We must speak, as we so often do, of l33t h4x0rz.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get blunt. We have reached the point in the evolution of technology where access to your personal data is equivalent to access to everything you own. Data security breach, which involves fewer twentysomethings with improbable hair and more Russian state actors than 90s movies led me to believe, can be the end of a business, especially a small one. <\/p>\n
Frustratingly, the mainstream market hasn\u2019t really produced perfect solutions for that. At present, you really have two options. <\/p>\n
Option one, you roll with AppleFacebookGoogleSoft<\/strong>. Different companies, same model: hand your data to a giant organization with an affirmative interest in keeping it confidential. That can work! It can also, y\u2019know, not<\/a>. A lot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Option two, full infogeek<\/strong>. Pull together All The Information and put it behind tight security you control. We\u2019re big fans of this. On the other hand, we\u2019re geeks. Doing this successfully requires knowledge, specialty tools and changes in behavior that may not be practical for you.<\/p>\n Ain\u2019t exactly optimal, those options. So for the love of the white hat<\/a>, what\u2019s to do? Where\u2019s the middle ground between \u201cput it in a big sack and hand it to HugeCorpCo\u201d and \u201clock every 0 and 1 in a painstakingly handcrafted box?\u201d<\/p>\n Meet your friend, the VPN. Virtual private networks aren\u2019t just the irritating things you have to sign into before another constructive day on the cube farm. For any entrepreneur or freelancer who isn\u2019t into a rad Linux solution<\/a>, a VPN is a straight-up necessity. They\u2019re how you Internet without people keeping logs (your ISP does), tracking your activity (everybody does), or carrying off your innocent data to the dark web or the Kremlin. <\/p>\n Better yet? There are lots of good ones that are inexpensive, reliable, and only a Google away. Here\u2019s five. Unranked, because every VPN is a beautiful snowflake.<\/p>\n IPVanish<\/a><\/strong> wins at efficiency. They own 100 percent of their resources, rather than outsourcing any work to third parties. That means high speed and optimal security, since their commitment to keeping zero information on their clients can\u2019t be undercut by nosy contractors. <\/p>\n NordVPN<\/a><\/strong> has tech wizardry going for it, with double encryption and even an optional kill switch that automatically disconnects you from the Internet if anything goes amiss with the VPN. Nord also wins at most devices per subscription, and will happily wrap up to 6 of your robots in the warm embrace of infosec.<\/p>\n Private Internet Access<\/a><\/strong>, in addition to winning the Most Straightforwardly Named Product Ever award I just made up, is great for power users, with unlimited bandwidth and a subscription allowing up to 5 devices. It\u2019s also super simple, designed to run in the background while you go about your digital day, so for folks who aren\u2019t looking for bundled apps or a shiny interface, this is your guy.<\/p>\n