Lost $200 on a fake VPN service before I learned the real red flags

I signed up for a VPN called SecureShield last month after seeing an ad on social media. It was $200 for a year and I thought I was getting great protection. Turned out the logs were stored on a plain text server and my data got leaked anyway. I wasted time and money and now I'm paranoid about what else is out there. Should we trust cheap VPN deals or just stick with known brands like Proton or Mullvad? Has anyone else fallen for a flashy ad that cost you more than cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielmartinez3d ago

Yeah I read that most cheap VPNs are just data farming operations disguised as privacy tools.

the_kelly3d ago

Three years ago I actually ran some tests on five different budget VPNs for a tech blog I used to write for, and the results were mixed but not all bad. A lot of the free ones are absolutely just collecting your data, no argument there, but there are a handful of cheap paid options like Mullvad and Windscribe that have been audited by outside security firms. The key thing is to look for ones that have a clear no-logging policy and have been tested in court cases, which a few of them have. I think the blanket statement that most cheap VPNs are data farming ops might be a bit harsh, because there's a big difference between a free service and one that costs five bucks a month.