Medallion Wi-Fi and VPN Question

[BabySarge]

DH and I are seriously considering getting a VPN for use when we travel and as a great deal of our travel is generally via Princess ships I'm wondering after reading some past posts about VPN usage on Princess ships if anyone currently cruising or who has at least very recently cruised anywhere in the world on any Princess ship used a VPN with the Medallion Net Wi-Fi and what your experience was - good, bad, or ugly.  Is there a VPN that worked better or was more compatible than another?  Does it make a difference what brand VPN?  

 

Can you tell I'm new to this VPN stuff?  If you answered yes, then please have mercy on me and keep the explanations simple (just about kindergarten level will work fine) and the acronyms to a minimum.  I had to look up "smh" the other day to find out it meant "shaking my head".  Thanks in advance for any assistance you're willing to give.

[beltsbear]

Princess has vpn websites blocked but vpn service works if you can activate it without using a website.  For example if you try to navigate to the atlas vpn website, you get a blocked message. 
 

once the vpn is on, the medallion app will think you are off ship and most of it stops working.  On the other hand , YouTube and Twitter are faster with vpn on. 
 

So I turn it on and off depending on what I am doing.  I have used nord and atlas vpn.   They seemed very similar to me. 

[kml246]

I use NordVPN on my phone and our laptops. On the Princess cruises we take, I use the VPN continuously with the laptops. On the phone, I turn it on and off depending whether I need to use the Medallion app or not. As @beltsbear said, if you have the VPN turned on, then the app thinks you're off the ship, limiting what you can do with the app. It's easy to turn the VPN on or off. 

 

Kevin

[BabySarge]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:40 PM, beltsbear said:

Princess has vpn websites blocked but vpn service works if you can activate it without using a website.  For example if you try to navigate to the atlas vpn website, you get a blocked message. 
 

once the vpn is on, the medallion app will think you are off ship and most of it stops working.  On the other hand , YouTube and Twitter are faster with vpn on. 
 

So I turn it on and off depending on what I am doing.  I have used nord and atlas vpn.   They seemed very similar to me. 

 

On 6/29/2022 at 8:12 PM, kml246 said:

I use NordVPN on my phone and our laptops. On the Princess cruises we take, I use the VPN continuously with the laptops. On the phone, I turn it on and off depending whether I need to use the Medallion app or not. As @beltsbear said, if you have the VPN turned on, then the app thinks you're off the ship, limiting what you can do with the app. It's easy to turn the VPN on or off. 

 

Kevin

Thanks to you both for responding.  If I am understanding what you've said correctly the VPN would work with the ships internet on my laptop say to do my banking (pay bills) but where it does not work is with the Medallion App.  If it is just the Medallion App it doesn't play nice with that's not a problem as I don't play nice with that either.  I really want the VPN for use on my laptop for access to our credit card accounts, bank accounts, household accounts, etc.  Have I gotten it right??

[Rick&Jeannie]

30 minutes ago, BabySarge said:

 

If I am understanding what you've said correctly the VPN would work with the ships internet on my laptop say to do my banking (pay bills) but where it does not work is with the Medallion App.  

I think maybe you are confused about what the Medallion app actually does.  It has NO interaction with the internet once you are on board.  The only time that the app uses the internet is pre-cruise where you can do the majority of your cruise check in.  So...speaking of the app and a VPN is talking apples and oranges.

[BabySarge]

Oh, I have been very confused about what the Medallion app actually does for sure 🤣and am one of the folks who have struggled with it and who personally don't care for it or for dragging my cell phone around with me on the ship, but that's me and each to his/her own. 

 

As long as having VPN on my laptop will not interfere with my ability to be connected to the ship internet using said VPN then I will be good to go. 

[kml246]

18 hours ago, BabySarge said:

 

Thanks to you both for responding.  If I am understanding what you've said correctly the VPN would work with the ships internet on my laptop say to do my banking (pay bills) but where it does not work is with the Medallion App.  If it is just the Medallion App it doesn't play nice with that's not a problem as I don't play nice with that either.  I really want the VPN for use on my laptop for access to our credit card accounts, bank accounts, household accounts, etc.  Have I gotten it right??

 

A VPN, I use NordVPN, but there are many others, will work on your laptop as desired. We've had them on all our laptops, tablets, and phones for many years and set them to turn on whenever we are using internet outside our home or boat network. It adds a good layer of protection when using the internet. 

 

For your phone, if you are only going to use it for MedallionClass app on board, then you don't need and don't want a VPN. To use the MC app on board, you put your phone in Airplane Mode then turn on wifi and connect to the ship's wifi. You don't need an internet package to use the MC app. If you have an internet package you can use the app and browse the internet, make VOIP phone calls, etc. If you turn on your VPN on the phone, your data will go from your phone to the VPN server back to the MC app. Since the data to the app is coming from the VPN rather than your phone directly, the app will think you're off the ship and many features will be unavailable. Turn off the VPN and the app will recognize you as On Board and allow access to all the app features.

 

Regarding the MC app, it's a PITA before the cruise when getting OceanReady. The last update improved things a great deal and it's becoming acceptable. On board, the app works very well and has some great features like guiding you to a location on the ship - just enter where you want to go and it will show a deck plan with route guidance to get you there, locating others you're traveling with, checking and changing reservations, checking your ship's account, etc. If you don't want to carry your phone, the ship has large video screens all around that allow you to do all these things on the large touchscreens. They work quite well. 

 

Smooth sailing,

Kevin

[lx200gps]

18 hours ago, BabySarge said:

 

Thanks to you both for responding.  If I am understanding what you've said correctly the VPN would work with the ships internet on my laptop say to do my banking (pay bills) but where it does not work is with the Medallion App.  If it is just the Medallion App it doesn't play nice with that's not a problem as I don't play nice with that either.  I really want the VPN for use on my laptop for access to our credit card accounts, bank accounts, household accounts, etc.  Have I gotten it right??

Cautionary note here. I also use Nord regularly but find its use routinely causes my banking site to throw up a wall and causes the extra layer of 2 Factor Authentication to come into play, as it now sees an attempt to access our banking info from a strange address. In the case of my specific bank, if I try to access my banking and investments under NordVPN, the bank's webpage immediately sends the message that they will send me a 6 digit PIN code via SMS that I have to enter to access our accounts. Not too easy to receive an SMS message where you don't have cell service on a cruise ship. Unfortunately, our bank does not consider an Email message as sufficiently secure, so they require the PIN be sent as an SMS message. Obviously, YMMV but you should confirm with any website you intend to access whether or not the use of a VPN will raise such issues. And of course, if anyone has a work-around for this, please share  ;o)

[kml246]

Once I connect my VPN, I leave it running on my laptop on the ship. This way I don't need to reauthenticate. @lx200gps has a good point about 2FA if it uses SMS. You may want to connect when your still at your embarkation port so you can receive text messages or do it in a port where you can use your phone. I just switched (yesterday) to T-Mobile's Magenta Max 55+ because it has WiFi calling and works in 210+ countries without roaming charges. When I'm away, text messages are more important than receiving phone calls. 

 

I wish they would stop using SMS for 2FA. It's really not secure. Authenticator apps are more secure and you can use them without cell service. Financial institutions should insist on their use, or at least allow it as an option. 

 

Kevin  

[caribill]

2 hours ago, kml246 said:

I wish they would stop using SMS for 2FA.

 

Me too, at least not make it the only option.

 

But my reason is I do not have a cell phone.

[kml246]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Me too, at least not make it the only option.

 

But my reason is I do not have a cell phone.

 

No cell phone at all? That's becoming tougher today. I'm a big tech fan, but I resisted cell phones for years. I just did not want to be tied to work when off the clock. Only when my wife's parents got older and we wanted to be reached in case there was an issue. I love tech, so I'm glad to have a smart phone now, more for the tech than the ability to be reached. Nan doesn't give out her cell phone number and doesn't keep her phone with her unless she's out. Even then, she only answers the phone when she's in her car and can see who it is. She does make outgoing calls, but never texts. She uses email and we have a home phone, and that's the number she gives out. 

 

Unfortunately, you and she are the minority, and businesses and services are going to require (many do already) that you be connected. There should be options, though. We were on a cruise in November and I had an issue with PayPal. Since I was logging in from a different device, they were requiring me to authenticate by entering the code they were texting. I was on a ship, so no texting. I called them via Skype and said email me the code to the email in my account. They said no, it's not secure. I countered texting isn't secure, either. If they had allowed an authenticator app to be an option, I would have been good. Ultimately, I was able to VPN to my home computer and login that way. Since the home computer was a known device, I didn't need a code. This is beyond most people's ability, so most people would have been out of luck without a cell phone. We're likely of the same vintage and many our age like the old way of doing things. Doesn't matter since we're not in the 25-45 demographic that businesses seem to crave, and they all embrace technology. 

 

Good for you in surviving without a cell phone. 

[BabySarge]

Definitely getting the VPN before we leave home and "playing" with it to (a) make sure I know how to use it and (b) make sure there are no issues connecting to the bank, etc.   We will be cruising off the east coast later this year and up around the Canadian provinces so will be trying it out from there to sort out any kinks before our much longer and more foreign port cruise next year.  

 

Everyone's input and assistance has been really appreciated.  Used to be pretty good at all this tech stuff but since I retired and stopped using it (and gotten several years older 😞 in the process) I frequently find myself out of my depth nowadays.

[Steelers0854]

On 7/1/2022 at 2:47 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

I think maybe you are confused about what the Medallion app actually does.  It has NO interaction with the internet once you are on board.  The only time that the app uses the internet is pre-cruise where you can do the majority of your cruise check in.  So...speaking of the app and a VPN is talking apples and oranges.

 

I’m sorry but this is incorrect.  Using a VPN on the ship has a significant impact on the Medallion app.  As have been mentioned previously if you have the internet package and turn a VPN on then you will break the majority of the functionality of the Medallion app.  I don’t know the specifics about the app but my guess is that it uses an internal DNS system which the VPN bypasses therefore you cannot get any ship specific content like menus, in app chat, and anything that’s requires you to “be on board” to use.  One of the previous posters mentioned it will show you as off the ship if you turn on the VPN.  So the way I use it is I turn on the VPN only when accessing something sensitive, then turn it back off.

 

Also of note, certain VPN protocols are blocked by Princess.  I don’t remember which ones in particular but if you try and connect using your VPN and it will not connect then try switching the protocols to a different one.  I use NordVPN just like others have said, I very much like it and they have an excellent reputation, but I leave the setting for Nord to select the protocol automatically for me when I get onboard a ship and it always works just fine.  

[kml246]

32 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

 So the way I use it is I turn on the VPN only when accessing something sensitive, then turn it back off.

 

That's exactly the way I use it on my phone on board. We leave it on full time with the laptops, but only when needed on the phones.

 

BTW, make sure you turn your phone VPN off when trying to connect and sign up for Princess wifi when you first board. I have the VPN turned on all the time on my wife's phone, so a couple of times when trying to get her connected after boarding, it kept failing. Took a few minutes before I smacked my forehead and realized the VPN was on. 

 

Even us techies make mistakes! 🙂 

 

Kevin 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

No cell phone at all? That's becoming tougher today.

 

Unfortunately, you and my wife are the minority, and businesses and services are going to require (many do already) that you be connected. There should be options, though.

 

Yes, and more and more are refusing to allow any other option than a test to a cell phone.

 

I know that a computer can send a text to a cell phone (each cell provider has a different address to use for this) and the receiver can respond to the text and it will go to the computer. But it does not appear businesses know how to (or do not want to) initiate, rather than respond to, a text.

 

 

3 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

We were on a cruise in November and I had an issue with PayPal. Since I was logging in from a different device, they were requiring me to authenticate by entering the code they were texting. I was on a ship, so no texting. I called them via Skype and said email me the code to the email in my account. They said no, it's not secure. I countered texting isn't secure, either.

 

 

I have also heard the same "E-mail is not secure" explanation from a number of financial institutions. They seem to forget that even Twitter's CEO had his cell phone cloned and thus showed that cell phones are not a secure method to use for secondary authentication. If the CEO of a giant tech company's cell phone can be compromised, how secure can the average person be sure their cell phone is safe for proof of authentication.

 

3 hours ago, kml246 said:

Doesn't matter since we're not in the 25-45 demographic that businesses seem to crave, and they all embrace technology. 

 

Good for you in surviving without a cell phone. 

 

I am not tech-adverse. In fact the great majority of my working life working with the coding of computer operating systems. I just do not need to be tethered to a communication device 24/7.

 

I do have a relative with a cell phone and have used that one when it was absolutely essential to accomplish something that only could be done with a cell phone.

 

I also wonder how a financial institution thinks using what is essentially a stranger's cell phone for authentication is more secure than an e-mail to the e-mail address in their files. Especially since one they have that person's cell number, they will send all kinds of financial information to it.

 

(One time when I entered another person's cell phone number as one to use for authentication, the request was rejected because the phone was not registered in my name. Thus it looks that even within a family unit, each person must have their own cellphone for some types of authentication.)

 

In one way, I have saved many hours of time by not having a cell phone. I keep reading posts on Cruise Critic about people who have spent uncounted hours trying to get the Princess app to work pre-cruise in order to save 10 minutes when checking in at the cruise terminal.

 

[thinfool]

I  am all for safety and security on our electronic devices..but maybe the OP can illuminate the efforts about banking.

While it is true that I am old/retired, still I have financial things to deal with..  However, we (wife and I) have been using our bank's free Bill Pay service for several years without a glitch and deposits are electronic, we never receive anything to deposit.  We no long write checks or move money/pay bills ourselves online.  All credit cards are set to receive minimum payments to avoid late charges, catch up payments done when we are in a secure location (at home).

Ship wifi connects to satellite internet...so a hacker would have to be able to intercept and decode sat signals to intrude.  Any hacker with that level of expertise would have other very intimidating abilities.

While I applaude the VPN effort I do not understand how it would enhance the safeguards that financial institutions provide.

 

[Steelers0854]

5 hours ago, thinfool said:

I  am all for safety and security on our electronic devices..but maybe the OP can illuminate the efforts about banking.

While it is true that I am old/retired, still I have financial things to deal with..  However, we (wife and I) have been using our bank's free Bill Pay service for several years without a glitch and deposits are electronic, we never receive anything to deposit.  We no long write checks or move money/pay bills ourselves online.  All credit cards are set to receive minimum payments to avoid late charges, catch up payments done when we are in a secure location (at home).

Ship wifi connects to satellite internet...so a hacker would have to be able to intercept and decode sat signals to intrude.  Any hacker with that level of expertise would have other very intimidating abilities.

While I applaude the VPN effort I do not understand how it would enhance the safeguards that financial institutions provide.

 

 

Anyone on the ship can very easily conduct a man in the middle attack on you, in fact its probably the easiest place to do it given the lack of connectivity  options (no cellular, no other Wi-Fi networks etc).  Also, anyone connected to the ships network can sniff out unencrypted traffic and can capture your web traffic.  I wouldn’t exactly call it a serious risk, but its a risk nonetheless that can easily be mitigated by using a VPN.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Steelers0854

[Steelers0854]

9 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

That's exactly the way I use it on my phone on board. We leave it on full time with the laptops, but only when needed on the phones.

 

BTW, make sure you turn your phone VPN off when trying to connect and sign up for Princess wifi when you first board. I have the VPN turned on all the time on my wife's phone, so a couple of times when trying to get her connected after boarding, it kept failing. Took a few minutes before I smacked my forehead and realized the VPN was on. 

 

Even us techies make mistakes! 🙂 

 

Kevin 

 

Just to clarify, if you’re using an iPhone I think your referring to iCloud Private Relay.  I had the same issue a couple weeks ago.  Couldn’t figure out why the app wasnt working right, took me a few min to figure out that their app must use WebKit since Private Relay only works for web based traffic and turning it off immediately fixed the issue.  Just one more thing to add to the checklist lol.

[kml246]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

Yes, and more and more are refusing to allow any other option than a text to a cell phone.

 

They are letting us down by not moving to more secure options. I have one debit card (that I never carry) that only permits a 4-digit PIN. How insecure and easily guessed. Length is the key to secure passwords/PINs. 

 

6 hours ago, caribill said:

I know that a computer can send a text to a cell phone (each cell provider has a different address to use for this) and the receiver can respond to the text and it will go to the computer. But it does not appear businesses know how to (or do not want to) initiate, rather than respond to, a text.

 

Good luck getting that done, unfortunately. There are just not enough travelers like us that need alternatives. It's disappointing. 

 

6 hours ago, caribill said:

I have also heard the same "E-mail is not secure" explanation from a number of financial institutions. They seem to forget that even Twitter's CEO had his cell phone cloned and thus showed that cell phones are not a secure method to use for secondary authentication. If the CEO of a giant tech company's cell phone can be compromised, how secure can the average person be sure their cell phone is safe for proof of authentication.

 

Most cases of being hacked are carelessness on the victim's part - clicking on an unknown link, opening an email attachment, especially from a person you don't know or if you're not expecting it, giving your credentials out, etc. I'm not blaming the victim. The creeps that do these scams should be locked up without a key. Many times, people use weak passwords, used on multiple or every site, along with little or no security apps. My son, no matter how much I impress on him the importance of digital security, uses the same email and password on nearly every site. He is the rule; I'm the exception.   

 

6 hours ago, caribill said:

I am not tech-adverse. In fact the great majority of my working life working with the coding of computer operating systems. I just do not need to be tethered to a communication device 24/7.

 

Understood. I didn't perceive you as being tech adverse. Yours is the same reason I didn't have a cell phone for years.

 

6 hours ago, caribill said:

(One time when I entered another person's cell phone number as one to use for authentication, the request was rejected because the phone was not registered in my name. Thus it looks that even within a family unit, each person must have their own cellphone for some types of authentication.)

 

 

I'm not sure each person needs their own phone, but you do need to have the phone listed on your account. 

 

6 hours ago, caribill said:

In one way, I have saved many hours of time by not having a cell phone. I keep reading posts on Cruise Critic about people who have spent uncounted hours trying to get the Princess app to work pre-cruise in order to save 10 minutes when checking in at the cruise terminal.

 

Agreed. I've had my own frustrations with the MedallionClass app, but the last update is a big improvement. I post on some threads letting people know not to worry about having everything in the app before you board. I haven't had to show my phone at any check-in during the past year. 

 

 

 

[kml246]

34 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

 

Anyone on the ship can very easily conduct a man in the middle attack on you, in fact its probably the easiest place to do it given the lack of connectivity  options (no cellular, no other Wi-Fi networks etc).  Also, anyone connected to the ships network can sniff out unencrypted traffic and can capture your web traffic.  I wouldn’t exactly call it a serious risk, but its a risk nonetheless that can easily be mitigated by using a VPN.

 

Thanks for posting this and saving me the time to say the same thing. I'm not worried about the sat signal being hijacked (highly unlikely) but am worried with sniffing the wifi signal on board. Thus, the VPN. 

[kml246]

29 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

 

Just to clarify, if you’re using an iPhone I think your referring to iCloud Private Relay.  I had the same issue a couple weeks ago.  Couldn’t figure out why the app wasnt working right, took me a few min to figure out that their app must use WebKit since Private Relay only works for web based traffic and turning it off immediately fixed the issue.  Just one more thing to add to the checklist lol.

 

Actually, I'm a DOS/Windows/Android guy. Never entered the Apple world. It was definitely the VPN causing the issue. As soon as I turned it off, sign up was easy. 

[caribill]

6 hours ago, thinfool said:

I  am all for safety and security on our electronic devices..but maybe the OP can illuminate the efforts about banking.

While it is true that I am old/retired, still I have financial things to deal with..  However, we (wife and I) have been using our bank's free Bill Pay service for several years without a glitch and deposits are electronic, we never receive anything to deposit.  We no long write checks or move money/pay bills ourselves online.  All credit cards are set to receive minimum payments to avoid late charges, catch up payments done when we are in a secure location (at home).

 

 

 

Not the OP, but the lack of using E-mail for sending a verification code to enter frustrates me in a number of ways. (Again, I do not have a cell phone.)

 

o Traveling in "normal" times, both cruising and in foreign lands, I need to have access to several financial and credit card accounts when I am not at home, either in country or out of it. Unlike you, I do use the Internet to pay bills including credit card and utility bills.

 

o I will not pay a bill blindly. I do not want it paid automatically without my reviewing what is in it so an erroneous or fraudulent charge does not drain a bank account.

 

o Even when at home, I prefer an E-mail for receiving a verification code instead of a call to my land line. I often need the verification code while others are sleeping and a phone call to my land line would wake them up.

 

o While traveling I do need to check credit card charges to make sure they are accurate, especially when the charge was made in a foreign currency. More than once after using a credit card in a foreign country I have then had fraudulent charges made.

 

o Even after notifying a credit card company I would be traveling, I have had them lock my account when a charge in a country I told them I would be in was deemed suspicious. My E-mail account can receive the lockout notice within seconds of the transaction being made, but when looking at the E-mail later, I cannot go to the website to verify or challenge the charge without that secondary verification code. (Calling them from a ship is not the answer as at the rates charged by Princess for a phone call at sea, it could cost hundreds of $$$ between phone trees and wait times before even getting to speak with someone.)

 

o Even when I access various accounts from home on my laptop pre-cruise to prove that the computer is a valid one, when I am away from home many businesses want secondary verification again because they detect a different Internet hardware address the computer is working through. (Some will just see via cookies that the computer is legit from previous verified use, but not all.)

[kml246]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Not the OP, but the lack of using E-mail for sending a verification code to enter frustrates me in a number of ways. (Again, I do not have a cell phone.)

 

o Traveling in "normal" times, both cruising and in foreign lands, I need to have access to several financial and credit card accounts when I am not at home, either in country or out of it. Unlike you, I do use the Internet to pay bills including credit card and utility bills.

 

o I will not pay a bill blindly. I do not want it paid automatically without my reviewing what is in it so an erroneous or fraudulent charge does not drain a bank account.

 

o Even when at home, I prefer an E-mail for receiving a verification code instead of a call to my land line. I often need the verification code while others are sleeping and a phone call to my land line would wake them up.

 

o While traveling I do need to check credit card charges to make sure they are accurate, especially when the charge was made in a foreign currency. More than once after using a credit card in a foreign country I have then had fraudulent charges made.

 

o Even after notifying a credit card company I would be traveling, I have had them lock my account when a charge in a country I told them I would be in was deemed suspicious. My E-mail account can receive the lockout notice within seconds of the transaction being made, but when looking at the E-mail later, I cannot go to the website to verify or challenge the charge without that secondary verification code. (Calling them from a ship is not the answer as at the rates charged by Princess for a phone call at sea, it could cost hundreds of $$$ between phone trees and wait times before even getting to speak with someone.)

 

o Even when I access various accounts from home on my laptop pre-cruise to prove that the computer is a valid one, when I am away from home many businesses want secondary verification again because they detect a different Internet hardware address the computer is working through. (Some will just see via cookies that the computer is legit from previous verified use, but not all.)

 

I've been paying bills online since the 1980s when Chemical Bank (now Chase) had a system called Pronto. You hooked up the device to a phone line and a TV and dialed into Chemical to do your banking. I rarely write a physical check.

 

I understand your reasoning for wanting email codes and also the bank's reasoning for not doing it. The banks fall flat on their reasoning by using SMS, though, since that's only marginally more secure. I know some banks give the option to email, text, or phone call. Since you don't want to be tied to a phone you could look for a bank that uses email. You could get a cell phone with a prepaid annual plan that does wifi calling. Set that as your phone number on your accounts. When on a ship and have your phone in airplane mode with wifi turned on, you can still make phone calls and texts. Not all phones and/or plans allow this. You'll need to research this. I have T-Mobile and a Pixel 6 Pro and this works just fine. 

 

 

 

 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

 I know some banks give the option to email, text, or phone call. Since you don't want to be tied to a phone you could look for a bank that uses email.

 

 

That probably will not work as the banks change what they allow.

[BabySarge]

OP responding here regarding the post with the request I "illuminate the efforts about banking" although I'm not quite sure what it is you want me to illuminate to be honest other than the fact that I/we want the additional security that a VPN may give us when using the internet to access our bank and credit card accounts not only when traveling but also at home.

DH and I have had our PII (personal identifiable information) hacked/compromised twice by Veterans Affairs, once each by the US Army, twice by the Department of Defense for me, and twice by the Office of Personnel Management for me with the latest notification being received two weeks ago.  We both have free credit and identity theft monitoring at all three-credit bureaus for life thanks to said hacking/compromise of our information, but I do everything I can to safeguard it and using a VPN is just another layer.

Maybe I'll just delude myself into thinking it's safer or more secure if I use VPN and if that's the case, so be it but at least I will have tried to do something to put a stumbling block in the way of the f*%k*rs (pardon my language please).

Illuminated yet??