Wi-Fi scamming has risen in the last few years, with 12.4 million in 2010 – a 12 percent increase from year 2009. VPN has become increasingly needed as Wi-Fi scams increase.
The Concern
Over 80 million Americans are using smartphones. As of July 2011, 7 out of 10 of these smartphone users have accessed social networking web site using their smartphones. This is in addition to the millions of others that access these networks using a laptop or tablet. That’s a whole lot of people at risk with these Wi-Fi connections, especially considering the fact that the majority of them have never been aware of the danger of WI-FI scams and have no way to determine the legitimacy of the Wi-FI spots they are connecting to.
Free Wi-Fi Scam
The Wi-Fi scam, or host-spot scam, happens when a user is connected to a fake Wi-Fi hot-spot which hackers set up, usually with catchy names like “Free Wi-Fi”, or “Free city Wi-Fi”. Once connected, everything you do online will be captured by the hackers, including any usernames and passwords you entered to gain access to your email, bank accounts, and other websites. There is no easy way to know when, where and how you were attacked, because most of the time you would assume you’re connected to a legitimate hot-spot and would not be expecting a security or privacy threat.
The Solution
These days, everyone is “on-the-go”. We need Internet access almost anywhere, especially in places like airports, hotels coffee shops. The easiest and probably the best way to secure your Internet connection at public places is by using a Virtual Private Network(VPN) connection.
virtual private network (VPN) is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network. –Wikipedia
Many companies provide VPN accounts for employees who are travelling and need to access files at their office. For regular Internet users, installing VPN on their computers or mobile devices is easy and straight forward. First, you will need a VPN account. You can get one from our recommended VPN service providers below. Second, download the client software from the VPN provider you choose and install it on your device. (Note: this is optional since most devices come with native support for VPN).
Recommendation
At present, there are two VPN services recommended to you: HMA (Hide My Ass Pro VPN) and Strong VPN. We have evaluated and tested both from the aspect of speed, price and customer support. We can responsibly say, both HMA and Strong VPN provide excellent support, great connection speed and reasonable prices. Both services allow you to try their products risk free; All HMA VPN plans include a 30 day money back guarantee, while Strong VPN include a 7 days money back guarantee. Read our posts Maximize Your Online Security With Strong VPN and Hide my ass VPN Review – HMA Review for detailed reviews about HMA and Strong VPN
As we are getting more review requests from alternative VPN service providers, we will be conducting tests and reviews of different VPN service providers. If you’d like to get the latest of our reviews, please subscribe to our feed on the right sidebar.
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If you have any options and recommendations, please share with us. We’d like to hear from you.
Thanks to the talented photographer who’s image we used in this post: bike
