Virtual Private Networks are a popular way to keep your online activities private and hide your physical location in Internet service providers and applications. However, choosing a secure VPN is obviously important.
Three university researchers found that the 18 most commonly used VPN Share the infrastructure with serious security flaws that can expose customers’ browsing activity and leave their systems vulnerable to corrupted data. These VPNs are among the 100 most popular in the Google Play store, including over 700 million downloads.
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this Peer review research Through the “Privacy Enhancement Technology” workshop, these VPNs, despite claiming to be separate businesses, are actually divided into three separate corporate families.
Nothing to do Recommended VPN – ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN and Mullvad – in the list. (If you don’t have a VPN at the moment, That’s why you might want to start using one)
According to the survey results, here are three groups of 18 VPNs:
- family: Turbo VPN, Turbo VPN Lite, VPN Monster, VPN Proxy Master, VPN Proxy Master Lite, Robot VPN, SNAP VPN and SuperNet VPN
- Family b: Global VPN, INF VPN, Melon VPN, Super Z VPN, Touch VPN, VPN Promaster, XY VPN and 3X VPN
- Family c: X-VPN and Fast Potato VPN
The researchers determined that VPNs in Home A were shared among three providers associated with Qihoo 360, which was identified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a Chinese military company. VPNs in Home B use the same IP address of the same hosting company.
Learn about your VPN’s parent company
CNET senior writer Attila Tomaschek said it’s a cautionary tale about why it’s important to know the people behind the VPN you’re using.
“It is also crucial to know what data a VPN provider shares with parent and affiliated entities,” Tomaschek said. “Some of these companies may even be forced to record customer activity and share it with authorities, depending on the jurisdiction in which they operate.”
Despite the warning, Tomaschek said it is not easy to figure out who controls your VPN. But he said there are some measures that customers can take.
“There are some things users can do to help ensure the VPN they are using is trustworthy,” Tomaschek said. “Check privacy policies – especially terms like ‘record’ data sharing’ or ‘data collection’. Google’s search of providers can help determine if a VPN is involved in suspicious activity.
Pet researchers examined the most downloaded VPNs on Android, looking for overlap between business paperwork, network presence and code base. After determining the code similarity, they were able to divide 18 VPNs into three groups. The study was initially stimulated by VPN Pro’s own discovery,”Who owns your VPN? Only 24 companies operate 105 VPNs. ”
CNET’s Tomaschek has advice for anyone using one of these 18 VPNs.
“I recommend removing it from your device immediately,” he said. “If you suspect any sensitive personal data may have been compromised, keep an eye on your credit report and check out services such as Dark Web Monitoring or Identity Theft Protection.”
