Using a virtual private network (VPN) gives you an additional layer of privacy protection while searching the net. If you don’t want to have your personal data sold to third parties, a VPN will keep your information safe. Connecting to the internet using VPN encrypts all the data that travels between your device and your VPN provider’s server.
VPN-based solutions are used, for example, in corporate networks, where remote users work from their homes on unsecured connections. Virtual private networks are quite useful, but as Thunder VPN review shows, it is not always as safe and flawless as it might seem.
VPN is a smart way to search the internet. It lets you hide from prying eyes and allows you to remain anonymous. It works as a shield protecting you from possible cyber attacks. You have to admit – it all sounds great! But let’s think for a minute if it’s not too good to be true.
In this article, we will disassemble this subject into basic elements to check whether free VPNs are safe for their users. After reading it, you will be able to draw conclusions and make the best choice.
Tracking Your Data
Unfortunately, you need to know that no VPN provider will give you completely free access to their services. Free VPN ensures that your internet services provider (ISP) won’t see your data and your browsing history, but what is never mentioned? VPN providers can keep track of you instead.
What does it mean in practice? Data is the most valuable currency on the internet, and selling it gives a lot of profit. The truth is rather sad. Your free VPN is most probably collecting information about your activity and is selling it to some clients. Those clients are marketing agencies that use user’s data for analytics and creating better ads.
Redirecting Your Queries
The internet serves us well most of the time. But what happens when you try to enter a given webpage and the browser’s response after clicking on a given link leads you to a completely different place on the web. It is surprising, and eventually irritating. But most importantly – it’s dangerous.
This unplanned redirection of the query means that your VPN service takes over your browser. This so-called “browser hijacking” leads you to enter partnering domains of e-commerce traffic. Even if your VPN provider promises that you are safe, your privacy is enhanced, and that ad-free browsing is within your reach – you need to be cautious because most often, they want to get rich at your expense.
Malware
Malicious software is a program that has a harmful effect on a computer system and its user. It has been intended for the wrong purpose and operates against the user’s expectations.
Malware includes backdoors – they take control of an infected computer. Backdoors allow intruders to control the operating system over the internet. They then act against the victim’s knowledge and will.
There are also very dangerous keyloggers that read and record all of the user’s keystrokes. This allows addresses, codes, and other confidential data to fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, using a free VPN can carry the risk of installing malware on your device.
Stealing Your Data Transfer
Another threat of using free VPN services is that it can steal your data transfer and sell it to other organizations. The bandwidth is critical in obtaining the desired internet speed. So if something is limiting your access to it, you simply have a slow internet connection.
No one would want to have their computer’s resources used without their knowledge. It is just taking advantage of users who have trusted in services presented in a very attractive and trustworthy way.
Selling user’s bandwidth without their knowledge is denying promises given initially in the descriptions of various VPN services. The best defense is to realize that no service is completely free, and you should be aware that using their services comes at a price. This price is often the security of your data.
Conclusion
It would help if you remembered that nothing is ever completely free. Your VPN provider may actually try to collect some personal data and then sell it to third parties without your permission. Internet usage history, as well as your IP address, are not hidden when using free VPNs. That is why it is worth thinking about paying even a small amount of money not to be tracked.
Of course, using a free VPN is not always as bad as it may seem. It’s safer than using proxy servers. But often, the sense of security is only superficial. Therefore, paid VPN turns out to be the best option for connecting to the internet. Privately.
©Paula Sieracka