Hi Guys,
A free VPN service aimed mainly at Asian users has been found guilty of exposing over 5.7 billion data entries. The staggering amount of users’ personal information that was sitting on the Internet for anyone to discover includes the following:
- User IDs
- Source IP addresses (exact location)
- Domain names visited
- Timestamps
And, to make matters even worse, this information was not anonymized, meaning every search can be traced back to a real person. This may not be a problem for some of us, but people in China and Russia, for example, use VPN services to access websites and services their government blocks. Because these people can now be tracked back to their front door, this leak will cause many problems worldwide.
In China, it is not 100% illegal to access websites using a VPN, but it is unlawful if they use them to criticize the actions of the Chinese government. Anything people said, good or bad using this free VPN can be traced back to their front door thanks to this leak. I feel terrible for the trouble this is going to cause many people.
In addition to the leaked data, an analysis of the Android app carried out by Aras Nazarovas from Cybernews showed that the VPN app is also capable of functioning as spyware and has remote code execution capabilities. Why would a VPN need to be able to:
- Access your camera
- Access your audio recording
- Modify your contacts
- Be able to install new software.
And also:
- Leak all VPN records
- Allow searches to be tracked back to the user
This app has spyware written all over it. Stay away.
How do you stay safe:
- Do not use a VPN called ‘Airplane Accelerates’
- Do not use a free VPN, ever. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Free means low quality at best and government spy tool at worst.
- Research your VPN before you use it. As reported by CyberNews, even the big names like SuperVPN were hacked earlier this year and they have also been exposed for keeping connection logs and other data to track and identify its users.
- If you live in a country with limited Internet access, do not rely on a VPN to keep you safe.
- If you are using one to watch TV shows in a different country, that is fine but don’t rely on them to protect you from prying government eyes.
Maybe we will make a VPN that you can trust. What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know 🙂
I wish you a great morning, day, or evening ahead.
All the best,
Max Roberts,
Incognito Privacy Care Team