A 14-Year-Old Asks: When Should I Get a VPN?

"One of my students sent me this letter," writes Slashdot reader Hasaf. "I have a good idea how I will answer, but I wanted to put it before the Slashdot community." The letter reads: Right now I am 14 years old, I was wondering when I should get a VPN... I was thinking about getting the yearly deal. But right now I really have no need for a VPN at the moment. I was thinking of getting a VPN when I'm in 11th grade or maybe in college. What do you think?
Of course, the larger question is what factors go into deciding whether your need to be using a VPN. So leave your best answers in the comments. When should you get your first VPN?

Comments

Ah, that question

[jawtheshark]

First thing is that you need to understand what exactly a VPN is and what it protects you form. People hear VPN associate it with privacy and security and think it's a magic pill. It isn't. It has very specific uses, and it can protect you in some ways, but in many it doesn't.

I always compare it with a very long cable that you stick into another network. Imagine, you are at McDonalds, and you could have a very long cable to your home network. You could access your NAS at home, surf from the IP address at home, all through that cable. That is what a VPN is: it allows you to plug into a different network. So what does this protect you from? In my example, from McDonalds and the other patrons on the McDonalds network. They can try to see what you do, but all they will see is the "cable" (the encrypted traffic) to a certain IP address (your home connection). What happens on that cable is opaque to them.

However, if you surf the Internet over a VPN, it has an endpoint. In my example, that would be your home connection. So the sites, you visit see your home connections IP, your parents still could have filtering software on that home connection, etc... It would be as if you were physically at home and no different. The sites you visit can still track you.

So, VPNs are basically good for three things:

• Hiding your geographical location
• Hiding your activity from the people that run your Internet connection (your ISP, McDonalds, your parents, etc...) However, you trade it for visibility of your activity to the people that run the VPN (or if you build your own, the people where your rent your VPS/server/connection).
• Accessing private resources on private networks. This is mostly in a business setting (granted, I do it too, but I'm a huge nerd)

So, now, with this information, you should be able to ask yourself: Is this the kind of functionality and protection I need? If no, you don't need a VPN. If yes, go ahead.

Requirements first.

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's take a requirements-centric approach:

What do you need?

right now I really have no need for a VPN at the moment

Congratulations! You don't need a VPN, so don't get one yet.

Anytime

[dreamchaser]

As long as the parents have man in the middle access it is not a bad idea. Before the kids all flame me for saying that, I saved my daughter from a potential predator because I monitored her Internet use when she was 14.

At that age one is still a child and still tends to have poor judgement. I know I did back then.

Re:this is a troll post right?

[swb]

The problem with 14 year-olds is that while they're smart enough to know the words, they don't really know the music. We mistake their verbalization of intellectual concepts as understanding.

Ok, son, let's talk VPN

[Qbertino]

Ok, young man, here's some important details you should know about VPN

- Not all VPNs are equal. Some fit, some don't. They come and go. When your first VPN goes down, it will feel like the world is collapsing. Don't worry, it isn't. You'll get to see many VPNs in your life and eventually you'll find that one VPN that really fits and you'll stay together and maybe even start your own service. You'll know when the time is right and you've found the right VPN to do just that.

- Some VPNs come with flashy advertising and/or quite some legal block. Don't just look at such VPNs but also at the custom built ones that run their own self-built config scripts and services. Those are real gems and that is where you can find very special VPNs.

- Don't just fantasize and read about VPNs online. Go out and meet some real world VPNs in real life. That is where you will gain the experience to judge VPNs and which work best with you.

- When you get your first real VPN, you still need to protect yourself! I can't stress this enough. Practice applying Firewalls and such when you're in the mood for trying out some VPN.

- When you get your first VPN it might not connect in the first night. Don't worry, it will get better. Soon you'll be VPNing like a bunny.

- If you think you've found the right VPN and want to stick with that for life (very significant decision), do write up a contract covering all the details concerning you and your special VPN - it will save you pain later if things don't quite work out as planned.

Those are the basics, the rest you'll learn along the way.
Godspeed!