JVTech News Android: a hundred very popular applications are dangerous
Published on 06/13/2024 at 6:30 p.m.
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Using an application offering a free VPN can turn out to be a very bad idea: this is the observation made by a security expert who is sounding the alarm concerning a hundred programs available on Android.
Investing in a paid VPN usually costs a few euros per month, but for many users, that’s already too much. Fact, Many are turning to mobile applications offering free access to a VPN : of course, this saves them from paying money, but this approach can also lead them straight into a trap… Especially on a smartphone that runs Android.
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100 VPN apps tested and numerous security vulnerabilities
Simon Migliano is a VPN expert and is also the main author of the Top10VPN site. Accustomed to dissecting how these solutions work, he undertook to test 100 free applications promising access to a VPN on the Android platform. He was content to install the most popular ones, which account for no less than 2.5 billion downloads worldwide.
Surprise, or not: the vast majority of these applications present worrying security flaws. The expert explains in particular that “more than one in ten VPN applications have experienced encryption failures”while “nearly 90% of free VPN apps on Android leak data”which is obviously the opposite of what one expects from such a service.
Too weak encryption, unstable tunnels or even questionable authorization requests for smartphone functionalities are also present in many applications. “More than half (53%) of VPNs tested contained at least one feature and corresponding permission in their own source code that posed a potential risk to user privacy”, explains Simon Migliano.
Illustration: Midjourney
Apparently reliable VPNs
Some free VPNs tested by the expert are unknown to the battalion, but others, however, display a name that gives confidence. This is particularly the case with Kaspersky VPN: despite a recognized name in the field of online security, this free VPN is one of those singled out for DNS leaks. This kind of flaw completely jeopardizes the anonymity of the user who uses the VPN.
Simon Migliano’s article details his entire testing procedure and the seriousness is undeniably there. However, the flaws highlighted are, for the most part, impossible to detect without an expert eyewhich means that millions of people use a broken VPNt, with the risks that this may entail.
“My results confirm that the majority of free VPN apps put our privacy at risk by sending our personal data directly to third parties, including controversial companies like Bytedance and Yandex”adds the expert.
A risk that is not worth it
Simon Migliano deplores the fact that the use of these free VPNs has become more widespread despite the risks incurred by their users : “Given how free VPNs are often used to hide sensitive internet activity in regions with heavy censorship, it’s disappointing that so many people aren’t using a more secure encryption method. »
The solution is, unsurprisingly, toopt for a VPN recognized on the market, even if it means having to pay for it. You can notably turn to NordVPN, one of the best known, which regularly offers promotions.
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