[Security Discussion] iunlock:
Greetings all and Happy Holidays.

Per some fellow XDA users request and also to compliment the great thread "[TUTO] How To Secure Your Phone," by: unclefab, I figured this would help...a thread on VPN.

I am also shocked to not see anything in the security forum about VPN! I did a search and NOTHING.

What is a VPN?

(Virtual Private Network)

A simple search on the web will give you the nitty gritty stuff on what a VPN is, but I'll just lay it out very simply.

A VPN takes your data connection and encrypts it so it protects your data from not only your ISP seeing your traffic, but also from middle man attacks. Say if you were at a cafe connected to their open (unsecured) public WiFi and you did some shopping online, which involved you entering in your credit card number, name, address, etc... Well, it doesn't take much for someone to intercept your sensitive data passing through the cafe's unsecured WiFi connection.

How it works:

Encrypts your Computer's/Phone's data ---> Connects it to your VPN's server (Exit Server) ---> Then it reaches the end destination (website). (Safe Passage)

ie...

Safely passes your Internet Data, through a ---> [TUNNEL] ---> ...that is encrypted so that all your data is not only anonymous, but also protected.

There are may VPN's service providers out there, however, they are not all created equal. I've spent a lot of time researching VPN's and have went to great lengths to find the best of the best. The criteria of what I was looking for is as follows:

Offshore Company. Something outside of the US.

Liked and approved by even the extreme private/security activists.

Reliability and Speed! Some VPN's can be very slow only allowing you to achieve 30-50% of your internet speed at best.

A wide choice of servers.

Able to pay anonymously.

A VPN THAT WORKS ON OUR ANDROID DEVICES!

Some VPN companies have their own Android VPN client, which makes things a breeze. Just launch, connect and violla....all your traffic is now safely tunneled.

For the companies that do not have their own Android VPN client, you'll have to use the app: OpenVPN, which can be a hit or a miss for those on KK 4.4. Let me explain...

When I was on my Note 3 on 4.3, OpenVPN worked flawlessly and my speeds were darn near 100% of my regular LTE speeds even connected to a VPN! Well, once KK 4.4 came around, it completely ruined everything in terms of being able to stay connected. KK 4.4 is and was a nightmare for OpenVPN users. Upgrading from 4.3 to 4.4 was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my Android world. Bottom line, KK 4.4 sucks.

The good news is, there are a few VPN companies that work flawlessly on KK 4.4. I'm using one at the moment and it stays connected just fine with awesome speeds!

Why you should use a VPN:

Well think about. You can go the whole nine yards in securing your phone, which is awesome, but then you'd still be tunneling all that traffic "unencrypted," over the internet .... this is counter-intuitive in every way that you look at it. It's like ordering a BIG MAC Extra value meal and getting a diet coke. I mean really? What's the point? Diet? No matter how you see it, you're going to get fat if you keep eating it and thinking a diet coke is going to take edge off of you getting fat. Sorry, it doesn't work that way....

Imagine a semi-trucks driving down the highway with some completely exposed and some locked and covered. Well you'll obviously be able to see the exposed cargo on all the trucks that are not contained yes? Whereas the ones that are covered and locked, you'd have no clue what's in there. This is how a VPN works....it covers your data/traffic so that no one can see or know what is inside of that container during transit...ie...it provides a safe passage of your data over the internet to the end destination.

Now a VPN will protect your data from point A to the end destination (website.) That website will only be able to see your "exit server," and not your ISP or your location, but of course your data.

Ex: You're in New York connected to the internet using a VPN ----> The VPN server you're connected to is in Texas ---> The website you're visiting is located and hosted in Canada.

In that example, your "encrypted" data/traffic is being routed through Texas and then to Canada where the website is hosted/located. Make sense?

Because you're connecting to a VPN server, this is why you have to know which ones to use so that you can trust your data routing through their servers. Not all VPN companies are created equal!

If you're interested to know which VPN's are best in general and for our Android devices, PM me and I'll share with you my research. I don't want to advertise anything on here to be in compliance with the forum rules.

I hope this helps!

To be continued....