV Park/Public WiFi. I've been told that I should use a VPN, Virtual Private Network to ensure security.

Has anyone had experience with VPNs and if so could you recommend a particular one?

I use ExpressVPN. Its installed as a default now when I use wifi on my phone, laptop or tablet so there's no need for me to reconfigure every time. I don't consider myself paranoid but its a good policy.

Some have suggested that it isn't necessary unless you visit sensitive sites (such as online banking), but I can't tell you the number of times I have read an email from someone (usually from work) and within the email they transmit something sensitive (such as bank account, SSN, credit card numbers, etc.) You would think people have more sense, but sometimes they just assume you are going to read it in a secure environment. If you're on a public wifi, that info will end up in the hands of anyone nearby with ill intent who is moderately sophisticated. So anyway, its like wearing a seat belt - sometimes you do it to protect yourself from the actions of other drivers, not to protect yourself from your own actions.

[rmkrum]

My usual comment is: Just because you are paranoid does NOT mean they are not out to get you.

Reasonable paranoia helps protect you from the bad guys.


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[Motown]

Cloak VPN is great for all Apple devices. I can also recommend Nord VPN, available for pretty much all platforms.

[paiceman]

VPN s are worth it. We have our own operating on our own server. Accessable from anyplace we have a cell signal.

[dhroberts]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

I'd like to be able to use my Mac laptop on the road and use RV Park/Public WiFi. I've been told that I should use a VPN, Virtual Private Network to ensure security.

Has anyone had experience with VPNs and if so could you recommend a particular one?

Thanks for the question - IMO, a very important one. Basically, I can't imagine accessing ANY wifi signal from ANY source without the benefit of a virtual private network (VPN). As I understand it, a VPN disguises the identity (i.e. the devices' IP addresses) of your laptop, cell phone and/or tablet making unauthorized access (i.e. hacking, etc) VERY DIFFICULT from potentially questionable wifi sources. Why take this unauthorized access risk with either 'known' wifi sources (i.e. home, etc.) or unknown sources (i.e. Starbucks, RV parks, etc.)?

I have been using PIA for several years while at home and when travelling. Not expensive, install it and PIA automatically does the rest. No degradation of wifi speed. www.privateinternetaccess.com. All of my and my wife's devices are covered. Even used it during a recent trip to South Africa.

Hope this helps. Travel safe. See you on the road. Dennis

[Rocinante]

Another good VPN provider: Private Internet Access. Just started using them a couple of weeks ago, trying them out because they are cheaper than Cloak. They seem just as easy to use, with the added advantage that they do not keep any logs (e.g. they cannot track your history or sell it to advertisers). Cloak keeps a 16-day log, as a rolling window, though they promise not to sell it to advertisers. However, some websites block some of the IP addresses used by PIA and on those occasions I've had to switch the access port around from Seattle to New York City. That works, though it is a little bit of a pain at first. With Cloak, on the other hand, I've never seen a site block that VPN.

[alano]

Perhaps Cloak gets away with it because they're not on the radar screen yet. With the exception of Netflix and Hulu, I haven't had any issues with PIA. I have a Synology box connected via PIA for months at home and it's rock solid.

[Tsunami-v2]

I use a VPN for security and anonymity. Keep's my ISP from attempting to collect and sell my browsing info/history, for their profit. I also use my VPN to connect to site that have HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer) for financial transaction and to stop anyone from intercepting my IP packets as they move across the internet. Just a layer approach to thwart/slowdown hackers.

http://newatlas.com/search/?q=VPN&sa=Search

One last thing, look for a VPN provider that does NOT save their router/server VPN logs. Keeps the government from getting access to your browser history.

[Brawny]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Another good VPN provider: Private Internet Access. Just started using them a couple of weeks ago, trying them out because they are cheaper than Cloak. They seem just as easy to use, with the added advantage that they do not keep any logs (e.g. they cannot track your history or sell it to advertisers). Cloak keeps a 16-day log, as a rolling window, though they promise not to sell it to advertisers. However, some websites block some of the IP addresses used by PIA and on those occasions I've had to switch the access port around from Seattle to New York City. That works, though it is a little bit of a pain at first. With Cloak, on the other hand, I've never seen a site block that VPN.

+1 on PIA. I've used them at home and on my i-devices for a couple years now without issue. Never had problems with being blocked from sites, and being able to select the far endpoint can be helpful.

[joshjack]

I was holding off on chiming in, but since the thread has calmed down a bit I'm going to go for it.

You can follow the "you can't have too much security" protocol; or you can just be smart. Use a good web browser (not IE) that is up to date. Make sure the website you are on is showing an HTTPS connection with a good security certificate. Chrome is good for this because they flag sites that have valid certificates but are expired; or everything is correct but their security protocols are out of date.

If you have a secure, HTTPS connection to a known and valid website your traffic is not visible to anyone else even on a public Wifi connection. All of the traffic is heavily encrypted. This is true of most of the major social media sites as well; not just finance and ecommerce.

Man in the middle attacks try to fool you into thinking you're connected to a known site; but using a good browser and checking that the security is valid will help lower the risk.

[alano]

Josh, this makes sense for information that you're accessing via secure sites. However, I don't want anyone sniffing around in my computer. I have work product that could conceivably be accessible without a browser's involvement. For me the added security is well worth the cost and inconvenience.