The Virtual Private Network or VPN , is usually used by users in order to change their original IP to a new one , this in order to enter to those geographically blocked sites in your country or to navigate anonymously and that way “protect your private data” .
However, there has been a problem with these tools, since some of VPNs have been filtering their users’ DNS where the person’s private data is vulnerable .
With this in mind, here is how to know if this is a DNS leak in your Virtual Private Network .
Index:
Do VPNs really sell the personal information of their users?
These programs are initially designed to protect all the information of their users , so that they can provide a completely private browsing where none of their data is seen in danger. To do this they provide a false IP address that is different from the original one. However, some failures have been detected in some of these softwares designed for “the safety of your customers”.
This has shown that these programs DO SELL the personal information of their users or at least they have done so the companies of PureVPN, Hotspot Shield and Zenmate, who have allowed to filter the real IP of their clients, thus revealing the information of each one of them, taking into account that with this they can locate the location of the person, their personal data , among many others.
Therefore, making use of some of these softwares is meaningless, since the anonymity they offer is not fulfilled in any way, but quite the opposite, they are responsible for revealing and selling the data to cybercriminals In the case of Hotspot Shield, security issues have been detected that are related to traffic redirection and Chrome extension .
While with PureVPN and Zenmate, very similar problems were also detected, where the DNS of the clients was offered, as well as their real IP when browsing. Therefore, if you are using the services of any of these companies, it is recommended that you stop doing it for your security, since you are not counting any anonymity while browsing the web .
What kind of personal information can filter the VPN I use?
You may not be fully aware that your data can be filtered after the use of these VPNs, because of this here we will explain what kind of information usually filter through DNS and that could be taken by third parties by putting seriously in danger each of your personal data .
Some of the data that usually leaks most frequently in these cases are the following:
- Original IP address of the client.
- Registration of the websites that are visited.
- Address from the country and city of the client.
- Name of ISP.
- your provider Internet .
Steps to know if your VPN filters personal information while you are using it on the Internet
Most users who use this type of program do so with the aim of protecting their information and preventing it from being disclosed or available to third parties , as well as to evade those geographical blocks on different websites.
In this way, if you use a VPN it is important that you can verify that it is not filtering your personal information on the Internet, to do this follow each of the steps that we will teach you below :
Show IP
In general, when we use these programs, the first thing you should hide when entering a web browser is our original IP , which will have to be changed to a fake one. Therefore, once the connection is established it is best to enter a website that allows us to know the same, as well as to know that Internet provider we are using.
Knowing this will let us know if this program is actually hiding our data. One of the websites that will help you identify this data is the following: Know your IP
Check that the DNS and WebRTC servers do not leave any type of information
Let’s start with the WebRTC protocol , which is widely used for its excellent performance when making connections and communications in real time. But, one of Its main drawbacks is that it is very insecure, since it can filter a lot of personal data of users .
In order to check what kind of data the VPN is filtering we can use some websites , this will let us know if the IP address is displayed, DNS servers, the tor node to which it is connected if any use is made, information from the Internet provider, web browser records , among others. One of the websites that can be visited to discover these is the following: IPLeak.net .
It is very likely that information is leaked from which have been the last websites you visited, where some private information could be revealed.
How can I protect my VPN connection so that there are no leaks of information?
When using one of these softwares it is important to keep in mind that you must use a program that is completely safe and reliable , for this you must use updated tools and protocols to ensure navigation security . In addition, it is important that these are completely legal, that is to say that it has all the necessary laws for its operation.
It is also important to make some settings in the program to help us further protect the connection , and which we will explain to you below:
Block WebRTC connections
The best in this type of case is to avoid using this protocol due to its insecurity and ease of leaving a trace of the data . Therefore, it is best to perform the blocking of it, this will be done through the browser you use frequently, in this case we explain how to carry it out from Mozilla and Chrome:
- Mozilla Firefox: If you use Mozilla Firefox frequently and want to block this protocol you can do it by extension .
- Google Chrome: Now if you use the Chorme browser , then you can install the ScriptSafe extension , it will help you to block this protocol in the right way, as well as the contents of JavaScript and Java that can reach cause security problems .
Modify DNS
Despite using a VPN service , DNS will continue to keep all history with the requests we make . Therefore, it is very common that these continue analyzing all traffic and knowing each of our activities, what can become dangerous.
There is a way to avoid this, for this it is necessary to make some changes in the DNS , the first thing will be avoid using those of Google and second those of your Internet operator strong>. In this case, it is about configuring them manually.
For this we use the OpenDNS DNS that are completely secure and will also help you ensure the privacy of each of your data , preventing the same can be taken by third parties:
- 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
Disable the IPv6 protocol
Finally, it is very important to deactivate the services of this protocol even though it offers security against cybercriminals and viruses . And is that IPv6 is also very susceptible to data filtration within a web, which is used by pirated servers to send requests towards him and in that way be able to extract some important data from users.
In this way, if we want to maintain the security of our information, it is essential to deactivate it. To perform protocol deactivation you simply start the properties of the network card from the network and share center in Windows , there you are looking for the “Internet Protocol version 6” option and deactivate them.
Taking into account the problems that have been presented with these virtual privacy software , it is important to know which of them are really safe and reliable nowadays. For this it is important to consider a series of features and elements thereof , to make things easier for you.
Here is a small list of the 5 safest and most reliable VPN companies on the market:
ExpressVPN.com
ExpressVPN continues to be one of the most important and secure virtual private network services on the market. It provides its services worldwide, thus offering access unlimited to any website . A way to navigate from anonymity and protect each of your personal data .
This is how this software is responsible for hiding your IP address and at the same time encrypt all your network information, preventing anyone from tracking or knowing each one of your movements In addition, it has applications for both computers and mobile devices , this is how it is available for the operating systems of Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS .
NordVPN.com
One way to start protecting yourself every time surfs the Internet , and NordVPN is one of the most reliable services on the market today strong>, with which you can protect yourself from hackers who seek to steal any personal information. All information that is sent and received through this service must go through an encrypted tunnel to ensure that the information does not carry any third-party software.
NordVPN is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems , as well as for Android and iOS. One way to keep completely secure each of your devices. In addition, a single account will allow you to add up to a total of 6 different devices , including smartTv and router .
CyberGhostVPN.com
CyberGhost is available worldwide and is characterized by offering a lot of features and tools that will help you enjoy a completely anonymous and secure browsing One way to avoid being tracked by third parties or malicious software that can steal any kind of information while you are on the network.
It will also help you enter those sites that are geographically blocked in your country , as well as enter those sites exclusive to the United States, Mexico and Spain, to This gives you an IP of each of the countries you want, offering you free and secure browsing at any time.
PrivateVPN.com
PrivateVPN is another of the safest tools on the market today, it has very advanced features that will allow you to have very safe browsing and free , thus accessing all those blocked web pages in your country . In addition, it gives you the possibility to access exclusive sites in the United States , also allowing you to download torrents files.
A way to keep you completely safe and secure from any hacker or pirated software that can be protected on any web platform. It also gives you the possibility of navigating from anonymity preventing your records from saved browsers from remaining , achieving greater privacy during your browsing.
UltraVPN.com
Finally we present UltraVPN, another one of the most reliable VPN services now and with which you can start to carry out a browsing from anonymity by hiding so each of your data . This will help you avoid information theft or leave traces while visiting different websites. UltraVPN stands out mainly for being compatible with a large number of platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, among many others.
One way to visit any web page in a private and secure way, avoiding being an easy target for any pirate or cybercriminal software . It offers a 30-day trial version , and a premium version where you will find a lot of advanced features that will help you have the best possible experience.
It is possible that VPNs do not generate great reliability and you do not want to use them to be able to navigate anonymously . In these cases there are other alternative methods that we can perform to carry out this process, which will help you prevent your private data from leaving a trace or being detected by a hacker or pirated software.
In this way, here we explain some methods so you can start to perform an incognito navigation from your PC and thus be in the network in a more private and secure way at any time.
Using Tor
Tor is a system of layered routing , also known as the onion type so that users can connect to a network using nodes intermediates that are offered by other users. Basically this has the function of dizzy or confusing the data path between the remote server and the computer, thus making all the information offered bounce within the network.
This procedure can slow down the browsing speed and also allows you to keep all your protected information . One way to carry out all this is through the Tor Browser program, which is available for the Windows, Linux and Android operating system strong>.