CometVPN Blog

Cybersecurity & Privacy

7 min read

How to Know If Your Phone Is Hacked: 7 Warning Signs

Key takeaways:

  • Sudden warnings, ads, messages, power usage or performance issues, and settings changes may signal your phone is hacked.
  • Phones can be hacked by attacks based on social engineering, such as phishing, and more sophisticated exploits requiring minimal human interaction.
  • It's crucial to immediately disconnect your phone from the internet, change all passwords, and remove suspicious files or apps.
  • Run a mobile security scan or run a full reset of the phone if nothing else helps.
  • Preventing phone hacks relies on updating your software, avoiding third-party app stores and public Wi-Fis, and being cautious with online links.
  • Realizing your phone has been hacked is much more than an inconvenience. From storing pictures of your cat to accessing your bank account and making purchases, we rely on smartphones for almost everything.

    The more you use your smartphone, the more important it is to know how to spot, fix, and prevent malware attacks. Most hacks on Android and iOS devices can be reversed, so once you suspect something, it's important to stay calm and take immediate action.

    Guoda Šulcaitė

    Tech Tips & Troubleshooting

    5 min read

    How to Get Free Wi-Fi: Apps, Hotspots, and Safety Tips

    Key takeaways:

  • Always use a VPN when connecting to any free Wi-Fi or public hotspot.
  • Apps like Wi-Fi Map and Instabridge help you easily get free Wi-Fi wherever you are.
  • Stay close to routers and use ISP Wi-Fi hotspot networks for faster and safer internet.
  • If you ever traveled abroad or simply went outside and forgot that you’re out of mobile data, you probably felt a need to find free Wi-Fi somewhere. Being stranded without internet can be stressful, especially if you’re in a hurry and don’t know where to go without a GPS.

    To help you forget this stress, we put together this guide that will explain how to get free Wi-Fi quickly. After reading, you will know about the best places to find it, the best apps to use, and how to remain safe on public Wi-Fi networks.

    Adomas Šulcas

    Networking & Internet Basics

    8 min read

    How to Encrypt Internet Connection: A Comprehensive Guide

    No one's forcing us to lock our front doors, but everyone does it anyway. Encryption plays a similar role in safeguarding your internet connection, except that many people still don't do it. The concept of encrypting internet traffic isn't so well-known.

    Simply put, encryption makes information unreadable by unauthorized third parties. Just as someone without a key can't access your locked house, no one without an encryption key can access your encrypted data.

    We're going to cover all the basics to start locking the cyber doors to your internet connection. With the right tools, sensitive data can be protected without much hassle.

    Rasa Sosnovskytė

    Cybersecurity & Privacy

    9 min read

    How to Detect and Protect Against Pegasus Spyware?

    A cybercriminal isn't always a loner writing code in his mom's basement. Often, malicious software is created by multimillion-dollar corporations with their own LinkedIn profiles and Wikipedia pages.

    Such is the NSO Group, the developers of the notorious Pegasus spyware. This software can extract a wealth of data from the victim's smartphone - conversations, chats, photos, geo-location, without them even falling for a phishing attack.

    The company positions itself as fighting terrorism but has been listed as a threat to the US, and, reportedly, Pegasus spyware was used against journalists and activists. The lines between proper and improper spyware are becoming blurry. What can we do to avoid it being used against us?

    Adomas Šulcas

    Cybersecurity & Privacy

    4 min read

    What is FBI Honeypot: Understanding Privacy Implications

    An international law enforcement team has successfully arrested hundreds of criminals and seized their illegal assets. All thanks to an allegedly encrypted messaging app with data collection backdoors for the FBI.

    That's where the name FBI honeypot comes from. But while effective in catching criminals, honeypots raise important privacy and security concerns.

    After such a precedent is set, how can anyone be sure he isn't falling for a honey trap even without any criminal intentions?

    Adomas Šulcas

    Streaming & Bypass Guides

    5 min read

    How to Change Chrome Proxy Settings: The Ultimate Guide

    A proxy server is an easy alternative to a VPN that can perform most of the functions of the latter. It’s a server that stands between your device and the destination server, taking your connection requests and forwarding them in your name.

    Destination servers in almost all cases see the proxy server as the originator of the request. As such, proxies are widely used in various, mostly business-related applications whenever privacy, security, location changing, and several other factors are at play.

    Guoda Šulcaitė