Lets say you're traveling, whether it is in a car or RV domestically, or perhaps going overseas, you're probably going to want to use a public wifi system occasionally. That's the time when you may want to protect your computer or tablet from a hacker 'sniffing' (breaking into) your wifi access. That's where a VPN (virtual private network) can be of help.

There are many VPNs available, either for free or monthly rental, and many articles giving reviews of the VPNs. You can search for these yourself, so I'm just going to mention two free ones you might consider when you want a bit more privacy.

One that I plan to try is the Avira Phantom VPN. A review of this VPN is here. And you can download it here. Some important considerations for me are where is the company located and does it own its own servers? A bit about Avira can be read here. I like everything I've read on their website. And, I'm using Avira's anti-virus program on my PC right now. It has -- in theory, anyway -- been doing a good job of protecting me from viruses.

Now, I don't plan to use the paid version of the Avir VPN, only the free version, which gives me 1GB of data per month. That is plenty for the occasional times when I want a secure connection.

The other option I'll use is the Opera browser, which has a free VPN feature contained in the browser. Review here. There is no monthly data cap, and I've been using it occasionally. So far it's worked fine. In fact, I'm on the Opera browser now, ownload the Opera browser here.

So, if you're traveling and would like a bit of protection while you're browsing the Internet, the above gives you a couple of free options to consider.

Jim Hamm