Can You Really Trust VPN Providers With Your Data?
[It’s Complicated]
By Stella Law
The fact that you landed on this part of the web signifies that, at the very least, you’re concerned about your online privacy. Perhaps your willingness to add an extra layer of security to your online life has promoted you to deliberate on using a virtual private network (VPN). Or maybe you’re already using one and would like to expand your knowledge on how effective they really are.
In either case, you have come just to the right place, as we’re about to briefly touch upon some of the essential (and some often overlooked) concepts surrounding VPNs.
您使用网络肯定关注您的在线隐私。因考虑为您的在线生活添加额外的保护，促使您使用虚拟专用网络（VPN）。我们即将简要介绍一些围绕VPN的基本（一些经常被忽视的）概念。
What is a VPN and why you Might Need One
In essence, a VPN is an encrypted tunnel that provides you with relative anonymity, as you browse the web or download content from online sources. As long as it is active, a VPN sends all the traffic originating from and targeted at your device through that encrypted tunnel, thus making it nearly impossible for someone snooping on your traffic to figure what kind of information you’re requesting and sending online. Let’s illustrate this with an example.
Say you are trying to visit MySecretWebsite.com and you’re super secretive about it. You don’t want anyone to know that you visit that particular website, including your internet service provider (ISP).
In general, an ISP can see and log every website you visit and every online service you use. ISPs track these data all the times for various reasons (which may include selling your browsing habits to advertisers). A VPN can help you stand against this seemingly intrusive business model and/or legal obligation of your ISP.
Your VPN enables you to send an encrypted message to one of its servers requesting something along the line, “can you fetch the home page of MySecretWebsite.com and send it to me, please?”
Your ISP knows that you are communicating with your VPN provider. However, because the communication between you and your VPN is encrypted, it can not decipher the exact content of your message, i.e. it doesn’t know that you are about to visit MySecretWebsite.com.
Similarly, when your VPN sends you the website data of MySecretWebsite.com, your ISP knows that you received something, but it has no way of identifying exactly what it is that you received.
So, now with the basics out of our way, let’s address the proverbial elephant in the room. Are VPNs really as effective as they claim to be? Well, the answer depends on what you want to use it for. A VPN can be useful on scenarios including, but not limited to:
本质上讲，VPN是一种加密通讯方式，可在您浏览网页或从在线资源下载内容时为您提供相对匿名性的服务。只要它处于活动状态，VPN就会通过该加密通讯方式发送源自您设备并以您的设备为目标的所有流量，从而使窥探您流量的人几乎不可能知道您要求和在线发送的信息类型。VPN是否真的像他们声称的那样有效呢？答案取决于你想用它做什么。VPN可使用的场景，包括但不限于：
● When you don’t want to be tracked online by your ISP or the websites you visit.
● When you’re using a public Wi-Fi network and don’t want malicious elements to intercept your data.
● If you don’t want nosy advertisers to track your browsing habits just so they can shove their lousy advertisements into your face all the times.
● When you want to access a website that’s blocked by your ISP for whatsoever reason.
● When you want to access an online service that is not meant for your particular location. For example, a VPN will allow you to access Netflix US even if you’re currently in another corner of the world.
●当您不希望互联网服务提供商或您访问的网站在线跟踪时。
●当您使用公共Wi-Fi网络并且不希望恶意元素拦截您的数据时。
●如果您不希望八卦广告客户跟踪您的浏览习惯，防止他们随时将糟糕的广告推送给你。
●当您想要访问被互联网服务提供商阻止的网站时。
●当您要访问不适合您的特定位置的在线服务时。
But, of course, a VPN is not a fool proof solution that guarantees you 100% online security and privacy. It has its limitations too.
VPN并不是一个万无一失的解决方案，它也有其局限性。
How Reliable Are They?
The first thing you should always remember is that most VPN services are not there just for the noble cause of honouring your online privacy. While there may be some that operate solely for progressive causes and in the interest of users, most are for-profit organizations that are in the business to make money.
大多数VPN服务并不仅仅是为了尊重您的在线隐私。虽然可能有一些仅仅是为了用户的利益而运作，但大多数是营利性组织，它们是需要赚钱的企业。
That essentially means they have to abide by the laws of the land they are based in and can be subject to subpoenas and warrants from government agencies.
这意味着他们必须遵守他们所在土地的法律，并且可以接受政府机构的传票和保证。出于法规和法律原因，很可能有些（如果不是全部的话）记录他们的用户。并且有足够的代理和VPN服务显示他们将责任转移给用户，以避免法律后果。
Here, some of you might wonder what about those VPN companies that claim to keep no logs of user activity. Well, that definitely sounds great in theory. But what could you, as a user, do to actually verify whether or not your VPN provider logs your data?
For regulatory and legal reasons, it is quite possible that some, if not all of them, log their users. And there are enough examples of proxies and VPN services deflecting blames to their users in order to avoid legal consequences. For example, there are documented evidence that PureVPN had shared log information with federal investigators pursuing a case against a cyber-criminal.
After all, if you come to think about it, the $5 a month you pay for a VPN won’t really matter much if existing laws compel the provider to share your data with relevant agencies. Especially considering that not doing so could make them vulnerable to severe regulatory/legal consequences.
Also, try avoiding those free VPN providers if you can. The premise is pretty simple -- after all, operating a VPN network on a global scale with thousands of users is usually pretty darn expensive. So if a provider is giving you access to their network for free, odds are high that you, along with your fellow users, are essentially the company’s primary product that they are using to attract potential customers (e.g. advertisers).
如果可以，请尝试避免使用这些免费的VPN提供商，毕竟，在全球范围内运营数千名用户的VPN网络通常非常昂贵。 因此，免费的代价可能是成为展示的产品。
In conclusion, while the average privacy-concerned web user has plenty of good uses for a virtual private network, blindly putting your faith on a VPN -- any VPN -- is probably not a very smart idea. Especially not if you are partaking in activities that your government considers as a serious crime. Because when push comes to the shove, chances are they will go to any extent to track you and find you, no matter what VPN you use.
总而言之，盲目地把相信VPN – 甚至任何VPN - 可能不是一个非常聪明的想法。
