Over the weekend I signed up for a lifetime unlimited VPN plan from VPN Unlimited. Have not tried them before, but at US$39 for a lifetime plan, it does seem to be too good a deal to pass, and I am assuming that TNW should be reputable enough to do proper screening of their deals before offering them to followers.
My most pertinent use case for VPNs is when I am using open wireless networks either in SG or overseas. You can never know whether it is a rogue wireless hotspot that was set up to steal your data or if there are other unruly elements together with you on a “protected” network who are trying to sniff and decipher your network traffic. A particular type of wireless network vulnerability was exposed a few years back with the “Firesheep” Firefox extension.
Another benefit of using VPNs from a VPN provider who has international servers is that you will be able to spoof your location so that you can access localised content (e.g. Hulu, BBC, some Youtube channels, etc.) that will otherwise be blocked from international users. For some — like the people behind the Great Firewall of China — this feature is particularly relevant as they are not only able to spoof another location, they can also bypass the Great Firewall since the VPN tunnel is encrypted and will theoretically block prying eyes.