I am not interested in using the VPN for anything other than protecting my traffic while trading away from my office from intruders, is that pointless then? I don't want to route it outside the US.
Yes. If you're connecting via ssl (the "secure" lock will show on your browser and the address will be https:// like you see here on ET) then neither a random dude at Starbucks or a nefarious fake server operator will be able to intercept your traffic any more so than if you used a VPN. If you want to focus on real security issues, insure that you're not using the same password on your brokers site as you use for that porn site you may occasionally visit or your facebook account. Set up a new gmail account that you use only to communicate with financial institutions and never share the address with any other website, which will prevent you from being social engineered during a moment of weakness when you've perhaps had a couple drinks after a long day of trading. And then relax and enjoy life. You're more likely to get hit by something falling from the sky than suffer an actual loss you have to eat from a hacker, so if you want to worry about something worry about a real risk like being one of the 37,000 people in the U.S. who die in a car crash every year, vice the pretty much none-one who actually loses a significant amount of money to a hacker (who isn't a moron who answers Nigerian prince emails.) Oh, and if you really want to be one of the cool VPN kids, Windscribe is free for your first few GB each month and is as good as any.
It turns out there was a slight tie-up at customs, but I happen to be the brother-in-law of the chief customs agent in Lagos (long story). If you PM me, we can set up an arrangement to get that money cleared and on its way to you in no time!
Ok, I understand all of these things and are already in practice. I get that SSL is safe, etc. I guess I was thinking that beyond the secure connection of my Think or Swim desktop the VPN would increase that.
Look, if it doesn't interfere with your trading and you sleep better, use it, otherwise don't trade from airports or coffee shops.
After reading the news today, I have one word for Sweiz: Equifax! http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-equifax-20180301-story.html
Hey Schweiz... if you really want to see some sh*t that doesn't get much press.... peel back this onion. Here's the first layer to get you started. https://www.eff.org/pages/cell-site-simulatorsimsi-catchers Read up on some cases.
So this morning on CNN they said 148 million Americans are affected by Equifax. They literally said, if you are not a child or an elderly in a home and you used a CC, then your data is out there... So why worry about the backdoor of your house when your window washer left the window open and there is nothing you can do about it?