VPNs are becoming more common, especially with governments, ISPs and other organizations greatly increasing user monitoring. With the need for VPNs on the rise, is it really worth paying for a VPN service while there are so many free ones?
Are there really free VPNs?
我知道免费的 VPN 很诱人。毕竟,你不用支付任何费用,对吧?其实不然。说到底,免费 VPN 并不免费。
Ever heard of the term TANSTAAFL? If you are familiar with Heinlen, you know that ‘There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.’ The adage was obtained from the 1930’s Old West Saloons that offered a free lunch when you bought a drink. But of course, there’s always a catch. The food was usually so salty that you would end up buying more and more drinks to slate your thirst.
免费 VPN 也是如此。如果你不为产品付费,那么你就是产品。毕竟,运行一个 VPN 是相当昂贵的,没有人会做慈善。那么,他们从哪里得到钱来运行服务器呢?嗯,为了你!
免费 VPN 如何处理您的数据
使用 VPN 的主要原因之一是为了保证数据的私密性和安全性。毕竟,这就是名称中的 "P "所代表的含义。为此,他们会对你的数据进行加密,然后将其传输到自己的服务器上。你不再通过 ISP 访问互联网,而是通过 VPN 服务器。这样,你的 ISP 就无法再追踪你的网上活动了。
However, what you have done is that you have merely just swapped between two parties who can track your data. Paid VPNs try as much as possible to keep your data private, and even some like IPBurger don’t monitor your online activities at all. This is clearly stated in our privacy policy, and other paid VPNs also do the same. After all, they all want to attract users with their promise of no-logs.
However, free VPNs do log your data. Actually, they take full advantage of the data, sometimes even more than your ISP would. To get the money to run their service and also make a profit, free VPNs tend to sell this data to third parties for advertising purposes. A recent CSIRO study that investigated 283 VPNs found that 75% of ‘free’ VPN apps contained some form of tracking. As such, is it really a private network?
避免使用免费 VPN 的其他原因
这只是原因之一,还有其他一些原因:
恶意软件
In a study conducted by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, out of the 234 ‘Free’ VPN apps they tested, 38% of them contained some form of additional malware.
利用您作为终端
Hola was once the king of ‘free’ VPNs, but in 2015 it was found to be using a user’s internet connection to power the service for others.
IP 泄露
Most ‘free’ VPNs can’t implement IP and DNS leak protection features. The result? Leaking IPs. As such, you are not as private as you were promised.
相当慢
大多数免费 VPN 的网络通常都很小,这是可以理解的。因为它们是 "免费 "的,所以很多人都倾向于使用它们,因此服务器大多人满为患。其结果就是网络速度慢得令人难以置信。
那么你能做些什么呢?
First, what should you not do? Never run to a VPN just because they tell you its free. Actually, you steer away from free VPNs as much as possible. Luckily, there are premium VPNs that don’t charge you overboard to use their VPN service. IPburger is one of the most reliable and affordable VPNs, and we provide various packages to fit various users. With a premium VPN, you can be sure that they will do anything possible to protect your data and keep you secure. You will however still need to choose yours carefully, as not all VPNs are made equal.