Tunnelbear
Will Stapley explains why anonymity isn’t his motive for using a VPN
Many people use VPNS for the purposes of anonymity, but not me. The internet (Google in particular) knows far too much about me already, and if some secret government agency wants to keep tabs on me, I doubt a VPN will thwart their efforts.
No, I use a VPN for other reasons, such as security and unblocking content restrictions. At the moment, Tunnelbear ( www.tunnelbear.com) is my VPN of choice. It’s easy to use and gives me 500MB of free data each month, which I can boost to 1.5GB if I tweet about Tunnelbear ( www.snipca. com/30359).
As well as my PCS, I’ve installed it on my ipad and Samsung S8 phone, meaning I can make use of it while out and about. For example, I frequently use Tunnelbear on the Gatwick Express and use the train’s free Wi-fi, but get frustrated by how it blocks or throttles certain websites. I understand the need to restrict video-streaming services; otherwise speeds for all passengers would grind to a halt. However, it also blocks access to sites relating to VPNS (presumably to stop people bypassing these necessary restrictions). Curiously, however, the Gatwick Express Wi-fi FAQ page ( www. snipca.com/30357) links to a site that recommends using VPN on public Wi-fi.
Researching VPNS is part of my job so it’s ironic I’m forced to use one to beat restrictions on reading about VPNS. I simply open the Tunnelbear app on my phone, tap the On button and I’m away. The key icon at the top of my phone’s display indicates the VPN is active (see screenshot left).
I also use Tunnelbear when I’m on public Wi-fi and carrying out internet banking or making payments. Most of these hotspots are completely open to anyone - including hackers who can intercept data you send and receive while on the network.
In reality, the risk of being hacked is low so if I’m just checking the news headlines while enjoying a coffee it doesn’t worry me. However, I always turn on my VPN when dealing with financial transactions. To remind me to do this, I’ve set Tunnelbear to display a warning whenever I connect to an unsecured network – go to Settings, General and make sure ‘Unsecured network detected’ is switched on (see screenshot above).
You can also set Tunnelbear to turn on whenever you’re on a new network (go to Settings, then Trusted Networks). However, this ate into my data allowance, so I’ve switched it off and only turn the VPN on when needed.