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If one did need to worry about trusting public wi-fi, one would also need to worry about trusting one's cell service provider or home / business ISP. And you can use a VPN for an additional layer of security over all this, but then you need to trust the VPN.

But I think you're largely correct. If I'm on wi-fi that I trust less than my VPN provider of choice, I use the VPN. And then I move on and live my life.

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I definitely trust my cell service provider more than I trust some random coffee shop owner with a 15 year old unpatched WRT-54g

This depends on what threats you're concerned about. If you're concerned about malware but your devices are patched and you don't click through SSL warnings, you're probably going to be fine on either of them.

If you're concerned about privacy, your cell providers is _way_ more likely to be mining your data for resell unless you live in a country where that is prohibited.

I think connoisseurs of vintage wi-fi equipment such as the WRT-54g drive their networks with current stable OpenWrt 21.02.2, release as of February 2022.

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