“While there are advantages to the use of VPN applications, they are not without risk,” DHS Cybersecurity Director Christopher Krebs told US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in a letter made public on Tuesday.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, encrypt your internet connection and route traffic through a server controlled by the VPN provider. This can make the applications appealing to consumers worried about their privacy or who want to visit the web from a server located in another part of the world.
“Millions of consumers have downloaded these apps, some of which are made by foreign companies in countries that do not share American interests or values,” the senators said at the time.
Summation: be cautious and don’t use any free VPN products.
You can read a lot more in an article by Michael Kan in the PCmag web site at: https://www.pcmag.com/news/368659/dhs-spying-risk-from-foreign-vpns-is-real.
NOTE: While not mentioned in the article, I would trust ONE free VPN product: Proton VPN is probably the only free VPN product to enjoy a good reputation. You can read more about Proton VPN by starting at: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Aprivacyblog.com+%22protonvpn%22&atb=v132-2_j&ia=web and also at: https://protonvpn.com.
Categories: Online Privacy & Security, VPN (Virtual Private Networking)
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Privacy Blog 