{"id":27038,"date":"2023-01-02T14:56:44","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T14:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/02\/should-you-trust-your-vpn\/"},"modified":"2023-01-02T14:56:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T14:56:44","slug":"should-you-trust-your-vpn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/02\/should-you-trust-your-vpn\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Trust Your VPN?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The best way to determine if a VPN is worthy of your trust is how transparent it is about how it handles your data. Look for blogs explaining its practices and third-party audit reports verifying the provider’s trustworthiness.<\/p>\n

VPNs love to claim that they keep users\u2019 data private and their browsing anonymous. However, because of the way VPNs work<\/a>, you\u2019re taking them at their word on most of this, meaning that you\u2019re trusting them to keep you safe. Should you, though?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an easy question to answer. There are VPNs that shouldn\u2019t be trusted<\/a> for any number of reasons, and there are also ones that are likely safe to use. After all, we have a selection of the best VPNs<\/a> we recommend to our readers; we wouldn\u2019t do that if we felt there were no trustworthy VPNs.<\/p>\n

Why Do You Need to Trust Your VPN?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at why the question is even important, first. We use virtual private networks<\/a> to hide what we do online and to spoof our location. The reason we\u2019re hiding our online activity can be simply to avoid scrutiny from marketers, or could be because we\u2019re torrenting<\/a> files or trying to avoid surveillance from authoritarian governments.<\/p>\n

However, while you may be hiding from Big Brother, the VPN also has the potential to have a lot of information about you. For example, most of them will have your email address, and if you paid by credit card<\/a>, they likely have your name and home address, too\u2014it\u2019s why we recommend signing up anonymously<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On top of that, VPN providers also could know what you were doing online the whole time you were connected, negating much of the VPN\u2019s usefulness entirely. To prevent this from happening, VPNs promise that they\u2019re no-log VPNs<\/a>, services that destroy any record of your online activity. After all, if there\u2019s no record, there\u2019s nothing to sell to marketers or to hand over to the authorities.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s very hard to prove that logs are destroyed<\/a>, meaning that the claims VPNs make of protecting your anonymity are taken on faith. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to make sure a VPN is worth your trust.<\/p>\n

History Matters<\/h2>\n

Just like with people, one important way to predict a VPN provider\u2019s future behavior is to look at its past actions. After all, if you lent your buddy Bob 20 bucks two months ago and he never gave it back, you\u2019d probably not lend him another $20 if he asked again.<\/p>\n

So, if you like a certain provider, but you\u2019re not sure about it, we recommend you do some sleuthing to examine its past. For example, if you were thinking of signing up to Hola VPN, but searched the term first, you\u2019d quickly come face to face with a litany of reports about the company\u2019s past problems\u2014the report by CNET<\/a> is the most comprehensive.<\/p>\n

In short, Hola VPN works by letting users use each other\u2019s bandwidth\u2014effectively letting you use another person\u2019s computer to access the internet from their location. However, because of its poor security, it was easy for botnet operators<\/a> to run amok, hijacking users\u2019 internet connections and even enslaving users\u2019 computers into their botnets.<\/p>\n

Another example is PureVPN<\/a>, which a few years ago assisted the FBI<\/a> in catching a cyberstalker. There\u2019s no doubt the person in question was deeply unpleasant, but it still worried a lot of PureVPN\u2019s customers that the company had so readily cooperated with law enforcement\u2014or that it had any information to hand over in the first place.<\/p>\n

PureVPN defended its actions by pointing out<\/a> that it has a policy against cyberstalking as well as a no-logs policy. Also, PureVPN threads the needle a bit by saying that the logs it shared with the police weren\u2019t browsing logs, but instead connection logs. It seems like a razor-thin distinction, and we dinged PureVPN pretty badly in our review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Does Your VPN\u2019s Location Matter?<\/h2>\n

Another factor you may consider is\u00a0where your VPN is based<\/a>. If VPN marketing materials are to be believed, being headquartered in Switzerland, the British Virgin Islands, Panama, or wherever else is almost a guarantee your data will be safe.<\/p>\n

In practice, though, it\u2019s not as clear-cut. Naturally, a VPN that\u2019s based in China is likely not too trustworthy, seeing as how the internet is curtailed<\/a> there. Other than that, though, location doesn\u2019t matter too much. As long as your VPN destroys your data, you should be safe. The question becomes, then, how do you know that your VPN actually does that?<\/p>\n

A Look Into the Kitchen<\/h2>\n

Probably the most important factor to consider when choosing a VPN, though, is whether or not it\u2019s open about its operations. To that end, many VPNs will now let auditors run loose in their operations for a while, after which a report will be published that gives a recommendation for consumers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pretty good system, though it comes with some issues. Some auditors have a stellar reputation\u2014take Cure53<\/a>, for example, a non-profit foundation\u2014while others, like the major accounting firms, do not. Accusations of corruption surrounding the Big Four accounting firms<\/a> abound, and as such, it\u2019s important to know who performed the audit and draw your own conclusions from there.<\/p>\n

Better yet are VPNs that will tell you how their system works. A good example here is ExpressVPN<\/a>, which in a detailed blog post went over how its TrustedServer technology worked\u2014we say \u201cworked\u201d because the original post has been taken down, though you can still read\u00a0our discussion of TrustedServer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

VPN Transparency<\/h3>\n

The best solution of all is if a service is entirely transparent. This is the sales pitch for decentralized VPNs<\/a>, which promise to use blockchain<\/a> technology to give users insight into how their VPNs work. That said, so far none of them have made it happen, and there\u2019s no indication when they will.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, there are also VPNs that are very honest about what they can and cannot do<\/a>. One good example is IVPN<\/a>, which on its web page explains what VPNs are designed for and when you don\u2019t need to sign up for one. Though it may hurt the company\u2019s bottom line, its honesty is refreshing\u2014and inspires confidence.<\/p>\n

However, the most promising development of all may be what\u2019s called a user-audited VPN. The service that coined the phrase is Mullvad<\/a>, a Sweden-based VPN with a great reputation and track record for privacy\u2014read our Mullvad review<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n

According to a blog post<\/a>, the goal is to eventually set Mullvad up in a system where any user at any time can see how it works. Of course, you wouldn\u2019t be able to see what anybody else using the VPN is doing, but you could track what\u2019s going on with your data.<\/p>\n

Should You Trust Your VPN?<\/h2>\n

If trust is the goal, then Mullvad\u2019s transparency effort will likely become the gold standard soon. It would mean that we no longer have to take VPNs at their word, nor even would need to trust auditors and the credibility issues some of them have. This way, you would be able to remove trust from the equation entirely: you could check for yourself if a service is treating your data with the respect it deserves.<\/p>\n

That kind of transparency makes it easier to trust a VPN, and should make choosing the right one<\/a> a lot easier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n