When you think of a hacker, you might picture a shadowy figure hunched over a computer, their face illuminated only by lines of green code as they infiltrate networks and steal sensitive data. In reality, the image isn‘t too far off – but one key tool in many hackers‘ arsenals is a virtual private network, or VPN.
A VPN essentially creates a secure, encrypted "tunnel" between your device and a remote server operated by the VPN provider. This has two main benefits: 1) it hides your real IP address and location, making it much harder to trace your online activities back to you, and 2) it prevents anyone snooping on your connection, like your internet service provider or someone on public Wi-Fi, from seeing your web traffic.
It‘s easy to see why these features would be invaluable to hackers. By masking their real location and encrypting their traffic, a reliable VPN allows hackers to attack targets and access compromised systems with a much lower risk of getting caught. But not all VPNs are created equal, and hackers tend to gravitate toward providers with a particular set of characteristics.
What Hackers Look For in a VPN
Based on discussions in hacker forums and communities, as well as interviews with security experts and penetration testers, these are some of the top criteria many hackers use to choose a VPN:
1. Robust encryption
A hacker‘s VPN is only as secure as its underlying encryption. Most experts recommend VPN protocols with 256-bit AES encryption, which is virtually unbreakable. Weaker protocols like PPTP are generally avoided.
2. Verified no-logs policy
Logs are records of your connection timestamps, IP addresses, bandwidth usage, and other metadata. If a VPN provider keeps logs, they could be subpoenaed by law enforcement investigating a cyberattack. So hackers prefer "logless" VPNs that don‘t store any user information that could be tied back to them. Some VPNs claim a "no-logs" policy but have been caught logging anyway, so public third-party audits of their practices are ideal.
3. Kill switch
If a VPN connection unexpectedly drops for even a few seconds, it can expose a hacker‘s real IP address. A kill switch prevents this by instantly severing the internet connection whenever VPN connectivity is lost. It‘s an essential fail-safe for many hackers.
4. Leak protection
VPN leaks can undermine user anonymity in various ways like DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, and WebRTC leaks. Any of these flaws could reveal a hacker‘s identity and location. Top VPNs have built-in protection against all types of leaks.
5. Anonymous payment options
Purchasing a VPN plan with a credit card or PayPal account obviously creates a direct financial link to the hacker‘s identity. That‘s why many prefer to pay anonymously using Bitcoin, gift cards, or other cryptocurrencies.
6. Minimal attack surface
Every piece of code added to a VPN client is another potential vulnerability to be exploited. Security-focused VPNs tend to have a small, lean codebase without unnecessary bells and whistles to minimize risk. Open-source clients are also preferred since their code can be audited.
With these criteria in mind, let‘s take a look at some of the VPNs most frequently mentioned in hacker communities.
The Most Popular VPNs Among Hackers
1. Mullvad
Mullvad is a logless VPN based in Sweden that exclusively uses the WireGuard protocol for lean, secure connections. It accepts anonymous payments via cash or Bitcoin. Each user gets a randomly generated account number for authentication.
2. IVPN
Gibraltar-based IVPN supports WireGuard and OpenVPN with multihop connections for added security. No logs, anonymous sign-ups, cash payments, and a clearly defined privacy policy make it popular with the hacking crowd.
3. ProtonVPN
From the team behind the encrypted ProtonMail service, ProtonVPN offers a hardened OpenVPN configuration with a strict no-logs policy, kill switch, perfect forward secrecy, and full leak protection. Critically, they accept payment in Bitcoin.
4. AzireVPN
This Swedish provider uses OpenVPN or WireGuard through bare-metal servers with no virtual machines to limit the attack surface. They boast a public ethical hacking bounty program to catch vulnerabilities. No logs are stored and signups only require an email address.
5. ExpressVPN
While a more mainstream choice, ExpressVPN is still popular in hacker circles for its robust security, huge server network spanning 94 countries, and proven no-logs policy verified through server seizures. A polished UI makes it accessible to less technical users as well.
You may notice some big names missing here, like NordVPN or Private Internet Access. While perfectly good VPNs for most users, many hackers avoid these due to things like breaches, server issues, past logging incidents, or convoluted ownership structures that fail to inspire trust.
Many free VPNs are also conspicuously absent, and for good reason. "Free" VPNs typically monetize by logging and selling user data, injecting ads, or even installing malware – all huge red flags for hackers who rely on true anonymity. Limited speeds, data caps, and server choices also make free options impractical for bandwidth-heavy hacking activities. In short, if privacy and security are paramount, there‘s no substitute for a paid VPN from a reputable provider.
Detecting and Circumventing VPN Blocking
VPNs may be popular with hackers, but they definitely aren‘t a silver bullet. Over the past few years, websites and services have gotten better at detecting and blocking VPN connections. Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming platforms are notorious for this, as are many financial institutions and government websites.
VPN traffic can be identified and blocked in various ways:
- Checking IP addresses against known VPN server IP lists
- Detecting connections from data centers instead of residential ISPs
- Noticing multiple accounts/sessions from the same IP address
- Deep packet inspection to spot VPN protocols and encryption
Once a VPN connection is flagged, it may be throttled, blocked completely, or even fed a "bad" version of a website loaded with CAPTCHAs and other security checks.
In response, some VPN providers have developed new obfuscation techniques to hide VPN traffic, such as:
- Using alternate ports like 443 to blend in with standard HTTPS traffic
- Wrapping VPN packets inside regular HTTPS encryption (SSL/TLS tunnel)
- Randomizing OpenVPN packet metadata to avoid fingerprinting
- Mixing different VPN protocols to make detection harder
With these stealth VPN methods, identifying VPN connections by DPI and other telltale signs becomes much more difficult. Hackers can then more effectively hide their location and identity even on VPN-hostile sites. Top providers are constantly engaged in a cat-and-mouse battle as detection methods evolve.
Even with a bulletproof VPN in place, truly paranoid hackers go even further to protect their anonymity with tools like:
- Tor (The Onion Router) to bounce traffic through multiple encrypted hops
- Tails and Qubes OS security-hardened operating systems that leave no traces
- Burner laptops purchased with cash and only used for hacking activities
- Public Wi-Fi and internet cafes to avoid associating with an ISP account
- Prepaid "burner" phones not tied to a billing identity for 2FA
- Using a VPN router or virtualizing the VPN connection on the host OS
Combining a kill-switched VPN with Tor and other measures creates a formidable challenge for authorities looking to unmask a hacker‘s identity and location.
Risks and Legalities
It‘s important to note that simply using a VPN, even one favored by hackers, is not in itself illegal or unethical. VPNs have many legitimate uses such as protecting your web traffic on public WiFi, guarding against ISP snooping and tracking, bypassing censorship in repressive regimes, and remotely accessing corporate networks.
Where you can get into hot water is using a VPN in furtherance of illegal activities like unauthorized access, malware distribution, data theft, fraud, and other cybercrimes. A VPN certainly makes it harder to investigate and prosecute hacking offenses, but hackers are still caught on a regular basis through opsec failures, infiltration by undercover agents, infrastructure seizures, and international cooperation.
Law enforcement can subpoena VPN providers for user information and server logs, so a VPN is not an invincibility cloak for committing crimes online. Even if the provider has no logs to turn over, these requests can be a warning to compromised servers, IPs, or payment methods used by a particular hacker.
There are valid reasons an ethical hacker might use the same privacy-focused VPNs as their black hat counterparts. Penetration testers, security auditors, and academic researchers often cloak their activities to mimic real-world attacks as closely as possible so vulnerabilities can be uncovered and fixed. But these hackers get explicit written permission from system owners beforehand and meticulously document their work – definitely the wisest approach.
So while you may take an interest in the VPNs favored by elite hackers, be extremely wary of emulating their other activities without authorization. The anonymity provided by a secure VPN is a powerful tool in the right hands, but also a huge responsibility. Stay safe, stay legal, and think before you hack.
