Top10VPN.com
 Logo used from 2019 onwards | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Founded 📆 | 2016 in London, United Kingdom |
| Founders 👔 | Antonio Argiolas |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Clerkenwell, , |
Area served 🗺️ | |
Key people |
|
| Services | Software Reviews |
| Owner | PrivacyCo Ltd. |
| Members | |
Number of employees | 20+ (2023) |
| 🌐 Website | top10vpn |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Top10VPN is a review website specializing in testing and reviewing personal virtual private network (VPN) services. It was launched in 2016 and is owned by PrivacyCo Ltd.[1] The website also publishes research and investigations covering digital privacy and internet security matters.[2]
Research
VPN Software
In December 2018, Top10VPN published an investigation into free VPN software finding that over half of the most popular free-to-download Android and iOS VPN applications were secretly owned by obscure Chinese sources.[3][4]
The website also carried out a security review of the top 150 free VPN apps in the Google Play Store in 2019, which found that 25% fail to protect their users' privacy due to DNS leaks.[5][6]
The website monitors global demand for VPN services and publishes analyses of notable surges prompted by events such as civil unrest, elections and social media restrictions.[7][8] This data has been cited by academic research on the role of the internet in resisting authoritarian regimes.[9][10]
Internet Security
In June 2019, Top10VPN published research on the price of hacked credentials to online accounts being sold on the dark web, which premiered on BBC Watchdog.[11] This report forms part of a series of investigations into the trade in hacked log-ins on darknet markets and has been cited in an academic study of the use of leaked credentials.[12][13]
In November 2022, the website published a report investigating malware activity from IP addresses in Ukraine and Russia since the invasion in February 2022.[14][15]
Internet Censorship
In January 2020, in the first edition of its Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns annual report, Top10VPN calculated that deliberate government internet outages and restrictions to social media access cost the world economy $8.05 billion in 2019.[16][17] The research has been cited in reports by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United States International Trade Commission, and in academic studies.[18][19][20][21]
In March 2022, the website published an analysis of websites blocked in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.[22] The study is ongoing and as of January 2023 showed 3,670 domains to have been blocked for publishing content relating to the war in Ukraine.[23] It has been referenced in reports by the European Union agencies for cybersecurity and asylum.[24][25]
Surveillance
In March 2020, Top10VPN published its COVID-19 Digital Rights Tracker report, which tracked surveillance measures, and contact tracing and digital health certificate apps introduced by governments around the world to combat the coronavirus pandemic.[26][27][28] The study has been cited in academic papers and a World Health Organization report.[29][30][31]
In June 2020, the website published research into employee surveillance software.[32] The study showed that demand for these tools increased by 80% in March 2020 following the declaration of a global pandemic and the subsequent introduction of social restrictions around the world.[33] Its findings have been cited in academic papers on AI worker surveillance and digital regulation of the workplace.[34][35]
Advocacy
Top10VPN partnered with Internet sans Frontières in March 2019 to help provide activists and journalists with access to Internet data and VPN services in Chad, where an internet shutdown had left citizens unable to access social media platforms.[36]
In May 2019, the company co-authored a report with the Open Rights Group that investigated the impact of Web content filters on charities, schools and social support websites in the UK.[37] It found that “a great deal of useful and important material is being blocked” by Internet Service Providers. The report was discussed in the UK’s House of Lords by Baroness Howe of Idlicote (CBE).[38]
References
- ↑ "PrivacyCo". privacy.co. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "VPN, Digital Rights, & Online Security Research". www.top10vpn.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Study finds half of most popular VPN apps linked to China". Financial Times. 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Oremus, Will (2019-02-28). "Do You Trust Your VPN? Are You Sure?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Are Free VPNs Safe? 77% Are Insecure, 86% Are Not Private". www.top10vpn.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Hodge, Rae. "Best Free VPNs 2023: Our Experts Show You How to Avoid Shady Services and Get Premium Protection". CNET. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "VPN Demand Statistics: VPN Demand Surges Around the World". www.top10vpn.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Myanmar's internet suppression". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Agnola, Jasmin Dall’; Wood, Colleen (2022-04-12). "Introduction: The Mobilizing Potential of Communication Networks in Central Asia". Central Asian Affairs. 9 (1): 1–15. doi:10.30965/22142290-12340013. ISSN 2214-2282.
- ↑ Ryan, Megan; Tran, Mai Van (October 3, 2022). "Democratic backsliding disrupted: The role of digitalized resistance in Myanmar". Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. doi:10.1177/20578911221125511 – via SAGE Journals. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ "BBC One - Watchdog - Dark Web". BBC. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Darknet Market Price Index". www.top10vpn.com. March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Bermudez Villalva, Dario Adriano; Onaolapo, Jeremiah; Stringhini, Gianluca; Musolesi, Mirco (2018-11-23). "Under and over the surface: a comparison of the use of leaked account credentials in the Dark and Surface Web". Crime Science. 7 (1): 17. doi:10.1186/s40163-018-0092-6. ISSN 2193-7680. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ "Cybersecurity Threats in Ukraine & Russia". www.top10vpn.com. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Mascellino, Alessandro (2022-11-16). "Botnets, Trojans, DDoS From Ukraine and Russia Have Increased Since Invasion". Infosecurity Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns". www.top10vpn.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Taylor, Chloe (8 January 2020). "Government-led internet shutdowns cost the global economy $8 billion in 2019, research says". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Foreign Censorship, Part 2: Trade and Economic Effects on U.S. Businesses" (PDF). United States International Trade Commission (5334): 74, 90. July 2022.
- ↑ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2021). Digital economy report 2021 : cross-border data flows and development: for whom the data flow. Geneva. ISBN 978-92-1-113022-5. OCLC 1294349983. Search this book on
- ↑ Ayoub, Arshia; Wani, Zahid Ashraf (2021), "Different Shades of Virtual Learning Environments", Handbook of Research on Modern Educational Technologies, Applications, and Management, IGI Global, pp. 809–824
- ↑ Mushtaq, Tahmina; Bilal, Sheikh; Samuna, Baby (2018). "Controlled pollination and population dynamics of pollinators of apple in Kashmir". Indian Journal of Entomology. 80 (3): 848. doi:10.5958/0974-8288.2018.00127.x. ISSN 0367-8288.
- ↑ Meaker, Morgan. "Russians Need VPNs. The Kremlin Hates Them". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "List of Websites Blocked in Russia Since Ukraine Invasion". www.top10vpn.com. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "ENISA Threat Landscape 2022". ENISA. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ DIN EN 622-1:2003-09, Faserplatten_- Anforderungen_- Teil_1: Allgemeine Anforderungen; Deutsche Fassung EN_622-1:2003, Beuth Verlag GmbH, doi:10.31030/9494692, retrieved 2023-03-27
- ↑ "COVID-19 Digital Rights Tracker: 180+ Tracking Apps Analyzed". www.top10vpn.com. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe's COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps". Time. 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Surber, Regina Sibylle (2021). "Corona pan(dem)ic: gateway to global surveillance". Ethics and Information Technology. 23 (3): 569–578. doi:10.1007/s10676-020-09569-5. ISSN 1388-1957. PMC 7574394 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 33100895 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Morley, Jessica; Cowls, Josh; Mariarosaria Taddeo; Floridi, Luciano (20 October 2020). "Ethical Guidelines for SARS-CoV-2 Digital Tracking and Tracing Systems". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.33465.11364.
- ↑ "Ethical Implementation of Wearables in Pandemic Response: A Call for a Paradigm Shift". ethics.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Selecting digital contact tracing and quarantine tools for COVID-19: guiding principles and considerations for a stepwise approach. World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. OCLC 1227970551. Search this book on
- ↑ "Report: Privacy Risks of Employee Surveillance Software". www.top10vpn.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ "Demand for employee surveillance software soars". ZDNET. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Hickok, Merve; Maslej, Nestor (2023-03-20). "A policy primer and roadmap on AI worker surveillance and productivity scoring tools". AI and Ethics. 3 (3): 673–687. doi:10.1007/s43681-023-00275-8. ISSN 2730-5961. PMC 10026198 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 37360144 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane (2023), Bergum, Svein; Peters, Pascale; Vold, Tone, eds., "Eroding Boundaries and Creeping Control: "Digital Regulation" as New Normal Work", Virtual Management and the New Normal: New Perspectives on HRM and Leadership since the COVID-19 Pandemic, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 313–332, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-06813-3_16, ISBN 978-3-031-06813-3
- ↑ "VPN Access and Conference: Commemorating 365 days without social media in Chad". Internet Sans Frontières (in français). 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ May, 30; Killock, 2019 Jim; Cowburn, Pamela; Haydock, Alex; Johnson-Williams, Ed; MiglianoReport, Simon. "Collateral Damage in the War Against Online Harms". Open Rights Group. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
- ↑ Hansard. 2019-09-05. doi:10.5040/9780571362080.00000002. ISBN 9780571362080. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) Search this book on
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