Time Mine: Why VPNs Are Dangerous
Many users believe that a VPN is a guarantee of safe and anonymous web surfing. In many ways, as recent research has shown, this is no more than a delusion. It turned out that many services are not able to properly ensure network security, and some themselves transfer data to third parties. Why you should abandon free VPN services and carefully read the privacy policy - in the material "Gazeta.Ru".tc bolts
What VPNs do
A virtual private network (VPN) is touted as a secure way to hide network activity because it directs user traffic through private servers. But a recent Consumer Reports study questions the privacy and security of many popular VPNs. The report highlights many criticisms of private network providers, such as lack of
transparency and inadequate security practices.
The researchers note that VPN providers often exaggerate or
mislead users with their claims about the performance of their services,
promising top-notch security. Consumers believe VPNs can make them “invisible”
on the Internet, as companies promise unrivaled anonymity and privacy, hacker protection
and online snooping.
As it turns out, nearby are still many ways in which
cybercriminals, large companies and targeting experts can track virtually all
user activity and data, even if the IP address remains hidden.
The report notes that many of the risks that users are
trying to protect themselves from with a VPN have already been largely
mitigated by many sites using HTTPS.
The experts also tested the automatic shutdown in the event
of a VPN connection failure, which should protect the user's traffic. When
checking it, it turned out that the popular services Le VPN and Speedify let
through user traffic when the connection was unstable, as a result of which a
data leak occurred. At the same time, other VPN services also compromised the
user's confidential data, but to a lesser extent, allowing all non-browser
traffic to pass through.
According to the results of the training, out of 16
services, only four were identified that Consumer Report could recommend for
use - Mullvad, Private Internet Access (PIA), IVPN and Mozilla VPN.
Some of the poorly rated VPN services are not available in
Russia. So, in September, six services, including Hola! VPN and Speedify were
blocked by Roskomnadzor for violating Russian law. In early December, it also
became known that the supervisor had warned of the impending blocking of six
more VPN projects.
Why VPN isn't secure
Many people think that a VPN really protects personal data,
unlike a regular provider that uses a user's IP address, Anastasia Ilyicheva,
business analyst of the Gem4me messenger, told Gazeta.Ru. VPN masks the IP
address by redirecting it through a specially configured remote server,
“The ISP and other third parties will not be able to track
which sites you visit and what data you enter. VPN acts like a filter, making
all the information sent and received into nonsense. But a VPN, by definition,
does not protect 100%, it masks your address and hides your browser history,
and it will not protect you from viruses. Choose a VPN carefully; free services
are unlikely to be a good choice. Anything of high quality costs money,
”concluded Ilyicheva.
Anton Ponomarev , director of ESET's corporate business
department , added that VPN providers spend a lot of money on ensuring the
operation of international servers, salaries for employees and rental of
premises, but this is somehow paid by users - with money or personal data.
“Most free VPNs for Android and iOS contain unacceptable
clauses in privacy policies, from opaque data transfer structures to tracking
user activity. 80% of the most popular free VPN services in the AppStore
transfer personal data to third parties and do not hesitate to declare this in
small print in user agreements, ”Ponomarev notes.
He said that CSIRO researchers found that more than a third
(38%) of free VPN services for Android contain malware. Moreover, many of the
dangerous applications are highly rated and have been downloaded millions of
times.
One of the main annoying features of free VPNs is annoying
ads that sometimes can't be turned off. Such applications are designed to
exploit loopholes in smartphone functions that the user has given access to
during installation.
“Some VPN providers take internet speed and resell it. As a
result, two problems arise, one of which is obvious: websites take longer to
open. But the second problem is similar to a time bomb: theoretically, a user
can become part of an illegal community that uses that part of the traffic for
criminal purposes, ”said the expert.
Ponomarev noted that this is exactly the scheme used by the
Hola VPN service. He stealthily took bandwidth and sold it to cybercriminals to
create a botnet.
When choosing a VPN, you need to understand that there is no
universal service. Some providers offer to open inaccessible sites, others rely
on confidentiality, and others on security. Moreover, some VPN applications are
designed for opposite purposes: collecting data and spying on the user.