“No Logging” VPNs Often Have…Logs

Seven 'no log' VPN providers accused of leaking – yup, you guessed it – 1.2TB of user logs onto the internet • The Register

A string of "zero logging" VPN providers have some explaining to do after more than a terabyte of user logs were found on their servers unprotected and facing the public internet.
This data, we are told, included in at least some cases clear-text passwords, personal information, and lists of websites visited, all for anyone to stumble upon.

This involved 7 VPN services that were all white labeling the same back end service, which is in a way better than finding 7 unrelated companies who were doing their own logging, but it’s still not great.

I don’t have a suggestion for what VPN client to use because I frankly don’t use one myself, and it’s for this exact reason. It’s incredibly simple to get a VPN up and running, and it’s led to a rush on the market. I’m sure some VPN providers are more trustworthy than others, but I’ll say what I always say when talking about VPNs:

A VPN does not make you anonymous, it is just entrusting a different company with all of your browsing data.

I know we all hate our ISPs, but do you trust a random “free VPN” service you find on the App Store more than them? Maybe you do, and in that case go for it, but think about that when using a VPN: do you trust this VPN provider more than your ISP? If so, use it, if not, get it the hell of your device. Oh, and if it’s a free service, really look into why it’s free, because as we always say, if you’re not paying, you’re the product, and your internet browsing data is a lot of product that could be resold by less reputable services.