VPN. Virtual private network. It's a way to keep communications between your computer and internet services private, but you may be wondering if it's necessary and how many problems a VPN might cause.
A survey by PC Mag found that 71% of the 1000 respondents had never used a VPN and, even among net neutrality supporters, 55% had never used a VPN.
When you connect to a site such as TechByter Worldwide, you don't need a VPN in the middle because no user name or password is needed to access the site and the site collects no information from visitors.
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A VPN encrypts the connection and an encrypted connection is essential when dealing with your bank, with on-line services that require validation, and with services such as Facebook. These generally have built-in encryption. Visit your bank and you'll see the protocol is "https". The same is true for most sites today.
You can even use "https" to connect to TechByter, but you'll see a warning that some parts of the site are not secure and not all of the site's features will work. Eventually I'll migrate all of the current pages to https, but it's a long-term project that will require a lot of work without providing any real benefits for anyone.
For email, you'll want to connect to POP3 or IMAP inbound services and the SMTP outbound service using the secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS). These will be on unusual ports. Unencrypted POP3 connections are on port 110 and encrypted connections often use port 995. Unencrypted IMAP connections are on port 143 and encrypted connections are usually on port 993. SMTP is usually on port 25 and encrypted connections may be on 26, 465, 587, or possibly some other port. If you use Google Mail, connections are encrypted.
So long as you trust the device that connects you to the internet, a VPN isn't necessary. This applies to home connections where the computer is connected directly to the cable modem, hard wired to the router, or connected to the router's Wi-Fi port using a secure connection.
Where a VPN is essential is in any location where you're connected via a public Wi-Fi hotspot. This is true for open connections such as you might find in coffee shops as well as for public Wi-Fi connections that some businesses provide for visitors, even if you're required to have log-in credentials.
A VPN protects you by being the first service that an outbound request connects to. The connection is encrypted so no one can see what you're sending or receiving and all of your internet activity then flows through the VPN. If you visit a non-secure site, everything between your computer and the VPN's exit server is encrypted. The VPN takes care of making the connection to the site you want to visit.
There is one situation in which a VPN might be useful at home. The FCC's ill-advised elimination of net neutrality means that your ISP can slow traffic from sites that aren't paying the ISP for faster service or that the ISP can block sites that management doesn't like. Normally the ISP can see everything, so if the ISP slows or blocks sites, a VPN can help by hiding your connection requests from the ISP. The service provider can see that your computer is sending and receiving data, but not the source or destination of the data.
The VPN can disguise your location. If you're in the United States and would like to listen to streaming audio that's limited to computers in the United Kingdom, you can tell the VPN to set its exit point in London. The streaming service will then be available to you. Netflix, however, sometimes refuses to stream data via a VPN. Some VPN providers claim to have settings that fix this problem.
But for home-based computers, as long as the router is secured and the Wi-Fi uses at least WPA2 security, there is little to be gained by using a VPN and there are some drawbacks.
The primary disadvantage VPNs have is their effect on internet speed. I ran 2 tests recently, one right after the other. With the VPN disconnected, the downlink speed was 65Mbps; that dropped to a little under 45Mbps with the VPN. That's a significant performance hit.
The other potential disadvantage is the amount of time required to get some VPNs set up properly. I recently tried PureVPN because it had received many good reviews, but somebody may have gamed the system because I never was able to get it set up properly on a Windows machine, an IOS device, or 2 Android devices. Tier 1 technicians couldn't resolve the problem and wanted me to speak with second-tier technicians between 3am and 7am. Fortunately, the company has a 31-day money back guarantee, which I used. Some VPNs are relatively easy to set up, so take that into account when you're selecting one.
You'll need a VPN at home maybe, occasionally -- but the VPN is essential for mobile devices that might be used to connect to any Wi-Fi device that's not located in your home.
In searching for a VPN, make sure to select one that has versions for all your devices. In my case, that means Windows, MacOS, IOS, and Android. Also, most VPN services allow more than one device to connect simultaneously on a single license. The one I use allows 5 concurrent connections, which is far more than adequate.
There are free VPNs and paid VPNs. In general, the paid services are better because some of the free services inject advertisements. The two rules here are: 1) You get what you pay for and 2) If you're not paying in money, you're paying some other way.
Public Wi-Fi networks are found just about everywhere. Restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, and more. Where I live, there's even an open Wi-Fi signal provided on some streets. Criminals know that these are everywhere and that they're convenient, so they've found out ways to use them to our disadvantage.
Someone sitting in a restaurant can easily create a Wi-Fi hotspot that mimics the restaurant's public service. Those who accidentally connect to the rogue Wi-Fi will see nothing different because it will pass the connection on to the real Wi-Fi hotspot after recording any credentials in the data stream. A VPN eliminates that hazard.
A VPN will also hide your IP address, but it doesn't make you anonymous. If that's important to you, access the Tor network. Tor will slow your connection even more than a slow VPN because it routes traffic through many volunteer nodes. Tor also provides access to the so-called Dark Web.
There are dozens of VPN. Here are two that I can recommend and one that I can't.
NordVPN has more than 3000 servers around the world and has versions for Windows, MacOS, IOS, and Android. It's a little more expensive than most of the paid services, but not by much.
Private Internet Access VPN doesn't have as many servers as Nord, but it has a lot and they're distributed around the globe. It's easier to set up than some competitors and offers a support for most on-line services. There is no free version and the money-back guarantee period lasts only a week.
I cannot recommend PureVPN despite its many glowing reviews. I found it hopelessly complex to set up and the support staff tended to recommend doing things that I had already done. I was never able to send mail when the VPN was active.
Bear in mind that all of your internet traffic will flow through the VPN when you're using the service. Most of the services claim not to log any usage or retain any data, but some of those claims have been found to be not exactly true. The services I've listed (even the one I cannot recommend) seem to take privacy seriously. Every VPN should have a privacy policy and you should read it to understand what information the company collects and how it protects that information.
Although a VPN can encrypt communications, it does nothing to protect users from a social engineering attack. If someone tricks you into downloading malware or if you give a crook your credentials in a phishing attack, the VPN will not help. It does protect against having credentials or data collected as they're being sent over the air in plain text and it can shield your identity from advertisers, but don't expect magic because there isn't any.
When Windows starts, it examines several locations to determine what additional applications and services should also be started. Sometimes malware is designed to auto-start, but the primary reason for reviewing what starts with Windows is to eliminate needless applications that consume system resources and slow the start-up process.
Two applications are good choices for the investigation, StartUp Delayer and Microsoft's Autoruns. The Windows 10 Task Manager also has limited capabilities here, but we'll look only at the additional applications, starting with Autoruns, which comes from Microsoft's Sysinternals division. Sysinternals was a separate company until Microsoft convinced Mark Russinovich to join the company.
Autoruns is more comprehensive than StartUp Delayer, which means that it's harder to use and StartUp Delayer includes some features that Autoruns doesn't have.
To obtain Autoruns, download it from Microsoft's website or from the OlderGeeks website. The file you download will contain several files: Graphical versions for 32-bit and 64-bit systems as well as command-line versions for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. The application does not need to be installed.
You'll primarily want to look at the Logon tab with Hide Empty Locations and Hide Microsoft Entries selected. Hide Windows Entries is selected by default. It examines the Registry's various locations for Run and Run Once as well as the Start Menu's Startup locations for the current user and all users. Other tabs examine other areas that may be of interest.
There are several ways to get more information about an autorun location or entry. To view a location or entry in Explorer or Regedit chose Jump To in the Entry menu or double-click on the entry or location's line in the display. You can view Explorer's file properties dialog for an entry's image file by choosing Properties in the Entry menu. You can also have Autoruns automatically execute an Internet search in your browser by selecting Search Online in the Entry menu.
It's important not to turn off or delete a startup application unless you're certain about why you want to remove it. If you find something suspicious, use the options to obtain additional information and then perform a search (Duck Duck Go or Google) to see what else you can learn. Be cautious with results from these searches, though, because not all of the information you'll find is honest and some of it can be dangerous.
StartUp Delayer is available from the R2 Studios website or from OlderGeeks. I recommend OlderGeeks because the applications are kept up to date and are never bundled with crapware.
This application examines the same locations as Autoruns to find applications that start with Windows, but to find out what is starting the application (Registry or Start Menu) you'll need to examine the Location column
The Primary advantage StartUp Delayer offers is it's ability (as you've probably figured out from the name) to delay some applications at startup time. Delays can be based on the period from startup (hours, minutes, and seconds) or they can be automatic based on the amount of CPU or disk resources available. Or they can be set to Standard so that they start when Windows wants to start them.
Both of the applications can start and stop running applications and both have the ability to examine and control running services. Take care with services, though, because shutting down or turning off an essential service can create serious problems.
According to a report by Bloombereg, Apple is preparing an update for its lowest cost MacBook Air and also for the Mac Mini to be released this fall.
The Mac Mini is the little box-like computer that starts at $500, but that model has only a 1.4GHz dual core I5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. For $700, you get a more usable 2.6GHz dual core I5 processor, 8GB of ram, a 1TB hard drive, and improved graphics. And a $1000 model adds a still faster processor and a faster hard drive.
You can boost the CPU and add more memory (figure on adding another $300 to $400). For a faster hard drive or a solid-state hard drive, add another $200 to $600. You'll also probably want a mouse ($80 to $130) and maybe a keyboard ($100). Oh, and a monitor or two.
So the $500 computer can easily quadruple in price as you add components.
Apple usually releases new computers in October and it's been several years since the Mini got any upgrades. It has been popular because of its lower starting price. The Bloomberg article says that upgrades to the Mini will favor pro users and will probably be more expensive than earlier versions.
Bloomberg says the new Macbook will be similar the the current MacBook Air, but will have a Retina screen. Currently the low-end MacBook is the only computer Apple sells that doesn't have a Retina screen. The current model sells for $1000. Bloomberg says "The new MacBook Air will be geared toward consumers looking for a cheaper Apple computer, but also schools that often buy laptops in bulk."
The article notes that Mac sales in the past quarter were at their lowest point since 2010 and that Apple, after being an early leader in the education market, has been losing market share to Windows-based computers and particularly to the much lower priced Chromebooks, which have captured more than half of the education market.
Bloomberg also notes the upcoming launch of the MacOS Mojave version that "adds new features for sorting files and the ability to run Ipad apps like Apple News." Read the full report on the Bloomberg website.
