Nord VPN Review

[Russell Holton]

Lots of folks who use their laptops in hotels and coffee shops are more concerned about nefarious traffic sniffers setting up the public WiFi at those places. Using a VPN to connect back to your home reduces the chance of snooping for that segment of the journey.

Exactly. Anytime you're talking security, you have to ask what is the threat you're worried about. Make sure the solution deals with that without opening another worry.

For example, writing down your passwords on a piece of paper next to your computer is an absolute defense against state-sponsored hackers, but leaves you open to the "evil janitor".

So, the real question is what is your threat? And are you willing to trade that for having to trust a VPN provider? By setting up your own VPN, you don't have to trust a company - just the software and your skill in setting it up. For me, the threat is while traveling: hotel and public WiFi. On that, I think there's universal agreement. The downside of setting up my own VPN at home is that my remote download speed is limited by my home upload speed. But there also seems to be options about setting up your own cloud-based VPN.


It all comes back to the sign seen in a repair shop: "Good, cheap, fast. Pick any two."

[John O'Shaughnessy [FCM]]

Why would you want to do that?

One advantage of a VPN is that it masks your home IP address from sites you visit.

It depends on your goals. Many people accept that their cell carrier and ISP can snoop your traffic, as you do have to connect to them directly. The system at the other end of your cable modem or DSL router absolutely knows your real IP address. Lots of folks who use their laptops in hotels and coffee shops are more concerned about nefarious traffic sniffers setting up the public WiFi at those places. Using a VPN to connect back to your home reduces the chance of snooping for that segment of the journey.

[Terry Carraway]

Depending on your paranoia level, you can create your own VPN server. I don't have specific instructions, but they're out there for those who want to search for them. That way, all your traffic routes through your home or though your own cloud server.

Why would you want to do that?

One advantage of a VPN is that it masks your home IP address from sites you visit.

[Russell Holton]

Depending on your paranoia level, you can create your own VPN server. I don't have specific instructions, but they're out there for those who want to search for them. That way, all your traffic routes through your home or though your own cloud server.

[Bill Bridges]

Some good info for those thinking about a VPN.