--- title: This free VPN Shipped Malware | daily.dev description: The Hola Browser free VPN for Windows was compromised in a supply chain attack that installed an unsigned executable (MI.exe) containing obfuscated code used... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: This free VPN Shipped Malware | daily.dev og:description: The Hola Browser free VPN for Windows was compromised in a supply chain attack that installed an unsigned executable (MI.exe) containing obfuscated code used... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/TcPs5uDRF.png og:image:alt: This free VPN Shipped Malware og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # This free VPN Shipped Malware **[Eric Parker](https://daily.dev/sources/ericparker)** · 15 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The Hola Browser free VPN for Windows was compromised in a supply chain attack that installed an unsigned executable (MI.exe) containing obfuscated code used for unauthorized crypto mining. The incident highlights the inherent risks of free VPNs, which often monetize by routing user traffic as residential proxies through services like Bright Data. Additional coverage includes Geonode, a similar free VPN/proxy service, and research showing how TV and smartphone apps embed residential proxy SDKs without clear user consent. The video concludes with practical advice: avoid free VPNs, be wary of becoming a residential proxy exit node, and when choosing a paid VPN, avoid dedicated/static IPs as they undermine the anonymity benefits. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I stopped using free VPNs after I learned what they do with your traffic](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-using-free-vpns-after-i-learned-what-they-do-with-your-traffic-elipduerj) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Think twice before installing this device promising free movies](https://daily.dev/posts/think-twice-before-installing-this-device-promising-free-movies-zmic10t01) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#crypto](https://daily.dev/tags/crypto), [#malware](https://daily.dev/tags/malware), [#vpn](https://daily.dev/tags/vpn) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"This free VPN Shipped Malware","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf"},"datePublished":"2026-06-08T15:39:47.544Z","dateModified":"2026-06-08T15:40:42.662Z","description":"The Hola Browser free VPN for Windows was compromised in a supply chain attack that installed an unsigned executable (MI.exe) containing obfuscated code used...","image":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CRNwt00JT4/sddefault.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CRNwt00JT4/sddefault.jpg","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Eric Parker","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Eric Parker","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--vVcOpkjx--/f_auto/v1724391603/logos/ericparker","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ericparker"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/this-free-vpn-shipped-malware-tcps5udrf","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"cyber,crypto,malware,vpn","timeRequired":"PT15M","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","name":"This free VPN Shipped Malware","description":"The Hola Browser free VPN for Windows was compromised in a supply chain attack that installed an unsigned executable (MI.exe) containing obfuscated code used...","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CRNwt00JT4/sddefault.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-06-08T15:39:47.544Z","duration":"PT15M","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/TcPs5uDRF","embedUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/9CRNwt00JT4"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Eric Parker","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ericparker"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"This free VPN Shipped Malware"}]} ```