Are all VPNs safe? The answer is no. It is true that we have many options available both free and paid, but by no means all will work the same and they will maintain security at the same level. We are going to show what are the most common scams that we can find if we decide to use a VPN and in this way be prepared to avoid problems.
Common pitfalls of VPNs
We can say that hackers use many tricks to steal data or infect our computers. They can be based on certain strategies, such as sneaking malware by e-mail, using fraudulent web pages or, as is the case with VPNs, using programs that are actually bait.
And yes, a VPN program can be very insecure . They could have access to everything we send and receive over the Internet, the passwords, know what sites we visit, where we are … At the end of the day, all this has great value and this type of software can be the perfect weapon. For this reason, it is convenient to know the main traps they can use. There are many problems that affect the VPN connection.
Free VPN as bait
By far the most common trap is trying to sneak in a free VPN that is actually a scam and can put your security at risk. We have always said in this article that these types of free programs are not good, since they usually collect personal data, work slowly and end up being a problem.
If we come across a page where we are invited to download a free VPN, especially when it is one that we know is paid, we should be suspicious. It may be a scam for us to download malware or it could actually be a VPN that works, but it will not keep our privacy and will be used by an attacker to steal information.
Policy without registration
Another very common deception is to indicate that it has a no log or no log policy but it is actually a lie. What does this mean? A good VPN is not going to record the sites we visit, or when or where we connect. On the other hand, a fake one, which is not good for privacy, will collect all this.
This means that we must make sure very well what program we are installing. The ideal is to see comments in reliable sources, inform us about that program and, also, read very well what we are accepting. In this way we will see if it is really going to record the data or not.
False reviews
But we can find another trap when installing a VPN and that is that we find positive evaluations on the network and that are actually false. Cybercriminals constantly use social engineering and create strategies to achieve their goals. If they want us to download a program and make us believe that it is safe, they can manipulate the ratings and comments.
When we are going to take into account these comments on the Internet, we must always do so on sites that are reliable. We must not trust the first page we find where they tell us that this VPN is good and that we are not going to have problems.
Number of servers or countries
We must also mention the number of servers that a VPN allows to connect and the countries it supports. They can use a bait to invite us to download a program and it really won’t work as they tell us. For example, in the number of servers available or being able to connect in a certain country.
This is not always going to affect our security and privacy, since sometimes all they get is that we lose time and have to look for a different one, but it could be linked to a strategy to get us to download something. Having many servers can prevent the VPN from continually disconnecting.
In short, there are different scams that we can find when installing a VPN. We must always check that what we are installing is safe, that it will work well and that it will not be a problem for our security at all.