“Virtual Private Networks” (or VPNs) are software programs that anonymize and encrypt your web travels so that criminals can’t see what you are doing, snag your passwords or pretend to be your shopping or banking site.
One nice review persuaded me to try CyberGhost.
Downloaded version 5 and installed it.
Just as it finished installing I got this outrageous message —
“You’ll need at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 to run Cyberghost 5 on your system !”
Then it quits and without my permission opens my browser to download Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. YOW !
For the uninitiated,
the best and fastest way known to attract viruses, robots and spyware
is to keep Microsoft Internet Explorer on your Windows PC.
Here’s where even the German Government officially advised against using it: German Government: Don’t use Internet Explorer
I was not amused and uninstalled Cyberghost immediately.
It gets worse.
After uninstalling CyberGhost “completely” and rebooting, I found a Cyberghost Service still running on my computer !
Now if I was to suspect NSA was “collaborating” with or bullying a VPN to see what we are doing, that’s exactly how I would expect a bad VPN to act.
You can rest easy, I will NEVER again use or even test Cyberghost.
For those who wonder how I managed to run a Windows system without Internet Explorer, here is a “How to” get rid of Internet Explorer article.
If you value your computer data, let me urge you to seriously consider wholly getting rid of MicroSoft’s Internet Explorer.
