A good friend of mine, Ant Pruitt, recently wrote about CyberGhost’s VPN service on the GoGo blog. Ant goes on to explain just how the CyberGhost product functions. As someone who spends a lot of time online while in the air, this is a pretty big deal for me.
Even if you think nobody could be interested in your information, think about how much information you actually put out there online. Credit card information when you shop? Addresses? Contents of emails? Chat message transcripts?
Though I have access to a VPN thanks to my job, I know many folks don’t. Additionally, many VPN solutions are limited to computer use. Having a way to protect your browsing when you are on your phone is no less important!
Do you use a VPN when you use public services like Boingo and GoGo?
Though many savvy travel hackers are familiar with the ins and outs of Google Flights and its underlying engine (ITA’s Matrix), not everyone is aware that you can use ITA’s software on your mobile device! The app, OnTheFly, is in both the Android and Apple app stores and is surprisingly easy to navigate.
ITA’s Advanced Routing Language
Though you don’t have the ability to use the advanced routing codes that you would when using the web interface, you still have a fair amount of control. You can see these options below.
Unfortunately, you also are limited in the way the flight results are displayed, simply because of the limited screen real estate and functionality limitations of a mobile device. The information is presented in a clear manner, though, and the search is quite fast.
My only real complaint here is the fact that you can’t see time-bars. It is my preferred method of search result display for flights. That said, Hipmunkwill give you this information, and it pulls its information from ITA as well. Small world, right?
Once both outbound and return flights are selected, you are shown the fare details, as well as the total trip distance (for those that are conscious on qualifying miles and cents-per-mile!). Naturally, you are shown the fare class, and are even given a breakdown on where the fare price comes from.
OnTheFly: Complete TripOnTheFly: Fare DetailsOnTheFly: Trip Distance
For more on ITA’s Matrix, check out Scott Mackenzie’s guides on Travel Codex. It’s very important reading for the aspiring travel hacker!
