/!\ VPN & Proxy extensions (e.g Hola): be careful! /!\

Oct 29, 2016 10:06 am

Hey all,

Since I've seen countless times people promoting the Hola extension to watch dramas on viki/dramafever that are usually banned in your country, I wanted to make a post to make those of us who don't know already aware of how dangerous this could be.

The Dangers of Hola.

For those who don't know Hola, it's an extension that allows you to browse any website from your computer as if you were browsing it from another country. This seems very tempting as you can finally watch all those dramas on dramafever by choosing the US as your proxy country, watch Doctor Who or the Great British Bake Off on the BBC site by setting the country to UK, etc. This works by going using computers of other Hola-users who live in those specific countries you want to reach as VPNs.

However, what you might not realise is that Hola uses your computer as well. This might be fine if they do, like you, just watch cheesy dramas on the internet, but that might not be the case. They might do all sorts of illegal & bad things, for instance downloading illegal movies or uploading child pornography. Since the extension works that way, it will look like you will have downloaded the movie and you will have uploaded child pornography. There's nothing that can prove you didn't do that.

So please, please don't use Hola.

This site offers more information on all the bad things and why you definitely shouldn't use it: http://adios-hola.org/

So, you ask me, what's a good alternative?

Paying for a secure service. It's apparently not that expensive anymore (~$5/month), and is certainly worth it if you want to use VPN frequently.

When choosing which VPN service to buy, make sure to check if it's safe. Here is a site which allows you to compare and check for issues (as you might notice Hola is nice & red/orange on that graph): https://thatoneprivacysite.net/simple-vpn-comparison-chart/

Promote happy & safe drama watching, spread the word & warn people if you see them recommend/be recommended to use Hola/similar VPNs in comments on drama topics.

tl;dr: Hola is dangerous, don't use it.

Hessa Volunteer Staff

Oct 29, 2016 12:40 pm

I usually use Zenmate and CyberGhost. But since I'm a QC now on viki, I don't need it except for DF.

seoparkang

Oct 29, 2016 01:03 pm

It is really nice of you to share this, thank you :) I used Hola awhile back till my mac prompted me that it was able to mirror and eavsdrop on my laptop

rainruma

Oct 29, 2016 01:03 pm

Thank you for your warning!
I thought Hola was safe, since it is a chrome extension.

This looks more risky and more complicated than I thought...
So which are recommended, if any?

Also, if you use it for few hours than uninstall, is it still risky?

oppalover87

Oct 29, 2016 01:34 pm

I've used Hola for the last 2 years without problems ... I only switch it in when I watch on sites that are needed (viki).

Nor

Oct 29, 2016 10:36 pm

I thought Hola was safe, since it is a chrome extension.

Chrome/Google doesn't care much about client security & privacy. While Apple is very selective for their Apple store, it is much easier to get an app on the android store. So I guess this means, be careful with whatever you install, and read carefully what you give access to (wherever it's for an extension or for an app). This is something android/chrome is very clear about (apps have to list every single category of data the app has access to or what they can modify).

This looks more risky and more complicated than I thought... So which are recommended, if any?

Unfortunately, I don't know, since I've never used VPNs before (except my university's VPN so I could work from home - but that was not a commercial service :P) I would advise you to read up online (reviews/recommendations) and definitely to check out the comparison chart here.

Also, if you use it for few hours than uninstall, is it still risky?

I've used Hola for the last 2 years without problems ... I only switch it in when I watch on sites that are needed (viki).

I would definitely NOT recommend doing this. It literally takes less than 1 second to upload a picture. If that one picture is child pornography, that could be very problematic. Consider it the same risk as not getting your vaccines or having unprotected sex. You could be lucky, but it could also end very badly.