A Wall Street Journal article "Why You Need a VPN - and How to Choose the Right One" prompted a discussion on the benefits of using virtual private networks, or VPNs. VPNs can be an important part of online security and also of online privacy.  VPNs are absolutely necessary when connecting to a public network (hotel, coffee shops, airports, etc.).  However, using a VPN can also cause problems, and there are other tools that can complete your toolbox for online security and privacy.  

VPN Benefits

The graphic explains how VPNs work and what they do:  prevent ISPs, hackers and governments from monitoring your traffic by encrypting your Internet traffic, making it invisible to the network you're using and to the Internet Service Provider.  Most VPNs also provide alternate IP addresses, which hide your location and are often used to circumvent restrictions based on country.  For example, China requires VPN providers to be licensed by the government, and unlicensed providers get jail time when caught.

VPN Issues

Although VPNs are an important tool for online security and privacy, they do experience a number of issues:

1. VPNs have a history of leaking DNS requests, which can compromise your privacy.
2. VPNs may be influenced (funded) by governmental agencies or may provide usage logs under court order.
3. Even the best commercial VPNs like Private Internet Access can have performance issues, and those issues are much more common on ad-supported VPNs.
4. Websites sensitive to identity block the IP addresses used by VPNs.

Other Tools for Online Security and Privacy

There are also other tools that address other parts of online security and privacy. Some examples include:

• Network Isolation - wireless routers commonly support guest networks that can isolate users from other users.  This means that even a public network *might* be safe from snooping by other guests on the network, but not necessarily from the hosting provider or owner of the public network.  And, you usually don't know if isolation is turned on or not.  Use guest networks with isolation on your home network (router) to prevent others from inadvertantly impacting your network.
• Secure HTTP - recent changes in privacy laws like the EU's GDPR and in browsers and Google's search engine rankings to warn users of insecure sites are driving an increase in secure HTTP (https), which serves as a "curtain" for your interactions with websites.  Most financial institutions and online retailers have used https for years, but now it's required (and usually free from hosting providers) so most websites have it now.
• Operating System add-ons / improvements - security has significantly improved as operating systems have matured.  The built-in firewalls and antivirus functions in Windows are finally getting to be as good as 3rd party tools and don't have the issues associated with 3rd party tools:  performance, incentives to compromise privacy or sell additional tools / services and ownership. Ad blockers that use your hosts file (HostsMan) or work with your browser (uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger  - I use both with most browsers) block ads but also access to sites that host malware.  But beware of fake copies of these tools.
• DNS servers (the Internet phone book) - articles like the Wall Street Journal article usually overlook another component of privacy: the domain name servers (DNS) that link a web address to a server / IP address.  These are by default linked to the hosting provider, who can use it to track and sell your usage.  Even if you use a VPN, your Internet requests might still use your ISPs DNS server, so it's best to choose your own. You can define the DNS server on a local computer or in your router, which would become the default for all devices using your network. There are a number of alternative public DNS servers (Lifewire's list of Free and Public DNS Servers has additional options), mostly free so the provider can advertise.  Some offer additional services like web filtering to control access to harmful sites on purpose or by accident.  Most DNS alternatives are better than the default ISPs in that they usually have better performance. How-To Geek explains how to choose the best and fastest alternative DNS server.  I prefer OpenDNS Home and use DNS Jumper to check DNS Server speed, but Namebench offers a Mac OS version.

VPNs - Important for Online Security and Privacy

VPNs help protect your security and privacy, and should be used with an awareness of the issues common among VPNs and with other tools to provide a more complete solution for online security and privacy.