In the early days of the internet, it didn’t really matter that much. The fact that the core protocol used for downloading and communicating with web servers – HTTP had no concept of security at all. But then again you didn’t do much that needed security but it’s very different today.
Nowadays many of us run our lives across the internet and the fact that HTTP transmits everything in clear text is something of a problem. Sure there are little security additions like the advent of HTTPS which attempts to secure many transactions however even this isn’t that secure.
The fact is that still 95% of your surfing happens in clear text and there is little hope of anonymous surfing unless you take matters into your own hands. The reality is until we surf the web in a different way then VPNs and encryption are essential if we’re going to protect any of our privacy online. Whether your motivation is to keep your data secure from hackers, identity thieves or even just your government then encryption should be considered carefully.