SSH tunnel encryption

I am currently piggy backing on a public network wifi to access the web. I don't have a home network wifi so this has to do. One thing that I am cautious about is that all my data that is going though the public unsecure network is not protected. It is fine just to use the public wifi for web surfing but I also check email and need my wifi encrypted. I signed up with Secure-tunnel dot com for data encryption service. I am on the 9.99 SSH tunneling plan. It is a small price to pay for a secure piece of mind, huh?. I feel better knowing my log on are safe though the service encryption. If I was to access the net at a mall that has free wifi all data transmitting over the air there is protected by 128 to 1048 bits encryption. VPN is also a good service too. It is popular because all encryption on all ports are done for you. SSH is more hands on and you have to assign each port yourself.