Internet

This is how the free VPNs you use make money

Free VPNs make a profit

You may be wondering how VPNs that are free and you use to surf the Internet make a profit. And the truth is that they have different methods, as we will explain. Some can even affect your security and privacy. They will obtain certain personal data without you realizing it.

The first option that free VPNs have to make a profit is to use the cookies and tracking. Basically they will control the user’s activity on the Internet, they will use small files that are sometimes hidden even in images of just 1 pixel. In this way they will obtain information about where we navigate, for example. This is something that a good VPN will not do, but the ones that are free in many cases will.

They will also get money through superior plans. In other words, they are going to launch a free trial version, which they are going to use as bait, and then ask for a payment to continue browsing. For example, that it works only until you download a certain amount of data or use it for a certain time.

Another method for free VPNs to earn revenue is advertising. This is what happens in many other programs that are free. Ads may appear when opening the app, browsing, etc. It is one more way to profit by offering a free service.

One more option to obtain income, more dangerous than all the previous ones, is through sale of login data. In this case, what they do is sell credentials and passwords to cybercriminals that they have previously obtained. At the end of the day our information goes through their servers, if we are using a malicious VPN, which does not encrypt the data, all that could be exposed.

Use only reliable programs

Therefore, as you have seen, free VPNs can be a problem for security and privacy, beyond the different options they have to obtain economic benefit. This means that we must always choose very well which application we are going to install and not have problems that compromise our data.

Something essential is to use a good VPN. You may inform you online and see which one suits you best. Some of the most popular are NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Also, you always have to install them from official sources. You should avoid third party sites that are a problem as you could be installing modified software.

It is convenient to always have updated system and count on security programs. On the one hand, you will be able to correct certain vulnerabilities that can be exploited. In the case of security applications, they can help you detect threats that are used to steal your data. It is important to know the risks of an insecure VPN.

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