讀後心得

A survey by the UK Financial Times has found that five VPN applications (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Thunder VPN, Snap VPN, and Signal Secure VPN) on the App Store and Google Play are suspected to have links with the Chinese military. Among these, three applications have over one million downloads, raising cybersecurity concerns. The developer of these five applications, Qihoo 360, was sanctioned by the United States in 2020 due to its ties to the Chinese military. Experts have warned that the credibility of a VPN depends on the developer, and Chinese VPN applications are not trustworthy, as laws require developers to retain and provide user activity records. Currently, Apple has removed some of these applications, while Google Play still has them available for download.

According to the investigation, at least 5 VPN applications in the App Store and Google Play Store are suspected of having ties to the Chinese military. These applications are Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Thunder VPN, Snap VPN, and Signal Secure VPN, with three of them having over a million downloads, raising concerns over cybersecurity. Currently, Apple has removed Turbo VPN and Snap VPN from its store, but Google Play has yet to take any action against any of them.

The developing company behind these 5 VPN applications is Qihoo 360, which was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2020 due to its close ties with the Chinese military and was listed as a collaborating company with the Chinese military. A developer from the company recently advertised for a "Data Analyst for Monitoring and Analysis Platform," requiring applicants to be "familiar with American culture." VPN applications are primarily used to protect internet users' privacy, prevent hacking attacks, and download audio-visual and gaming content from other regions. However, the credibility of a VPN depends on the company behind it; fake VPNs could potentially expose users' browsing data and personal information to the developers.

Experts advise that only VPN applications from reputable companies should be downloaded, as Chinese VPN applications are generally not trustworthy due to local laws requiring developers to retain usage records and provide them to the government. Applications that do not comply with these requirements were removed from the App Store as early as 2017. Currently, the App Store has removed several applications, while Google Play is still in the process of making them available. Once again, it is advised to only download reputable VPN applications.

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