Ask HN: Does using a VPN meaningfully increase security on public networks?
I've been using Algo VPN (https://github.com/trailofbits/algo) to tunnel traffic to a VPS I control. I primarily use it when I use my computer at airports, coffee shops, etc. It's highly recommended by people I trust in the security community, hence why I use it. Apologies for my ignorance, but how does my setup increase security as opposed to browsing the internet on a public network over https?
It increases security against ISP surveillance, local attacks (DNS poisoning, man in the middle) performed by adversaries on your local network, hostile access points and other public honey pot attacks, and general eavesdropping anywhere between you and the VPN provider. It also helps combat network non-neutrality by making it hard for your ISP to throttle or selectively prioritize traffic.
Regular privacy VPNs will not protect you against adversaries beyond the VPN in the network path, nor will they protect your anonymity against highly sophisticated or nation state level attackers with the capacity to either surveil the network broadly or just subpoena the VPN provider.
* DNS visible
* HTTP visible
* SMTP visible
* POP3 visible
* Traffic timing/volume analysis
* Ports you’re connecting to identify the service you’re using
And so on ...
Not a problem with a VPN.