What is the feeling of CH members re these "VPN' security network programs? Having absolutely no EXPERIENCE with any of them my concern is that a tremendous amount of trust NEEDS to occur. These sites are as far as i can determine are  "pathways" through a server that promise a great deal of encrypted PROTECTION and anonymity to the user. However while there are ratings as to the degree of what the server may or may not retain of the data and/or personal information re the user (such as IP address) in my opinion this is where the "trust" element is involved. MANY people/organizations purport to adhere to many things as a demonstration of their commitment to aspects of their offerings (be they services or products) and the next one to be found to be not being truthful would be far from the first and certainly won't be the last. My interest in this process is not for nefarious activities. Quite the CONTRARY it is to potentially avoid such activities being inflicted on me. In other words to minimize  my vulnerability to would be invaders of my security and personal information. I don't think i am being paranoid. It is well established that people of ill intent do do bad things to others via the internet so i believes it behooves us to apply as much security of person as possible. Is this a credible process to enhance that?truenorth Using a VPN would not improve your security.  In order to create a VPN connection, you first would need to have a presence on the internet and that right there is your problem.Thanks for the comment Rob. But doesn't the user of a VPN become "cloaked"?truenorthPossibly (but not necessarily) in respect of traffic that goes through the tunnel.  The VPN does not "take over" the internet connection however.  That is still live.  So the user's computer (or gateway) is still "visible" on the internet.  VPN's can lead people into a false sense of security.  Provided the VPN provider and the hosts at both ends of the tunnel are trusted, the traffic going through that tunnel is pretty secure.  But any traffic that falls outside the tunnel is just as vulnerable as ever.Excellent clarification Rob...Thanks Pat!Rob,Excellent description--very easy to comprehend.My initial concern was the "tunnel" portion in regards to the provider and the trust aspect. However i now can see there is more to it than that. truenorthNo problem.