The gap between VPN marketing and reality is significant:

• VPNs do not make you anonymous — your VPN provider sees all your traffic. You shift trust from ISP to VPN company
• VPNs do not stop malware — they encrypt transit, not endpoints. Malicious links are equally dangerous
• VPNs do not prevent tracking — cookies and fingerprinting identify you regardless of IP address
• VPNs can slow connections — routing through extra servers adds latency

The key question: do you trust your VPN provider more than your ISP? Some VPNs log and sell data just like ISPs do.