Why you (probably) don't need a VPN
Everywhere you look online, companies are trying to sell you a VPN (Virtual Private Network), it's the in-thing these days. Getting online using a VPN will 'keep you safe' they say. And they're absolutely right. Except that you're absolutely safe without a VPN too - don't believe the scare stories. You see, every Internet-facing application, including web browsers, in 2024, accesses data over an already-secure connection. The layers of encryption already in place as you access, for example, your iMessages or Gmail, mean that there's nothing bad guys could do even if they were to somehow intercept random batches of your over-the-air 1s and 0s. But why not pay a subscription and use a VPN anyway, I hear you say - isn't that just even more security? Well... it's over the top security. And the main effect of paying out for a VPN for regular online activity is that it will make that activity significantly slower, because of all the extra encryption being