I wonder if you surf the internet “naked” from the public network. If you are a normal user I bet you do. For security reasons, I suggest you don’t. You will never know when someone can attack and steal your account and password. If you are using public wireless to connect to the internet, it is easy for the attacker to intercept your data.
So here are the tips for you to securely connect from a public network. First you need to set up your own virtual private network (VPN) and second be sure to only connect to websites that have SSL encryption. To know whether you are connected to a secure website or not, pay attention to the URL at the address bar! A normal website (no SSL encryption) only has “http” and a secure website (with SSL encryption) has “https“.
To set up your own virtual private network (VPN) follow the steps below:
1. First you need an SSH server or a VPS.
2. For Windows users you can use Putty, download it here. For Mac OS and Linux users open your terminal.
3. For Mac OS and Linux users type this command:
ssh -ND port-number [email protected]Where N means tells the SSH client that you do not want an interactive session, and the D option tells the SSH client to set up a “dynamic” port-forwarding tunnel on the port number given. For example:
ssh -ND 8888 [email protected]For Windows users, open your Putty:
Fill the configuration as the picture shows. Fill the port at the source port and click the Dynamic radio button and then click the add button. After that return to session (number 5) and fill your webserver address, then click open.
4. You will be asked for username and password.
5. If you login successfully, then you need to set your browser to use the proxy.
6. Open your web browser, for example Firefox. Go to Tools > Options… and click on the Advanced menu icon. Next, click on the Network tab, and hit the Settings… button:
Then change the connection setting:
7. Now test your VPN by going to Cmyip to see your IP address. If your IP address is different then you have successfully set up your VPN.
That’s it, now you can surf anonymously and safely.
PS: Please be careful using this. Because some websites have the IP address record of your account, and you can probably get banned if you sign in from another IP or a different IP from the record, for example PayPal. They have an IP address policy; if you sign in from more than 1 IP address then you will get limited. I suggest not accessing any financial data from a public connection.