Virtual Private Networks - should I set one up for my laptop?

[Jerjo]

I know some of you do quite a bit of travelling for work and pleasure. I got a new laptop half a year ago and have taken it with me on trips a few times. But I keep hearing apocryphal tales of security issues with public wifi. Lifehacker suggests setting up a VPN using Hamachi but many say that program is pretty prone to crashing. So does anyone have any experience with this and is it worth the bother?

[Duncan Glenday]

I travel every week - live in hotels, access work and the Interweb from hotels, from client sites, and from airports.

Never bothered with a VPN, never had a problem - and neither have any of my (many) colleagues who are also full-time road warriors.

[helicase]

I've got an old computer set up as a (music) server at home using ssh (on Linux). If I want to, I can log into it from a public wifi and use it as a proxy server. Don't know how easy it would be to set up on a Windows machine, though.

[roylayer]

I use LogMeIn (https://secure.logmein.com/) to administer a server on my home network. Although not specifically designed as a VPN (It sends screen images.), it would give you the same result functionally and security-wise, and there is a free version. It is recommended by Maximum PC magazine.

[Jerjo]

I might give LogMeIn a try one of these days. Thanks.

Duncan, that was reassuring. If a road warrior like you never sees trouble, I think I have less to worry about than I thought.