Tech

4 VPNs and an alternative to anonymize traffic on Android

The vpn for android They have become a tool to take into account, especially if you have not contracted a large amount of data for the mobile flat rate. In that situation one is tempted, or even the need, to resort to public Wi-Fi networks that are usually quite dangerous.

The danger of public Wi-Fi networks is something that we have covered in other posts. On many occasions the password of the Wi-Fi network is exposed to the public, so anyone who approaches can obtain it. It does not take a lynx to realize that, as a consequence, it is very likely that a malicious actor has taken over the password to see if he can catch an unsuspecting user to steal sensitive data and / or spread malware.

The reason why a VPN is a good defense when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks is because it is responsible for extending a private network through another public to allow users to send and receive data as if their devices were directly connected to a private network, thereby achieving significant benefits in functionality, security and privacy. Putting this more bluntly, a VPN encrypts the connection from computing devices to the web services and servers it accesses, obfuscating IP and location in the process by funneling traffic through a proxy server and preventing third parties from being able to snoop on user activities.

But in addition to protecting themselves by connecting to public Wi-Fi that does not generate trust, VPNs are also used by people to bypass the strong restrictions present in countries like China, where fundamental rights are systematically trampled on. Thanks to the fact that they provide access to resources that are not accessible from the public network, they are widely used by teleworkers and in companies.

Seeing the utilities that they can have and how prudent their use is in certain contexts, we are going to mention four VPN solutions and one alternative to these available for Android that are responsible for anonymizing traffic and protecting data in those situations in which it is very likely that there are malicious actors waiting for their opportunity.

vpn for android

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a solution with powerful cross-platform support by supporting Windows, Mac, Linux, Routers, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Kindle Fire, Nook devices, PlayStation, Apple TV, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV and Nintendo Switch. In order to integrate with browsers, it offers extensions for Google Chrome and Firefox. The former should support any Chromium-based browser.

One aspect in which it seems to shine is performance, with a rather slight loss in connection speed compared to a direct connection to the Internet, which can be restricted depending on the geographical area or compromised if we are talking about a public Wi-Fi .

Other features of ExpressVPN are that does not store user data, a kill button and protection against data leaks. Of course, at least through Android you have a seven-day trial. After exceeding this period, the user will have to checkout, with an annual plan recommended by the company that costs 8.14 euros per month.

surf shark

surf shark is another solution with powerful cross-platform support spanning Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Firefox, and Chrome (the web browsers with extensions). To protect data transmitted over your network and ensure privacy, it offers AES-256-GCM and RSA-2048 encryption, limited simultaneous connections, and perfect forward secrecy. Its web browser extensions are designed in a way that tries to avoid leaks by using WebRTC, an open source project aimed at providing web browsers and mobile applications with real-time communication through dedicated APIs.

Surfshark has a “multihop” option when routing connections through two servers in your virtual private network. Also, it has other features like ad blocking, tracker blockingaccess to a privacy-friendly search engine, and a tool that tracks email address against data breach lists.

Surfshark also offers a seven-day trial and a thirty-day refund and then recommends a two-year plan that costs 2.29 euros per month.

NordVPN

Like the other solutions, NordVPN It has powerful cross-platform support that spans Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Android TV, Chrome, and Firefox (of course, web browser support is covered by extensions).

At the level of features, it also makes P2P sharing support available, a sService called Double VPN which consists of a second layer of encryption, Tor support through the VPN network and even a dedicated IP in case you run a VPN that also acts as a server. On Android, a 7-day trial is offered and then the company recommends a biannual plan that costs 4.69 euros per month for the first two years.

One point to keep in mind is that the company is based in Finland, so it falls under European Union legislation and direct application of the GDPR. Although they are not technical aspects, it is important to keep in mind the legal part in services like these.

Orbot Proxy with Tor for Android

Orbot Proxy with Tor for Android.

IPVanish

And another VPN solution with support for Android, as well as Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, Fire Stick, Kodi, and routers. Its managers define it as a configurable and quick-to-use product, which is not free (at least on Android).

IPVanish offers support via email and chat 24/7, has servers located in more than 75 locations around the world, secure access to censored applications and websites, without speed limits thanks to WireGuard, unlimited simultaneous connections, implements advanced encryption standards, has a friendly interface across all platforms and advanced antivirus security with malware detection and removal. It can be tried for 30 days, but only with the annual plan, which costs $39.99 in the first year, rising to $89.99 in the second year.

As we can see, the different options that we are mentioning are quite similar to each other, so it would be convenient to exhaust the test periods to see which one is more convincing.

Orbot Proxy with Tor and Tor Browser

What if you don’t have the money to pay for a VPN service? It is important to note that Tor cannot and does not attempt to protect against monitoring traffic at network boundaries, or what amounts to the same thing, traffic going in and out. Although it does provide protection against traffic analysis, it cannot prevent traffic confirmation in a process also called end-to-end correlation. The provider is not able to see the traffic that is generated when using the network, but it is able to see that the user is using it.

For Android there are two ways to use Tor: one is by using the web browser Tor Browser, which makes it easy to navigate through the “onion network”while the alternative is to resort to Orbot Proxy with Tor, which is a proxy that allows you to indicate which applications pass their traffic through the Tor network and it has a VPN mode to hide the user’s location.

Both Tor Browser and Orbot Proxy with Tor are products officially developed by the maintainers of the well-known network, so they can be trusted as long as one is aware of the limitations that they carry compared to a VPN solution.

conclusion

As we can see, there are more than enough solutions to anonymize the traffic that is generated with an Android device. When it comes to mobile operating systems, having some solution that anonymizes traffic is even more essential than on a desktop (at least in a western country where fundamental rights are respected), since public Wi-Fi is always a risk that should not be taken without protection.

Among the VPN services, it is preferable to avoid free solutions, more than anything because in those cases the product ends up being the user instead of the service together with its application. This means that the VPN is likely to end up serving targeted advertising or end up collecting data that who knows where it ends up next.

In case of not being able to pay for a VPN solution, it would be preferable to resort to Tor, whose structure is strongly supported by open source.

Images: Pixabay

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