VPN Privacy and Security Risks

There is a real and important paradox in VPN marketing versus reality, and skepticism is well-founded.

Why People Think VPNs Are Safe

A VPN is going to prevent the coffee shop owner or other customers from intercepting your unencrypted traffic. It also gets around ISP-level censorship or throttling of specific services. It can make it appear you're in a different country and so that your ISP can't see which sites you visit.

What VPNs Don't Do

Don't pretend that VPNs anonymize you or prevent tracking. The quicker you realize that cookies, browser fingerprinting, and logged-in services still track you the better. When you are logged into your accounts while using a VPN, you have device fingerprints and still showcase behavioural patterns that are mapped and traced. Oh, and the The VPN company can see everything, and could be compelled to log or share the data anyways.

The Consolidation Problem

When you use a VPN, you're essentially replacing your ISP's ability to see your traffic with the VPN provider's ability to see it. You're just shifting trust from one entity to another.

Sure your ISP is typically a regulated telecom company subject to laws, potentially with legal accountability, but your VPN provider is likely a company in a foreign jurisdiction with different oversight and accountabilities.

WIP... more coming!