Reinforce the need for personal VPN

1. After all, I do not have to be
concerned, do I?
Why are you
on the VPN
bandwagon?
3/27/2016 1

2. • In a recent post, I discussed the need for VPN.
• I had several people ask me if I was being paranoid or if I really
thought a personal Virtual Private Network was needed.
• Here are situations that, I believe, warrant the need for VPN
– Do you ever connect to an unsecured wireless network on your phone,
laptop, or other mobile device?
• Hotel
• Coffee House
• Stream games or add apps using wireless
– Is your device set to automatically connect to unsecured wireless networks?
– Do you care if your internet provider has access to your internet traffic?
Do you really need VPN?
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3. • Perform a search on “hacking tools”.
– The easy access to this knowledge and these tools should be enough to
scare you.
• One scenario of which I am aware is
– A person creates a free wireless network at a coffee shop that may seem
legitimate but they use it to trap internet traffic.
• Do you really know that “Coffee House Guest WIFI” really belongs to the coffee house?
• People always assume they are safe.
– I compare this to a home burglary.
• Burglars will always look for the easy targets.
• If you are running unencrypted data over an unsecured wireless network, this may make
you the easy target.
Is this just a scare tactic?
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4. • Think of the cans and string phone.
• You know the end you are speaking
into but do you understand what
happens next?
• Imagine if someone taps into the
string and listens in.
• A VPN provides some assurance
that nobody can listen in on your
internet traffic.
What is VPN?
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5. • Here is a, somewhat dated, link that may scare you into getting a
VPN solution or, at least, not connecting to unsecured wireless
networks.
– http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043095/heres-what-an-eavesdropper-
sees-when-you-use-an-unsecured-wi-fi-hotspot.html
• A more recent article
– http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2016/01/risks-unsecured-wifi-
hotspots/
Prepare to be scared!
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6. 3/27/2016 6
• Stop connecting to unsecured wireless networks or . . .
• Create your own VPN solution or . . .
– There are free solutions but these cost money for equipment, if not for the
software
• Be lazy like me and pay for a VPN service
– I will provide a couple of links on the last slide that compare and review VPN
services.
• I do not recommend one over the other
– I am cheap and hate to spend money so I am glad to report you can find a lot
of good options for under $8 per month.
• The one I use is under $4 per month if you sign up for a year.
What to do?

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• Think about the people who use unsecured wireless networks at
coffee shops and restaurants to conduct business.
– Do any of them have private information about you on their computers,
such as your mortgage broker or insurance sales person?
– A survey in 2015 states that only 27% of people globally have used a VPN.
• http://fusion.net/story/132931/if-you-use-the-internet-you-need-a-vpn-heres-why/
• You may want to talk to those people with whom you do business
and to whom you provide sensitive information.
Final scary thought

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• I performed a simple search on the internet for personal VPN
reviews. This information may change so I suggest performing your
own search.
– http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403388,00.asp
– http://www.mostsecurevpn.com/best-vpn-for-hulu/
Some Helpful Links