Security on a Public Wi-Fi
Although convenient and usually free, connecting to a public Wi-Fi comes at the expense of your privacy and could be a huge security risk. Not only can the provider of the WiFi be monitoring your usage and websites you visit, but bad actors can sniff packets and potentially steal your identity.
Privacy from your Internet Service Provider… and Government!
Using your home Wi-Fi is much more secure than a public SSID but the traffic still routes to your ISP which in turn can monitor you and share the information with.. you guessed it, government! Although ever since the Snowden leaks many years ago, the United States has passed several laws to curb government surveillance. However, countries like China continue mass surveillance and attempts to censor free speech.
Access your paid-for content while traveling
You pay for Netflix and a dozen other streaming services so you should be able to watch them wherever you are located in the world. Unfortunately, these services block locations based on your geographical computer IP address. By connecting to a VPN, you can select a USA IP address while in Japan which will give you a spoofed address and allow the streaming to continue.