VPN: when you need one, and when you are buying a story

A VPN is a tunnel, not invisibility. It hides your traffic from the local network. It does not make you anonymous to the service you log into. If the landing page promises “untraceable,” close it.

Pick for a job. Café Wi-Fi and hotel networks: yes. Geo-unblocking a catalogue: maybe, and it may break the terms of that catalogue. Torrenting on a cheap no-logs claim: you are the product.

Kill-filter: independent audit in the last two years, a jurisdiction you understand, a kill switch that actually kills, and a refund window you can use. Five simultaneous connections is plenty for a household.

Skip lifetime deals from brands you cannot name. You are prepaying for a company that may not exist when the protocol moves.

VPN programmes will appear as hops when networks approve the publisher. Disclosure: other links on tips33 may be affiliate.