FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Travel router security without VPN?
View Single Post
Old Jun 25, 2019, 2:26 pm
  #8  
Castoreum
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 30
Originally Posted by InfrequentFlyer
So if I connect my laptop to the hotel wifi, there's no (security) benefit of using a router in-between the connection, unless I also use a VPN?
"Travel routers" use 4G, same tech as a cell phone, not the wifi.

No real security benefit though. If a site uses HTTPS you are protected regardless of who listens.

VPNs can be helpful in some cases, but if you don't think anyone is targetting you specifically it's probably sufficient to install the HTTPS Everywhere extension.

(It makes sure sites like Gmail and FT that use FT won't fall back to plain, unencrypted HTTP).

Personally I choose to use a VPN when travelling, since so many sites (even ones you'd think are important) either don't use HTTPS, or have "mixed content". It's also hard to tell sometimes if a certificate error is due to an improperly configured captive portal (the thing you click "I agree to the TOS" or log in on), or a malicious attack.

Originally Posted by gfunkdave
Sure, but tablets/phones/PCs these days default to having their firewalls block everything anyway. Also the network engineer in me is forced to say that NAT isn't intended as a security feature. The main issue is people either sniffing unencrypted traffic or tracking what you're doing. But with how pervasive TLS is becoming, that becomes less and less possible.
Also if you're especially paranoid, DNS leaks where you're visiting. It's my understanding that a good VPN does DNS on their end, hiding where you're visiting from the network operator.

Metadata can give a lot of information, so I choose not to
Castoreum is offline