[I Like Gold]

I only use a public, free VPN (VPNBook with OpenVPN) for things such as this forum website and some other websites, as it is as slow as my dead grandma.

Any VPN Is better than no VPN.

In terms of free VPNs (for basic navigation), If you haven't done so already, try "Hotspot Shield". In my experience, It seems to perform (speed-wise) better than other free alternatives.

Yes, but I don't think Hotspot Shield provides OpenVPN configuration files. I will never trust commercial VPN clients.