My wife has a question.

Hi everyone!! We are relying more and more on our cell phones and tablets to do every day tasks. I have avoided doing things like banking, credit card apps etc because I just don't trust doing them over a cell data signal or "free" wifi when we travel or are out on the road. I know one option is to start using a VPN whenever we do anything that requires data.

My limit to VPNs is on my work laptop if I have to log in when I happen to be on the road which is hardly ever. I asked the IT guy at work and his reply was he really wasn't versed on all the ins and outs but could explain how they work.

I am looking for something economical, and not too difficult to navigate that will protect me when we are away from home so we can manage our credit cards and bank accounts if needed and maybe allow us to do some online purchases.

I have done some google searching and here are the top 4 I find, but it is really all Greek to me on the benefits of one to the other.

1. NordVPN
2. SurfShark
3. CyberGhost
4. ExpressVPN

Any guidance and help on the pros and cons of what we should look for would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

For economical and effective, I would recommend PureVPN. Last time I paid for it was $69 for 5 years back in Dec, 2020. It ran top of my subscription back then so now I have it until April 2028.

I moved to them after cancelling NordVPN during the money back period. I got a VPN service because I had planned on being an expat for a couple of years and I wanted to protect my banking info and also be able to access my streaming services. Just a few days of checking it out, I couldn't access Amazon videos. I put in an email to customer service, no response for maybe a week. So I cancelled. That's when they called me to how to keep my business. I told they they could have kept it if they responded to my request for help.

PureVPN knows the reasons why their customers use VPN so they stay on top of it and while it's an ongoing game between streaming services and the VPNs, they continue to respond.

The various commercial VPN/tunneling products all use essentially the same technology with little difference to it's effectiveness in deterring casual "sniffing" of data conversations. The same technology that protects HTTPS vs. HTTP web accesses. This is because these algorithms have been proven cryptographically "strong," and are mostly open-source, not subject to license, and in the public domain making them much easier and cheaper to incorporate in a product. So don't look for a preference based on claimed "security." Instead base your selection criteria on extent of the provider's server network, reputation and policy for protecting customer privacy, consumer protection regulations in their home country, support for the platforms/OS's you use, and cost.

As far as specific offerings go, I mostly prefer to create my own tunnels using such things as OpenVPN, Wireguard, or similar free-to-use software. Mostly these are router-to-router connecting geographically distant subnets each with several client systems attached rather than client-to-server connections.

For a commercial easy-to-initiate and use "product," I can find little fault with ProtonVPN, an adjunct to the ProtonMail project. Free of cost, secure, and promulgated by people who appear serious about security and customer privacy (they do have paid options that purport to offer more features and bypass the tragedy of the commons, although I never found the free stuff to be restrictive).

I like and use Protonmail's ProtonVPN. They're a Swiss company so you've got some of the best privacy laws on the planet working in your favor.

 
I have used PIA for years. On the mobile, I install the free OpenVPN app. PIA provides OpenVPN configuration files for all of their sites.

I know you said "novice users" in the title but in case you wanted to try something new, here's what I do.

I have a Raspberry Pi with pi-hole for ad blocking, unbound for DNS and pivpn for running a VPN at my home. I use WireGuard to connect back to it so that when I'm on a foreign WiFi the VPN encrypts the connection. I get the added benefit of having ad blocking whenever I'm away as well.

The setup is really simple. The official websites have step by step instructions. Totally worth it.

you can do what I did.

Set up OpenVPN at home, and then set up the Andriod phone for OpenVPN.

provides a secure encrypted pipe from your phone to your home internet "network", so it is therefore almost as secure as your home internet connection.

best part --- totally free.

I have used NordVPN for 3 years and have been happy with it.

Thank you everyone, I (we) appreciate the help and advice. Now to give it a try.

Mrs. 71 Truck

I love Surfshark because 1 account can be used on any machine by logging in. You aren’t restricted to a certain number of devices like other VPNs.

Whichever company you decide on I suggest conducting a offer code search online before signing up. I know Surfshark (the VPN I use) almost always has a significant offer code as does NordVPN.

I had a VPN on my Android phone a few months ago but found out it was the culprit preventing me from internet access. Once removed, all was the way it should be.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:
I had a VPN on my Android phone a few months ago but found out it was the culprit preventing me from internet access. Once removed, all was the way it should be.

Don't blame the VPN, but put the onus on the web publishers that block VPN-enabled users.

How can they tell? I'm sure there is a public database available of VPN tunnel end points, or perhaps by traffic analysis (more than X users coming from the same IP).

quote:

Originally posted by architect:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:
I had a VPN on my Android phone a few months ago but found out it was the culprit preventing me from internet access. Once removed, all was the way it should be.

Don't blame the VPN, but put the onus on the web publishers that block VPN-enabled users.

How can they tell? I'm sure there is a public database available of VPN tunnel end points, or perhaps by traffic analysis (more than X users coming from the same IP).

which is part of the reason that I use OpenVPN to my home network. Gives me the security I desire, and it just looks like I'm on my home network, as opposed to some VPN service tunnel.