Some VPNs may collect more information than users anticipate, and in some cases expose that data too. White said this is done in the pursuit of malware prevention, but that "is just a different way of saying 'intercepting your (otherwise) encrypted web and mail traffic.'" One risk is some VPN providers use self-signed root CAs, which allow the creator to read encrypted traffic coming from a computer. "It’s time we retire the stock advice to get a personal VPN." Security researcher Kenn White added that "for the vast majority of consumers, commercial VPN services add very little value and frankly most incur more security risk for the user." "Browsers have made it harder and more frightening to bypass security warnings and have updated the UI to call attention to non-HTTPS connections (since loading content over HTTPS is the expected behavior)," Lord added. Google also prioritizes HTTPS sites in its search results, Lord said, which can have the knock-on effect of incentivizing websites that care about their search engine optimization to make the switch, and ushering users to sites that use encryption. Whereas it used to cost money for a website administrator to get a HTTPS certificate, now essentially any site can get one. Let's Encrypt was started in 2012, and today over 250 million websites use the organization's certificates, according to Let's Encrypt's website. Huge portions of the internet have been encrypted thanks to Let's Encrypt, the nonprofit Certificate Authority (CA) which offers encryption certificates to websites for free. That’s compared to around 25 percent in January 2014. Lord pointed to how nearly 93 percent of all page loads in Firefox in the U.S. YouTubers sponsored by ExpressVPN, for example, have said "Don't let hackers steal your financial details," and "Working from home? Protect your sensitive data with an extra layer of security."īut most of the heavily used web is already encrypted in some form. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, or email main promise of a VPN is that it will encrypt your web traffic, so perhaps your ISP can't see what sites you're visiting or a hacker on the same public wifi network can't snoop and capture your credit card information as you make an online purchase. Giving everyone advice that only pertains to some people misdirects them from the steps that will actually help them secure their digital lives."ĭo you have information on VPN companies misleading their customers, or anything else? We'd love to hear from you. "Most people do not need personal VPNs today because the internet is much safer than it was in 2010. "It’s time we retire the stock advice to get a personal VPN," Bob Lord, former chief security officer at the Democratic National Committee, told Motherboard in an email.
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