Wow, this thread went a lot farther than I thought it would. HA! I think this is an endless debate that covers privacy down to the core levels of what each and every person uses as their PC, Smartphone, etc. Privacy is over globally in the way that we idealists would like to think. I think the debate of data collection, OS level data mining, etc is important to talk about for the argument of proprietary info / private individual data, but regulating it makes only the lobbyists and the law firms the revenue at the end of the day. Outside of trading I am in the data research and org / dev / mgt consulting sector and I still have nightmares about people or companies that bring me projects that have no patent and have been stored in a personal Google Drive account for the past three years. I could make a flat out statement that Google / Microsoft / Apple are bad and we should all switch to Linux, but then we could have the same issues we have now just with a different set of logos. I know this is a flawed statement, but can be applied to any part of the tech industry I think. I am a HUGE proponent of Open Source / FOSS with a balance of devs and companies have to charge for the products and services to make money. Capitalism is part of why we are traders here, right? My VPN experiment has actually grown to me wondering if I should be looking at my own VDI type setup or just remote into my office desktop and get a 15" chromebook with a good display. I am trading currencies and futures primarily, so I need very little in regards to charting, data flow. If I am trading other things, I am a 1-3 month hold that doesn't require me to babysit. I know there are quite a few here that even trade via a tablet, so even that is on the table I think. Thanks again for all of the food for thought. It has helped immensely.
Using a VPN can get your trading acct locked up. E-Trade has a token you can use that keeps you from having issues. Merrill Lynch/Edge have this strick policy that you can't use a VPN at all. Took me a year to get my money back after they locked up the acct. And they won't explain things to you and the don't know what to do with the situation or give you info on how secure their process is. They talk down to you like your supposed to know how their system works. Merrill Edge is the worst.
Please, let me add to this first place Credit Suisse, UBS and BNP Paribas . It is not about VPN, but they are certainly deserve to be on the first place as worst brokers. We are at ten years anniversary since we were overcharged in fees by CS, and still trying to get refund, and six years since UBS started to "fix" their execution problem by squeezing us, maliciously persecuting in an unbelievable attempt to hide true statement of facts.
Sounds like a good idea. In past I have used something.... let me remember like OpenVPN. I just went to the website and it's divided to consumer and business needs as well. I've used consumer one, it's now located at https://www.privatetunnel.com/pricing/ with all their plans, feel free to check. They recommended by me.
I suggest you to use a paid VPN because it provides a data security, data encryption and hide your identity. I recommend you to get PureVPN that offers you all you need and it is best during the travelling. https://www.purevpn.com/what-is-vpn/secure-vpn
I used a "paid service" and was locked out of my acct for almost a year. They said that thieves use the VPNs also. So I guess it puts you in the same boat as a thief. Just ask your trading company what they suggest. And I would suggest talking to security and not the first person that answers the line.
Being a traveling trader is great, but it does come with some risks. One of those risks is having your information stolen while you are on a public internet connection - according to this site about VPN services. I recommend everybody to use VPN services abroad to protect your information.