Top free VPN apps on Android ridden with malware and privacy leaks
Free VPN apps not really free! Well, I’ll be damned!
“Free VPN apps” - there’s your problem. The only way to get a free VPN is to cycle through free trials - https://allthingsyouneedtoknow.com/free-vpn/
The full test results on the VPNs, are here (you’ll need very good eyes)
https://www.top10vpn.com/assets/2019/01/Top10VPN-Free-VPN-Risk-Index-Network-Test-Results.pdf
More in the media
More than 25 % of the 150 most popular free VPNs in the Google Play Store do not adequately protect users’ privacy, and up to 85 % of them open users up to various security vulnerabilities
It’s actually annoying how “VPN” has become synonymous with these commercial services
Actually free and open source, and full of awesome: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wireguard.android&hl=en_US
Project home page: this is somewhat technical: https://www.wireguard.com/
The app I use to get a wireguard server going: https://github.com/trailofbits/algo I run them on Digital Ocean, Google Cloud and Amazon AWS.
If you’re not paying for using someone’s resources (servers, bandwidth, etc) then someone else is.
So, ask yourself, what does that someone else get in return?
The answer is - you. Your data.
There are enough free or pretty cheap VPN providers that won’t be collecting your data. https://vpn-review.com/ these ones for example, and many others.
As far as I care, Hola /IS/ malware. They’ll sell use of your data to businesses under their Luminati proxy service.
Never trust any free app, VPN or otherwise.
Plugging in CactusVPN. It’s pretty cheap, doesn’t log, and works on virtually any OS including Android.
Nothing is free in this world.
“Free”
That’s your answer right there, if you’re not paying for something you are the product
Just use PIA instead. It isn’t free (costs $40 a year), but is totally worth it.
If you’re not paying anything for the product then YOU are the product.
OpenSource software being one of the few exceptions.
Why do people need it spelled out for them continuously… If you aren’t paying for it: YOU are the product.
Would be fantastic if people could just wrap their head around that basic concept.
In Chrome/Desktop: Ctrl and + to zoom in, or hold Ctrl and scroll up. Ctrl and 0 to reset.
Opera VPN is an app owned by SurfEasy, which is no longer part of Opera Software
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/01/11/opera-vpn-disappeared-play-store-without-explanation/ (2018)
and has been reviewed in detail here
More about this VPN:
The Opera “VPN” is technically a secure proxy service. It encrypts only the Opera browser’s traffic and routes it through a server operated by Canadian VPN provider SurfEasy. Opera won’t protect other web browsers or stand-alone email clients. A true VPN would encrypt every piece of internet data going to and from a device, no matter the application handling the data
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/opera-vpn,review-4496.html (2017 - updated 2018)
and
Though the free VPN that is available with the Opera browser does encrypt your outgoing data, it only does so for browser traffic, making it less than ideal for people seeking true anonymity online. Though the company defends this by openly stating that they are not a true VPN but rather a “browser VPN,” we feel there is some room for a charge of false advertising, here. On top of that, it is unclear which privacy policy (that of Opera or that of SurfEasy, above) applies to the browser VPN, making for muddled waters, indeed
They got some negative comments here
They’ll be farming all of your data and selling it off to the highest bidder. Some people don’t seem to realise that your traffic is only private to those parties outside your VPN provider. The VPN providers themselves see everything you’re accessing/visiting.
This one?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alohamobile.browser
Aloha isn’t mentioned on this list of test results
https://www.top10vpn.com/assets/2019/01/Top10VPN-Free-VPN-Risk-Index-Network-Test-Results.pdf