It\u2019s important to note that using a VPN is not a silver bullet for all your online privacy needs – you are simply moving the point of trust from one place to another.<\/p>\n
On a home or work network connection, you are trusting that your Internet service provider will keep your browsing habits and unencrypted browsing data private.<\/p>\n
When using a VPN, all your Internet traffic will be encrypted, hiding everything you do online from your ISP. However, it requires a server, sometimes called an \u201cexit node\u201d, to act as your proxy.<\/p>\n
Your data is decrypted at the exit node, which forwards your requests to the website or online service you are\u00a0communicating with.<\/p>\n
If you use a secure website that implements Transport Layer Security, like your bank, then the exit node still wouldn\u2019t be able to read your data – but it would know you were talking to a safe connection.<\/p>\n
To quote Mr. Robot: \u201cWhoever\u2019s in control of the exit nodes is also in control of the traffic.”<\/p>\n There are various implementations of VPNs you can use to secure your online communications, including ones where you can control your own exit node.<\/p>\n Some are easy enough for average web users to use, while others will require various degrees of technical skill.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll go through them from simplest to most difficult.<\/p>\n Opera recently added free VPN functionality to the developer version of its browser<\/strong><\/a>. You can enable it in settings and switch it on and off with a button next to the address bar.<\/p>\n Several smartphone VPN clients are available for Android and iOS, including one from Opera.<\/p>\n One of the VPN clients Lifehacker recommends is Tunnelbear<\/a><\/strong>, which is free for the first 500MB of traffic and requires you to pay in\u00a0thereafter.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/How-VPN-works.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOpera built-in browser VPN<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSmartphone VPN<\/h3>\n