Blogs @ SelvanSoft: VPN

Showing posts with label VPN. Show all posts

Friday, September 25, 2026

Online Paranoia Q&A

These are collections of paranoia‑driven questions from many online users, especially younger generation gamers with little or no understanding of how internet systems, software/hardware, operating systems, and networking actually work. Much of this fear comes from media‑driven alarmism and advice from misinformed friends or armchair experts. These are actual questions repeatedly asked on Reddit sub r/cybersecurity_help. While knowledgeable people in those communities try to give correct guidance, many contributors lack technical grounding and often provide incorrect or confusing responses. In this blog, I aim to give straight, no‑nonsense answers to many of these frequently asked questions. The tone may sound blunt, but it is intentional to drive the point clearly and help readers get accurate information.

Note: This blog is an evolving document, and I will continue adding more Q&A over time.

Question: My IP is logged and tracked, does that mean I am hacked?
Answer: All websites you visit log and know your IP, that is how internet works, so relax. You are not "hacked". For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2026/07/your-ip-address-isnt-security-risk.html

Question: Is public Wi-Fi safe?
Answer: Yes. All modern internet communication is encrypted by default. Aside from rare, targeted attacks, public Wi‑Fi is perfectly safe today. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2026/07/is-public-wi-fi-safe.html

Question: I think my phone is hacked because it is heating up.
Answer: No, your phone is not "hacked" just because it heats up. It usually means you have one or more crappy apps installed or you’re dealing with battery or hardware issues.

Question: I executed an infostealer malware but quickly closed the window. Am I safe?
Answer: No. Software executes CPU instructions incredibly fast. You can’t "Bruce Lee" your way out of software execution by closing the window "quickly". Wipe and reinstall your OS to get your device back to a clean state. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2026/07/infostealer.html

Question: My computer is compromised with an infostealer. I ran several virus and malware scanners, and they did not find anything. Why?
Answer: As opposed to popular belief, infostealers are not viruses. They rely on native OS components and common tools built into each platform, and their activity appears as normal user or system behavior to virus and malware scanners both during and after execution. They also leave no artifacts for antivirus tools to detect. So do not waste time running virus or malware scans, because they will almost always find nothing. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2026/07/infostealer.html

Question: I clicked on a suspicious link on my phone. Am I hacked?
Answer: No. On a modern phone that is kept updated, simply clicking a link will not get your phone "hacked"

Question: Does using a VPN keep me and my device safe?
Answer: No. VPN hides your online activity or helps you access location locked websites. It does nothing for your online safety or device security. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2024/06/vpn-myth-vs-reality.html

Question: I downloaded pirated or cracked software from a reputable site. Am I safe?
Answer: No, you are not. There is no such thing as a "reputable site" that distributes cracked or pirated software.

Question: I clicked on a shady phishing link. Am I hacked?
Answer: No. You are likely fine if you didn’t provide any personally identifiable information or financial details.

Question: Is it safe to use USB charging ports in public places?
Answer: Yes. There are no documented real‑world cases of malicious USB charging ports. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2025/08/juice-jacking-real-threat-or-just-fear.html

Question: Is scanning a QR code safe?
Answer: There is no short or simple answer. For more details, read https://blog.selvansoft.com/2025/01/qr-code-safe-to-scan.html

Question: My home network, laptop, desktop, phone, router, etc. are all hacked by my ex (or some hacker on the internet) and they are listening to and accessing everything I do.
Answer: No, they are not. This is not reality and only happens in hacker movies. This is an extreme form of paranoia, and it may help to talk to a professional who can help you work through these fears.

More to come …

Stay Informed & Safe Online
If you enjoyed this blog, you'll find many more cybersecurity related microblogs at link below. They offer valuable insights to help you stay informed and safe online. Explore them at https://blog.selvansoft.com. Also, checkout free online security tools at https://selvansoft.com/tools/

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Is public Wi-Fi safe?

Public Wi‑Fi in places like airports, hotels, and coffee shops comes with inherent security risks. However, modern websites use secure transport, shown as https:// in front of the website name in your browser, so the risk is not as high as it once was. The fear surrounding public Wi‑Fi is often driven by misinformation from social media, VPN vendors, and misinformed non‑technical users, and in some cases even technical users. While complete safety is impossible to guarantee, you can greatly improve your online security by practicing good cyber hygiene. Follow as many tips as you can from this blog.
https://blog.selvansoft.com/2025/01/online-safety-tips.html

Although public Wi‑Fi is generally safe, it is best to avoid sensitive transactions such as logging into bank websites, credit card portals, or other financial platforms unless absolutely necessary. If a website does not support HTTPS protocol, avoid it, whether you are on public Wi‑Fi, your home network, or a corporate connection. Pay close attention to browser warnings. If your browser reports that a site is not secure, shows a certificate mismatch, or displays similar alerts, do not proceed. Enable your firewall. All modern operating systems include a built‑in firewall, and you do not need special firewall software. Make sure it is active and set to block all inbound connections. This simple step significantly strengthens your security on any network, public or private.

Last but not least, regardless of what you may have heard, you do not need a VPN. It is not a security tool but a privacy tool. Contrary to popular belief, a VPN does not make you safe. If you are curious, read this blog.

https://blog.selvansoft.com/2024/06/vpn-myth-vs-reality.html

Sunday, June 30, 2024

VPN Myth vs. Reality

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is one of the most misunderstood technologies among non-technical people. In fact, I have encountered many technical people who completely misunderstand what a VPN is and is not. These days, the term VPN is often touted as a solution for all security issues and is advertised by vendors as a one-size-fits-all security solution. This is a misconception and creates a false sense of security. A VPN is not a magic shield for online safety; it is primarily a privacy tool, not a security tool. While privacy and security do overlap, they are distinct concepts. Privacy is about protecting your activities from being observed, whereas security involves protecting your data and devices from unauthorized access and threats. Let’s take a closer look at what a VPN is and is not.

A VPN Analogy

First, let us start with a simple analogy to explain how a VPN works. Imagine your house is your device and you have a tunnel in your living room, representing a VPN, that takes you directly to the city center. You have two neighbors: Mr. Nosey and Mr. Evil. Nosey wants to know where you shop. If you walk out your front door, Nosey sees where you go, though they cannot see what you carry because everything is inside a locked container representing HTTPS encryption. If you take the living room tunnel instead, Nosey has no idea where you went or what you did. Now consider Mr. Evil. They don't care where you go, but instead they focus on breaking into your home using weak front or back doors, open windows, or an unlocked garage etc. Having a tunnel in your living room offers zero protection against someone breaking into your home, serving only to give you a false sense of security.

What VPN is?

Simply put, VPN creates an encrypted network tunnel between your device (laptop, phone etc.) and a VPN server. All your data pass through the tunnel in an encrypted form to the VPN server to make it harder for anyone to track your online activity and most importantly where you are located. The websites you visit will only see the VPN server’s IP address not your device’s IP address. It is this aspect that allows journalists, activists and the like to hide from governments that watch everything they do. Similarly, cyber criminals can leverage this to mask their identity. It also allows people who want to get access to services (for example: video streaming) that are "geo-fenced" i.e. not allowed from certain countries due to regulation etc. Finally, corporations use VPN to prevent sensitive corporate data travelling from employee laptop via public network and to provide access to company resources. That is pretty much VPN is in a nutshell.

What VPN is not?

VPN does not protect you from cybercriminals or viruses or trojan or spam or adware or identity theft etc. Remember I mentioned above that VPN would prevent anyone from tracking your online activity? Well, it is not entirely true. Logged-in accounts and browsing habits can still be tracked (see my earlier blog on 3rd party cookie) by websites you visit. In addition, your VPN provider knows which sites you visit and has logs, even though many claim they don't log. As mentioned earlier VPN isn't antivirus! So even with VPN running, you still need separate protection from malware, virus, trojan etc. Also, there is no guarantee on complete safety, as leaks can happen at the VPN server and some VPN providers log your activity and hand over to authorities when requested depending on local and international laws.

Do you need VPN?

The short answer is no, unless you have a specific reason to hide your online activity. For most everyday users, this isn't necessary. With the widespread adoption of https protocol, which encrypts data between your browser and the websites you visit, VPN adds little value for general online safety. In fact, using a VPN can significantly reduce your bandwidth despite the vendor’s claims of a "fast" solution. About 15 years ago, when the https protocol was not widely implemented, using a VPN was the only way to encrypt data from prying eyes up to the point where the VPN tunnel ended. However, this is no longer the case today, as all websites are protected by end-to-end secure connectivity.

Ultimately, whether you use a VPN or not, inherent risks are associated with using public Wi-Fi, which is beyond the scope of this blog. Read this blog (https://blog.selvansoft.com/2026/07/is-public-wi-fi-safe.html) for a deeper explanation of public Wi‑Fi safety. Unless your device runs a fully updated and secure operating system, such as Linux or Apple macOS with the firewall enabled, there is always a risk of compromise on public networks, even with an active VPN, as someone sitting nearby in a coffee shop could hack your device by exploiting a known or zero day vulnerability.

Stay Informed and Safe Online

If you enjoyed this blog, you'll find many more cybersecurity related microblogs at link below. They offer valuable insights to help you stay informed and safe online. Explore them at https://blog.selvansoft.com. Also, checkout free online security tools at https://selvansoft.com/tools/

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

ProtonVPN - fast & free

ProtonVPN

Not sure any of you are aware of Proton Mail which is a fully secure email service and has been around for a while. I signed up for their free tier email service a while back but never used it since I don’t want to pay for yet another cloud space and the free tier space of 500 MB is not much for daily use.

Anyway, I know they had VPN for free as well but never tried it until recently and I am blown away by the speed --- very low overhead compared to different VPN service I have used. Granted it is wireguard, a modern successor of VPN but still, literally I get same speed as provided by my ISP. First, I could not believe and started measuring speed with every speed test tool that is out there and they all came back with more or less same and speed which is roughly same as what I get with my ISP (see screenshot) without VPN layer. At this point, there is absolutely no reason to not use them permanently… and it's Free!

How to get ProtonVPN

Head out to https://proton.me and sign-up for free account and you get encrypted mail service and 1 VPN connection free. Wireguard is pretty simple to use, all you have to do is install wireguard (https://www.wireguard.com/install/ ) and get the credentials/keys from ProtonVPN and off you go.

How to run wireguard (MacOS or Linux)

After wireguard is installed, follow the simple steps shown in screenshot below to start/stop wireguard. The screenshot is on macOS but it should be same in Linux possibly on windows under powershell as well. The third argument is the name of your wireguard configuration file without the '.conf' extension. In my case it is lion.conf. This is the configuration file you downloaded from the ProtonVPN and it should be copied to /usr/local/etc/wireguard/ on MacOS, or /etc/wiregaurd on Linux.

Stay Informed and Safe Online