In the world of global Internet censorship more and more people consider using vpn. VPN or Virtual private Network is a secured encrypted tunnel that can hide your IP address and so helps to bypass any geo restrictions or web filters.
A great number of Internet users want Free VPN. Let’s find out is it safe?
Of course we are not talking about all vpn providers but if a service offer free vpn you must be very careful using it.
Few people know the statement
If you do not pay for the product – you are the product.
And this statement a always true especially in era of Internet.
So what problems you can face using free vpn solution?
1. Free VPNs can contain malware
SuperVPN
The CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) study detected that SuperVPN is one of the most malware-infected free VPN available. The CSIRO used a malware scanning tool, called VirusTotal, which combines the detection capabilities of more than 100 antivirus programs. It found 13 malware hits in the scan of SuperVPN’s programs. This includes adware, Trojans, malvertising, riskware and spyware.
Betternet
Betternet ranked one place below SuperVPN in the CSIRO study, but it had the same number of malware instances at 13. The code of this VPN was also found to contain 14 different third-party tracking libraries. To make matters worse, users who bother to read the terms and conditions of Betternet find out the service has the right to sell on any or all user information that it collects.
CrossVPN
Of the five categories of malware detected by VirusTotal, CrossVPN was found to be particularly notable for the high number of Trojans that it contained. This free VPN had a total number of 11 examples of malware detected in its code.
Archie VPN
Archie VPN has only 10,000 downloads, but has an approval rating of 4.3 stars from those who installed it. This is fishy from the very start, since high approval ratings usually go hand in hand with a high number of downloads. The fact that it was found to contain 10 instances of malware makes it doubly suspicious.
HatVPN
HatVPN has only been downloaded onto 5,000 devices from the Google Android apps store. However, those users who contributed to its rating of four stars seem to have been unaware that the VPN contains malware. The VirusTotal test found 10 instances of malware in this software, which equals Archie VPN’s malware count.
One Click VPN
One Click VPN is the last in our list that were busted for malware in the CSIRO study. Its six incidences of malware that were revealed by the VirusTotal test make it the ninth-worst VPN in the world and the sixth-worst free VPN for malware. It also does not encrypt its traffic, negating its use as a security tool.
2. Many free vpns track your Internet activity
Flash Free VPN
Flash Free VPN is notable for containing 11 third-party tracking systems. That puts it just second in the world as the VPN with the most tracked users — Betternet is the number one.
Hotspot Shield VPN
Hotspot Shield incorporates five different third-party tracking libraries. The procedures of the service insert JavaScript code in the Web pages that it transports. The company runs an ad placement service and redirects users to Alibaba and eBay trader web pages, adding in an affiliate code to the company’s ad-placement account.
Hotspot Shield’s terms of service explicitly states that they participate in data sharing with third-parties and the collection of web browsing data.
Wifi Protector VPN
This service also uses five different tracking libraries and manipulates the display of advertising in displayed websites to ensure the visibility of advertisers that pay the service for the privilege, making you little more than another resource in their business model.
ip-shield VPN
Almost impossible to find in a Google search, this VPN has more than 100,000 installs on the Android app store. Ominously, their app download page announces that they have now removed all advertising. However, they are here on our list for containing third-party tracking software.
SurfEasy
SurfEasy is another free VPN that uses tracking codes in its transfers to deliver targeted adverts to its users. The company’s terms of service gives them the right to sell on or share activity data with third parties.
3. Security Risks
Opera “Free VPN”
The free VPN that is available with the Opera browser is not a VPN at all, but actually a web proxy. This is because it does not employ any encryption, so you don’t have the tunneling privacy that the name of the service would suggest. Opera’s privacy policies make no secret of its collection of user activity data and its rights to share that information with third parties.
VPNGate
Created and run by the students at University of Tsukuba, Japan, this VPN uses the private computers of volunteers to operate as its servers. The VPN managers have almost no vetting procedures for node operators, and so just about anyone could be handling your traffic.
Furthermore, the VPN’s privacy policy states that “analyzing VPN Connection Log is helpful to investigate the source global IP address of him. We will disclosure the VPN Connection Logs to a policeman, a prosecutor, a lawyer or a court who is authorized by applicable laws.”
Tigervpns
Tigervpns also operates under the name HideMe VPN. Testers discovered unaccounted-for traffic channeling through their connections, which implies that the company uses the accounts of customers to act as servers for other users, similar to the unsafe peer-to-peer method used by Hola.
Analysis of Tigervpn’s traffic also identified calls to non-existent IP addresses, which is typical control behavior used by botnets. Researchers also discovered malware in this VPN.
Note that this is not the same service as tigerVPN, which seems to have better credentials.
Private WiFi
Private WiFi is a little secretive about its encryption system, saying on its website only that it uses 128-bit “bank grade” encryption. VPNs offering full security typically use 256-bit key encryption and have no problem explaining to users which encryption systems they use — usually AES or Blowfish.
So to summarize we must say that free vpn can be very dangerous and sure this does not worth a money you can pay for reliable and secure paid vpn service.
