Dear @lbarbera
Another interesting choice of topic. I've been constantly hestitant about using VPN as I like to watch youtube videos of my fav subscribers (customized feed). And as far as I understand - if I would use VPN then my feed would be completely different?
I've been also wondering if those users who are using VPN are not attracting more attention as suspisious accounts/users? Like someone who is hiding so shall be monitored extra?
The classic scene depicting people being hacked while surfing by a coffee shop is not dramatization: actually, it is accurate and realistic.
Public Wi-Fi hotspots are more or less a hacker's playground and represent a real threat: no sensitive operation such as accessing sensitive information or - God forbid - online banking should ever be performed there without additional layers of protection.
So ... all starbucks and free airport wi-fi are a hackers playground and I shall be extra careful there?
What about co-workspaces? Where many people are coming to such a places simply to work online (digital nomads often do).
ps. I wonder which VPN would you recommend yourself?
cc: @unbiasedwriter - you may find this subject interesting.
Have a great monday ahead of you :) Upvote on the way.
Yours, Piotr
Hi Piotr! Thank you for commenting; I'll do my best to address your questions, which are very interesting on their own - and indeed extend the conversation on many interesting points.
Likely not at all: the YouTube feed is built upon your profile (linked to a Google account, if you are logged in to YouTube with it, or a local anonymous profile otherwise). Therefore, your preferences, subscriptions and all the likes are retained.
In theory it is possible. However, only an adversarial situation where users are actively monitored - like an authoritarian political regime - would be interested in this kind of control. In general, on the internet nobody cares if a VPN is used. Specific exceptions exist, e.g. streaming services (like Netflix) that rely on strict geolocalization are using 3rd party services (e.g. MaxMind) to identify if a user is behind a VPN, as they have to enforce digital rights that depend on the specific country where the customer is located (for example the content catalogue for Germany can differ from Poland and the Netherlands and a show available in a country may not be available elsewhere).
Yes. Better safe than sorry. Of course that also depends on the activity: browsing the web for reading news is pretty much safe, while banking online is not. Similarly sensitive operations - such as performing cryptocurrency transactions - are not advisable without some additional security layer.
Shared network, same as a Starbucks. How much do you trust your neighbour? Throwing in a VPN when performing sensitive operations won't hurt.
I refrain from specific suggestions as I am an independent advisor and I like to keep it this way :)
For this reason I have included in my post some guidelines about reputable tech outlets that periodically evaluate the major VPN providers and rank them, with good details about pricing and features. Just don't fall for marketing claims.
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