VPN exposed me to all the dangers on the internet?

[idrinkmilk]

I have been using a VPN tunnel for all my poker playing and internet browsing for a long time now. It started with me traveling, but then I just continued because I assumed it was added security. And added security is nice right?

Looks like that decision might not have been as good as I thought. Yesterday I reread the FAQ on my VPN providers site. There I saw something I hadn't expected. They write that when you use a VPN tunnel your hardware router let's through all the traffic through that tunnel. It loses it's firewall ability against that traffic. Therefore they recommend using a software firewall when using a tunnel. Ugh. I kind of froze when reading that. I haven't been using a software firewall.

Does this mean that I have been open to hackers and cyber criminals for all this time? That would be b.a.d.

[Freakin]

Yes. Your router uses NAT to route your traffic, which also protects you because your computer is not 'open' to the internet. All requests are made to the router, and unless it is told specifically what to do with it, it drops it.

You should always be using a software firewall because not all attacks come from outside. A software firewall will prevent unauthorized inbound AND outbound traffic

[idrinkmilk]

Thanks! I didn't know that. I will from now on always use a software firewall.

[idrinkmilk]

Hmmm. I installed ZoneAlarm pro. Software firewall protection... But to be able to connect to the PPTP tunnel I had to add the VPN IP address as a trusted network. Does that mean that I'm back to square one?