Verizon mobile hotspot internet service

Seeking info/advice on the following:

What is the total monthly charge with taxes/fees (49.99 + ?)

Can the wifi connection between laptop and mobile hotspot device be secured? Would this be like setting up a conventional wireless router? I could get a USB plug-in modem but that limits the flexibility of using it with multiple and/or non-USB devices (e.g. tablet)

Is there a better option for mobile internet? I’ll be moving around some in the next months; I’ve already terminated my Brighthouse cable internet and am surviving for now on public wifi hotspots which is obviously less than ideal. I’m looking at Verizon for the strong nationwide network. I use a Net10 prepaid phone for voice calls @ $25/mo. for sufficient minutes. I think it would get tiresome quickly having only a smartphone for all my internet usage.

Thanks…

I have a Verizon MiFi 4G LTE. I like it a lot.

Anywho, each unit comes with it’s own special password. So it is secure.

I don’t get 4G, and my down speed hovers around 1Mbps. For the $50 I get 5 Gb per month. Not much by todays standards. Understand though, I’m used to DirectWay. Which is serviceable, but very slow.

For me it works quite well.

I went ahead and signed up. Got the Samsung hotspot modem which does have WPA security, can even do MAC addressing like a regular home router. Fast 4G LTE service. I just have to watch my data usage, limited to 5GB/mo. so I try to avoid a lot of videos. Not sure yet what the monthly total will be but probably around $55 or so - a little high but the portability is great. I’m hoping competition will force Verizon to lower the prices so I can switch to a cheaper contract. I also got $100 off an Asus Transformer 10" tablet which is sweet.