A Flaw In Hotspot Shield Can Expose VPN Users, Locations (zdnet.com) 25
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: A security researcher has found a way to identify users of Hotspot Shield, a popular free virtual private network service that promises its users anonymity and privacy. Hotspot Shield, developed by AnchorFree, has an estimated 500 million users around the world relying on its privacy service. By bouncing a user's internet and browsing traffic through its own encrypted pipes, the service makes it harder for others to identify individual users and eavesdrop on their browsing habits. But an information disclosure bug in the privacy service results in a leak of user data, such as which country the user is located, and the user's Wi-Fi network name, if connected. That information leak can be used to narrow down users and their location by correlating Wi-Fi network name with public and readily available data.
Re: (Score:2)
I have used Hotspot Shield a couple of times to get around simple geoblocking of articles on sites, but no one in their would use it for anything requiring serious security.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Q: What's the preferred VPN for hipsters?
A: It's pretty obscure, you've probably never heard of it.
Why worry? (Score:2)