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Free VPN Apps on Google Play Turn Phones into Proxies

March 26, 2024 By Heinrich Long -- Leave a Comment
Free VPN Apps on Google Play Turn Phones into ProxiesFree VPN Apps on
Google Play Turn Phones into Proxies

Several free Android VPN apps have been found to support a malicious
residential proxy operation named 'Proxylib.'

Proxylib infects Android devices with an agent that conceals
malicious activities such as ad fraud, bot usage, or more dangerous
operations like malware distribution and phishing campaigns. The
agent routes user traffic through the infected Android devices,
making it appear as if it originates from a legitimate,
non-blocklisted source, which is essentially a residential IP
address.

In May 2023, HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence team discovered that
Oko VPN, a free VPN app offered through the Google Play store,
utilized a Golang library that performed proxy node enrollment.
Further investigation unearthed connections to 'Asocks,' a shady
residential proxy seller, suggesting a monetization scheme.

[svg][proxylib-1024x590]HUMAN

The app was using a specific Software Development Kit (SDK),
identified as LumiApps, which performed the enrollment to proxy
services covertly, without the knowledge or approval of users and
perhaps without the VPN app developers' knowing about it either.

Though not necessarily a threat to the victims' privacy or security,
being used as a proxy for potentially malicious operations eats up
people's available bandwidth and can get them into legal trouble,
since their IP address appears as the source of the activity.

By digging deeper, HUMAN discovered 28 applications, all utilizing
the same SDK, with 17 of them being free VPN apps. Here's a list of
the Android free VPN apps that acted as network traffic proxies:

  * Lite VPN
  * Byte Blade VPN
  * Fast Fly VPN
  * Fast Fox VPN
  * Fast Line VPN
  * Oko VPN
  * Quick Flow VPN
  * Sample VPN
  * Secure Thunder
  * Shine Secure
  * Speed Surf
  * Swift Shield VPN
  * Turbo Track VPN
  * Turbo Tunnel VPN
  * Yellow Flash VPN
  * VPN Ultra
  * VPN Run

HUMAN reported its findings to Google, and the tech firm removed the
offending apps from Google Play. Some of the apps were cleaned by
their developers and returned to the store, so it is assumed that
they are safe to use now.

[svg][vpn-apps-1008x1024]RestorePrivacy

Apps like Oko VPN and Fast Fox VPN, for example, are available on
Google Play at the time of writing and have 50,000 downloads each.
The most popular of the set is Lite VPN, which has 1 million
downloads.

Despite HUMAN's reporting and Google's cleaning efforts, the
malicious SDK continues to be promoted to unsuspecting app
developers. This fact raises the possibility of Proxylib making a
comeback on millions of phones through Android VPN or other types of
apps on the Play store.

In general, we have advised against using free VPN apps due to the
inherent risks and drawbacks that come with this choice, including
data logging practices, weaker encryption standards, outdated
protocols, ad injection practices, limited server options, poor
performance, lack of customer support, and ultimately, using user
devices as residential proxies.

Further reading:

  * Malvertizing Network with 12 Billion Daily Bid Requests Taken
    Down
  * Study Shows OpenVPN Traffic Can Be Easily Identified and Blocked
  * Fake VPN Apps Push Malware to Unsuspecting Users
  * VPNs for Android
  * Best VPN Services

[svg][RP-Heinric]

About Heinrich Long

Heinrich is an associate editor for RestorePrivacy and veteran expert
in the digital privacy field. He was born in a small town in the
Midwest (USA) before setting sail for offshore destinations. Although
he long chafed at the global loss of online privacy, after Edward
Snowden's revelations in 2013, Heinrich realized it was time to join
the good fight for digital privacy rights. Heinrich enjoys traveling
the world, while also keeping his location and digital tracks
covered.

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