VPN is a tunnel over the Internet, so the content of the requests is unknown to the provider. Vitaly Fomin, the information security expert of the Digital Economy League, told socialbites.ca how to protect your device when using a VPN.
“The VPN working principle is as follows: the user connects to the server not directly, but through intermediaries. The connection speed is decreasing, but the possibility of establishing a secure connection to a remote workplace and bypassing the blocking of Internet resources remains, ”explained the expert.
The speed of a VPN depends on the bandwidth of the servers and the protocols used, which are constantly being improved. No additional privacy or anonymity is provided when connecting to a VPN – data is transferred from the regular provider to the owner of the VPN server. Therefore, you need to be prepared for third parties to receive personal information.
“Paid and free VPN apps have their pros and cons. For example, free services analyze traffic and provide this information for advertising purposes. In fact, the user pays for the service with privacy, not money. The quality of the VPN connection is higher due to the use of faster servers in paid services. Despite the lack of verified data, owners of paid VPN services are significantly more likely to build more reliable privacy protection systems than free apps,” Fomin emphasized.
Processing important information via VPN services is not recommended: logins and passwords, bank card data, etc. It is impossible to invent completely secure systems, paid or not, so it is important to independently restrict access to personal information. The information security expert said that the weakest link in any chain is people.
“You should definitely analyze what permissions you need to provide the VPN service. For example, it’s not uncommon for an app to request access to a location, messages, or camera. These permissions should not exist – they are unnecessary, they can be used for tracking. Such apps should only be installed through official stores where they are tested before being made available to users. When downloading a VPN service, you should specify the number of installations to use only proven solutions. If the app has been downloaded less than a thousand times, it is better to avoid it,” he said.
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.