The problem with Hola is this: since it is a free service, the company must use a peer-to-peer system to reduce costs. This means that when you use Hola, you are essentially using someone else’s IP address and connection. For example, if you are using Hola to acquire a German IP address, you are literally being routed through an actual German person’s internet connection. This is all well and good, unless your own IP address gets used for some nefarious purpose. Hola cannot control what its users do, so if someone using Hola in another country acquires your IP address/connection and does something illegal, the consequences may fall on you (at least initially). For that alone, I suggest removing Hola from your browser immediately. Second, and perhaps even worse, Hola sells user’s bandwidth through a company named Luminati (which they own). This means that someone with malicious intent can buy and utilize the bandwidth of Hola users however they see fit, which actually did happen recently when one person launched an assault on a popular anonymous message board, disrupting its service. Having to deal with Hola’s peer-to-peer system is one thing, but having your bandwidth sold to the highest bidder is perhaps the more egregious offense, especially since Hola users have no idea what their connections will be used for. Featured photo credit: Computer Hack/ Global Panorama via flic.kr
