Buzz
Privacy is a top concern for any VPN company. vpnMentor recently conducted a study on the top 3 leading VPN software and found that Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and ZenMate expose users' real IP addresses. Although developers have been notified about the issue, only Hotspot Shield has addressed it so far.
Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and ZenMate expose users' real IP addresses
vpnMentor hired an ethical hacking group to test 3 VPN tools, namely Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and ZenMate, and discovered that all three VPN tools leaked users' sensitive data. ZenMate was less severe compared to the other 2 VPN tools. vpnMentor stated: 'We discovered that all 3 VPN tools leaked users' sensitive data'.
vpnMentor shared about its research:
'After identifying the issue, we contacted the VPN providers. One of the VPN providers responded quickly, releasing patches. We are still awaiting responses from the remaining 2 VPN providers, hoping they will promptly address the issues for the benefit of users'.
There were 3 issues discovered in Hotspot Shield. CVE-2018-7879 is the Hotspot Shield Chrome extension that could be used to steal traffic, CVE-2018-7878 leaked sensitive data. The most severe is CVE-2018-7880 leaking users' real IP addresses.
Hotspot Shield VPN provider stated:
'The researchers hired by vpnMentor found no vulnerabilities in Hotspot Shield versions for phones and computers. The reported vulnerabilities are only in the free Chrome plugin. Users of the Hotspot Shield app on computers are not affected by this vulnerability. We appreciate vpnMentor's findings to enhance the privacy and security of VPN apps for users and hope vpnMentor will conduct more research on other VPN products in the near future'.
The issues discovered in ZenMate VPN are similar to those in PureVPN. However, detailed information has not been disclosed yet.
vpnMentor advises some users of affected VPN tools:
'If you're using ZenMate or PureVPN VPNs, you can contact the support team and request to patch the vulnerabilities ASAP'.
Due to Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and ZenMate leaking users' real IP addresses, it adds another reason for you to stop using VPN right now. If you intend to use a VPN, you should only seek out the best-paid VPN software when it's truly necessary.
After PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) launched on Xbox platform, the hottest game PUBG has reached 5 million players on Xbox in just 3 short months. This demonstrates the game's appeal on any platform.
