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How lovers of freebies unwittingly become accomplices of cyber attacks.
Many users ask the question: "Why pay for a VPN when there are free options?". However, are free VPNs really completely free? The reality is that free services often hide traps, and in this case, this was clearly demonstrated by several major incidents. Thus, in May 2024 the FBI, together with law enforcement agencies, exposed the 911 S5 botnet covering 19 million unique IP addresses in more than 190 countries. The creators of this botnet used several free VPN services such as MaskVPN, DewVPN, PaladinVPN, ProxyGate, ShieldVPN and ShineVPN. Users who installed these applications unwittingly turned their devices into proxy servers for transmitting other people's traffic. These proxies have been used by cybercriminals for various illegal activities such as cyber attacks, money laundering and massive frauds.
Thus, users of free VPNs became complicit in digital crimes as their devices were used without their knowledge. The 911 S5 botnet began operating in May 2014 and the free VPN applications on which it was built have been circulating online since 2011. In 2022 law enforcement temporarily shut down the botnet but it quickly re-emerged under a new name - CloudRouter. Finally, in May 2024 the FBI managed not only to expose the botnet infrastructure but also to detect it's organizers. During it's activity the botnet brought it's creators almost 100 million dollars and the damage to victims amounted to several billion.
Such cases are not limited to the 911 S5 botnet. In March 2024, a similar scheme was discovered involving several dozen applications published on Google Play, including many free VPNs. Among them: LiteVPN, ByteBlade, BlazeStride, FastFly and others. These applications also turned user's devices into proxy servers for transmitting other people's traffic. The above VPN apps are currently not available on Google Play but they continue to be distributed in other places, such as the alternative app store - APKPure. These apps may appear under different names and developers, making them difficult to detect and remove.
*infected VPN client hosted by APKPure
Cases of VPN app infections show that free services can carry hidden risks. The best option is always to buy a paid subscription to a good, quality VPN. Paid VPN services often provide high speeds, strong protection and additional security features. Subscribing to a paid VPN avoids many of the risks associated with free services and provides a better level of security and privacy. Also an option to make your own VPN by renting a server.
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