Protecting mobile when connected to hotel's wifi?

Whiffle

Whiffle

Whiffle

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Joined
27 Jul 2009
Posts
386
Hi there.

I am off to Turkey, next month, and just realised that my phone provider does not include this country as part of its package.

There is Wifi in the hotel but I am a bit worried about using if for anything sensitive.

Are there any free VPNs that I could set up, before hand, just to use for things like e-mails checking my bank etc?
 
How techie are you? Do you run any type of server at home already?

take a look into building your own WireGuard VPN Server at home, loads of guides on YouTube. A raspberry pi would be perfect.
 
lmfy2k said:
How techie are you? Do you run any type of server at home already?

take a look into building your own WireGuard VPN Server at home, loads of guides on YouTube. A raspberry pi would be perfect.
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Great until something happens at home and the router fails.

I'd still have a paid vpn as a backup, I use pia which I think cost me £30 for three years. Been fine so far.
 
Begbie said:
Great until something happens at home and the router fails.

I'd still have a paid vpn as a backup, I use pia which I think cost me £30 for three years. Been fine so far.
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I’ve been running Wireguard on a RPI continuously for over three years. Like my router is on a UPD. It’s fallen over…not a single time.
 
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Semple said:
Interesting, my Vodafone connection has been rock solid for nearly 4 years.
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The connection was probably fine, but the router itself would require a reset. I'm just saying that it is a single point of failure, if you rely on it when your abroad and it fails then you're without a vpn.
 
Whiffle said:
There is Wifi in the hotel but I am a bit worried about using if for anything sensitive.
Click to expand...
You are very much correct to be worried.
If it's just your phone - get a deal on one of the decent VPN providers. The cheap/free ones are flakey and are sometimes heavily restricted in certain countries.

If you have other devices (tablet, streaming device), I would also look at getting a mini-router to create your own network and act as a firewall against the hotel wi-fi. A word of warning though - these can sometimes be tricky to connect to the hotel wi-fi, and if you can't get it to work, you'll have no connection. Which is why I would recommend having some sort of VPN on the phone.
 
Enable roaming and buy a roaming pass, or check to see if you are already covered (older EE contracts have free European roaming).

Buy a local sim

Rent a MiFi box - loads of people rent these. Carry the box around with you and all the family will have constant WiFi. On the beach, in town and around the hotel/pool.

Buy a VPN or Proton are doing one device free VPN: https://account.protonvpn.com/signup?plan=free&currency=EUR.

Has no data or speed limits
Has no advertisements
Does not log your online activity
Is protected by Swiss privacy laws
 
Or, do you have a tablet (e: or some such) with a SIM slot?

We always get a local unlimited SIM, whack it in the tablet then use it as a hotspot for the phones. Works a treat.
 
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I've used Windscribe for a few years now, and found it to be very hassle free. Their free service is limited to locations you can choose (not as problem if it's just security you're after) and total bandwidth - 2GB per month for free users, or 10GB if you register an email address.

The free service seems to be a loss leader for the paid for one (that I have) and looks to have the same security and privacy.

No personal experience of other VPNs, so can't say how it compares to Nord, etc.
 
The two big mobile operators - Vodafone and Turk Telecom - have a tourist SIM offering. Greatly overpriced compared to their local SIMs, but easier to get. The price in Antalya is 1200 lira, but in Izmir (where there are fewer tourists) 1000 lira...
 
Can your phone do e-sim? Airola app can give you 10G of data for $18 usd or as little as like $4.50 for 1G and then VPN, do a free trial like Nord or windscribe.
 
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