A decision by Congress on Tuesday to repeal rules limiting how internet service providers can use customer data has generated renewed interest in the internet technology of virtual private networks (VPNs).
VPNs cloak a person's web-surfing history by making an encrypted connection to a private server that does not reveal the person's address. VPNs are often used to connect to a secure business network or to bypass government restrictions on web surfing in countries such as China and Turkey.
Privacy-conscious techies are now talking of using VPNs as a matter of course to guard against broadband providers collecting data on the sites and services they use.