A VPN is not magic protection. Here is when you actually need one.

When VPN YES¶

• Public Wi-Fi (cafes, hotels, airports)
• Access to a corporate network
• Access to your home lab from outside
• Bypassing geo-restrictions (legal)
• Protection from ISP tracking

When VPN NO¶

• “Complete anonymity” — the VPN provider sees your traffic
• Protection from malware — that’s what antivirus is for
• Faster internet — a VPN slows it down

Commercial vs Self-Hosted¶

• Commercial (Mullvad, ProtonVPN): easy, servers worldwide
• Self-hosted (WireGuard on a VPS): full control, cheaper

WireGuard Setup¶

VPN: When and Why to Use One¶

apt install wireguard wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey

wg0.conf¶

[Interface] PrivateKey = Address = 10.0.0.1/24 ListenPort = 51820

[Peer] PublicKey = AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32

Recommendations¶

For personal use: Mullvad ($5/month, no logs). For a home lab: self-hosted WireGuard.