{"id":9049,"date":"2017-04-17T11:51:37","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T18:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hellotech.com\/?p=9049"},"modified":"2021-06-12T14:50:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T21:50:51","slug":"fake-vpn-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/fake-vpn-services","title":{"rendered":"Reports Say Shady VPN Services Are on the Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Not all virtual private networks (VPN) are made equal and some may be outright bogus. Do you know how to spot a fake one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve all got good reasons to be a little concerned about our online privacy nowadays. Besides the fact that hackers are busy stealing personal information, Internet service providers (ISPs) have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/trump-signs-measure-let-isps-sell-your-data-without-consent-n742316\">permitted to sell your online privacy<\/a> (including your Web browser history) to the highest bidder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many sought ways to protect themselves from such legalized invasion of privacy. Approaching VPNs came as a natural response to this dilemma. Unfortunately, fraud VPN services are popping up to take advantage of uninformed netizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-reported-incident\">The Reported Incident<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A <em>Motherboard<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/motherboard.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/phony-vpn-services-are-cashing-in-on-americas-war-on-privacy\">post<\/a> reported about a recent interaction with a seemingly fraudulent VPN service. The shady company, <em>MySafeVPN<\/em>, claimed that it\u2019s affiliated with <em>Boxee<\/em> and <em>Plex<\/em>\u2014both popular streaming media players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the report, <em>MySafeVPN<\/em>&nbsp;contacted a potential victim via email. It then emphasized the need for protecting one\u2019s privacy via VPNs in the light of recent legislations. After much skepticism and a thorough investigation, it turns out that the fake VPN service was simply capitalizing the now-widespread privacy fears for its own devious ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arguably, several others could be employing the same dirty tactic to lure unsuspecting users to pay for non-existent VPN services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-close-hard-look-at-vpn-services\">A Close, Hard Look at VPN Services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Signing up with a VPN service is, no doubt, an exercise of trust. You have to blindly believe that the data you leave in the company\u2019s hands are kept secure and private even if legit service providers aren\u2019t totally transparent about their data collection practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides this matter of concern, VPN companies have been notorious for being a mixed bag at best. Sometimes their service is spot-on; in other occasions, they may be spotty. Add tricksters to the mix and the industry may suffer even more criticisms than it currently does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As online privacy becomes a buzzword nowadays, though, people may have to consider giving VPNs a chance at redeeming themselves. Yet, as a precautionary measure, we all have to be sure that the company we\u2019re talking to now is a real one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-spotting-fake-vpns\">Spotting Fake VPNs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because VPN services could mean big bucks if you know how to set one up, it\u2019s no surprise that phony ones are sprouting left and right. To avoid the fakes, you\u2019ll have to keep a few tricks up your sleeves to see if the VPN provider you\u2019re going to sign up with is only putting on a good face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some easy ones you can try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ask-outright\">Ask outright<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Give the VPN company a call and don\u2019t be afraid to ask them questions about their brand. This may be, by far, the most straightforward way to verify whether they\u2019re trustworthy or not. Quiz them about their logging and data retention policies if you must. If the representative over the line seems a little perplexed by your queries and tends to beat around the bush with their reply, raise the red flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-google-the-company\">Google the company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As simple as it may sound, a simple web search could reveal a lot of info about a VPN provider. Be on the lookout for independent reviews and testimonials, preferably those not found on their official website. Take note of links pointing to their terms and conditions as well as their privacy policies. You may want to read them for reference, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gauge-their-understanding-of-the-vpn-technology\">Gauge their understanding of the VPN technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>All it takes is a few friends in different countries who are willing to run their own servers and they could essentially set up a small VPN. It doesn\u2019t take much to build a VPN concentrator. Keep in mind, though, that without the right technology, such a crude setup could render your privacy and security at risk of hacking and data theft. It goes without saying that a VPN provider should be well versed with the level of encryption they offer and the security features they provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-go-over-their-privacy-policy\">Go over their privacy policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The rule of thumb here? Know what you\u2019re getting into before signing up for anything on the Internet. Scour a VPN service provider\u2019s website for their privacy policy and try to find what they do with your logs. Some will say they don\u2019t keep them; others will keep \u201cwhatever logs are required by law\u201d. Either way, the company has to be transparent about the matter so its consumers won\u2019t be second-guessing whether they can be trusted with one\u2019s privacy or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because you\u2019re worried about your privacy doesn\u2019t mean you should just rush into choosing a VPN provider. Do your homework and take your time if you have to. Trust us\u2014a poorly made decision may cost you more than just your money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not all virtual private networks (VPN) are made equal and some may be outright bogus. Do you know how to spot a fake one? We\u2019ve all got good reasons to be a little concerned about our online privacy nowadays. Besides the fact that hackers are busy stealing personal information, Internet service providers (ISPs) have been permitted to sell your online privacy (including your Web browser history) to the highest bidder. Many sought ways to protect themselves from such legalized invasion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17587,17593],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-staying-safe"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.10 (Yoast SEO v20.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reports Say Shady VPN Services Are on the Rise - The Plug - HelloTech<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not all virtual private networks (VPN) are made equal and some may be outright bogus. Do you know how to spot a fake one?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hellotech.com\/blog\/fake-vpn-services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reports Say Shady VPN Services Are on the Rise - The Plug - HelloTech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not all virtual private networks (VPN) are made equal and some may be outright bogus. Do you know how to spot a fake one? 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