Urban Vpn Proxy
🔍 Security Report Available View on Chrome Web StoreChrome will indicate if you already have this installed.
Overview
Urban VPN: Your Free, Secure VPN Proxy
Get secure VPN access to any website and unblock content with Urban VPN.
Mask your online identity, stay protected & hide your IP with Urban Free VPN Proxy for Chrome! Urban VPN Free proxy servers are available in 82 countries, hiding your IP and encrypting your internet connection.
Urban Cyber Security is the developer of Urban VPN Proxy that provides the most reliable virtual private network, and access to a vast network of 632 free VPN servers.
With Urban VPN browser extension for Chrome, you can further enjoy advanced VPN protection, if you choose to protect your browser from phishing attempts, malware and intrusive ads.
When you add the Urban free VPN Proxy extension, you get the following:
🌍 Change Your IP Location - Connect to any of our 632 VPN servers in 82 countries, giving you the flexibility to browse with a new IP address.
🛡️ Hide your IP - Protect your IP address by minimizing IP tracking from websites, helping you enjoy a more private online experience.
🔒 Encrypted Connections - With Urban VPN, your traffic stays encrypted using the latest OpenVPN standards, ensuring that ISPs cannot throttle your connection.
⚙️Double VPN – Available in selected VPN locations and gradually rolling out to more. In supported regions, your connection is encrypted twice and sent through 2 VPN servers, no extra setup required.
🛡️ Avoid being tracked by websites- bypass firewalls and browse anonymously!
🛡️ Your ISP may throttle your connection, but when Urban VPN is turned on, your browsing is encrypted, preventing ISPs from throttling your bandwidth.
🔐 Advanced VPN Protection - protection from phishing attempts, malware and intrusive ads. Avoid harmful ads by enabling our ad-blocking feature. (optional).
There is no need to download additional software - just click to download, install the extension, and start surfing.
Using the Advanced VPN protection features enables you to enjoy anti-phishing, anti-malware, and blocking malicious ads for your browsing.
To use the Advance VPN Protection features, we process certain browsing information such as visited URLs, ads shown and interactions with such ads, clickstream data, IP address, and related web activity. This data is sent to our servers for security analysis.
Subject to your acceptance of the prominent disclosures provided, we further encourage you to review our privacy policy before installing the Urban VPN extension, available here: Privacy Policy https://www.urban-vpn.com/about-us/privacy-policy-urban-proxy/
Tags
Privacy Practices
Security Analysis — Urban Vpn Proxy
Permissions
Code Patterns Detected
External Connections
What This Extension Does
Urban VPN Proxy is a browser extension that provides free virtual private network (VPN) access to unblock content, mask your IP address, and enhance online privacy. It's designed for users seeking secure browsing, anonymity, and protection from ISP throttling or tracking. The extension targets Chrome users who want an easy-to-install solution without needing additional software.
Permissions Explained
- proxyexpected: This lets the extension route your internet traffic through its servers to hide your real IP address and encrypt your connection.
Technical: Grants access to Chrome's proxy API, allowing interception and modification of network requests. If compromised, could allow full control over web traffic routing and potentially expose sensitive data. - privacyexpected: Allows the extension to modify browser privacy settings or access user preferences related to security and tracking protection.
Technical: Accesses Chrome's privacy API, which can alter how browsers handle cookies, site data, and tracking behavior. Could be misused for surveillance if not properly controlled. - <all_urls>expected: Gives the extension permission to access every website you visit — necessary for its core functionality of routing traffic through a VPN.
Technical: Enables broad access to all URLs via Chrome's webRequest API. This is standard for browser-based VPNs but increases attack surface if misused or exploited. - webRequestexpected: Allows the extension to monitor and modify network requests made by your browser in real time, which is essential for routing traffic through a VPN server.
Technical: Provides access to Chrome's webRequest API that intercepts HTTP/HTTPS traffic. If misused, can enable man-in-the-middle attacks or data exfiltration from any site visited. - https://*.bugsnag.com/*expected: This permission allows the extension to send crash reports and error logs to Bugsnag, a service used for monitoring application stability.
Technical: Grants access to Bugsnag's logging infrastructure. While common in legitimate apps, this could be leveraged by attackers if credentials or sensitive data are inadvertently sent. - managementcheck this: Enables the extension to manage other extensions and view installed browser add-ons — useful for checking compatibility but potentially risky.
Technical: Accesses Chrome's management API, allowing enumeration of installed extensions. Could be used to gather information about user environment or detect competing tools. ⚠ 1 - scriptingexpected: Allows the extension to inject scripts into web pages — necessary for modifying content and enforcing security policies on websites.
Technical: Grants access to Chrome's scripting APIs, enabling injection of JavaScript code into tabs. Could be used maliciously if not carefully controlled or sandboxed. - storageexpected: Gives the extension permission to save and retrieve data locally in your browser — needed for storing settings, preferences, and session information.
Technical: Uses Chrome's storage API (sync or local). Can store sensitive user data like login tokens or browsing history if not handled securely. Risk increases with insecure handling practices. - tabsexpected: Allows the extension to access and manipulate browser tabs — useful for managing active sessions, tracking navigation, or modifying tab content.
Technical: Accesses Chrome's tabs API. Could be misused to monitor user activity across sites or redirect tabs without consent if not properly secured. - webNavigationexpected: Enables the extension to track when users navigate between pages — helpful for logging usage patterns and managing VPN connections.
Technical: Accesses Chrome's webNavigation API, which tracks page transitions. Could be used to build detailed behavioral profiles of user activity if combined with other tracking methods. - offscreenexpected: Allows the extension to run background tasks even when no tab is active — important for maintaining a persistent VPN connection.
Technical: Enables offscreen document execution, allowing long-running operations outside of tabs. If misused, could persist malicious behavior beyond user awareness or control. - alarmsexpected: Used to schedule background tasks such as periodic updates or connection checks — necessary for maintaining a stable VPN session.
Technical: Accesses Chrome's alarms API, enabling scheduled execution of code. Could be abused to perform unauthorized actions at regular intervals if not tightly controlled. - webRequestAuthProviderexpected: Used for handling authentication with proxy servers — required when connecting through certain VPN gateways that require credentials.
Technical: Grants access to Chrome's webRequestAuthProvider API, used in conjunction with proxy settings. If misused, could allow unauthorized access to user accounts or sessions.
Your Data
The extension accesses your browsing data and sends it to Urban VPN’s servers for security analysis and service delivery. It also communicates with third-party services like Bugsnag for error reporting.
Technical Details
- domainapi-pro.urban-vpn.comprotocolHTTPSencryption_statusEncrypted using TLS 1.2+data_types
- IP address
- URLs visited
- clickstream data
- ad interactions
- domainauthentication.urban-vpn.comprotocolHTTPSencryption_statusEncrypted using TLS 1.2+data_types
- User credentials
- session tokens
- domainanti-phishing-protection.urban-vpn.comprotocolHTTPSencryption_statusEncrypted using TLS 1.2+data_types
- URLs visited
- page content
- user behavior patterns
- domainnotify.bugsnag.comprotocolHTTPSencryption_statusEncrypted using TLS 1.2+data_types
- Crash logs
- error reports
- device metadata
Code Findings
The extension injects HTML content dynamically into web pages, which could allow attackers to insert malicious scripts if not properly sanitized.
Technical: Code uses innerHTML assignment in multiple files (e.g., background script), potentially allowing injection of untrusted input. Risk increases when combined with user-provided data or external sources.
💡 Common pattern for rendering dynamic UI elements, especially in content scripts that modify page layout.
The extension uses deprecated functions like unescape() and charCodeAt(), which are often used to hide code from casual inspection — a red flag for obfuscated malware.
Technical: JavaScript files contain calls to unescape() and charCodeAt() in several locations, suggesting possible obfuscation. These methods were historically used by malicious scripts to evade detection.
💡 Used in legitimate extensions for encoding strings or hiding internal logic from casual inspection — but can also be misused for concealment.
The extension creates and injects new script elements into web pages, which could allow it to run arbitrary code on visited sites — a serious security risk if misused.
Technical: Multiple background scripts dynamically create <script> tags using createElement() and append them to DOM. This allows execution of external or injected JavaScript without user consent.
💡 Used in legitimate extensions for injecting analytics, ad blockers, or anti-tracking tools — but must be done carefully with strict validation.
The extension attempts to access your approximate location via geolocation APIs. While potentially useful for routing, it raises privacy concerns if not clearly explained or justified.
Technical: Code includes calls to navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition() in background scripts. If enabled without explicit user permission, this could be used for tracking purposes.
💡 Used by some VPNs to determine optimal server location based on geographic proximity — but should always require opt-in or clear disclosure.
The extension monitors changes in browser storage, which could be used to detect when sensitive data is accessed or modified — potentially for surveillance purposes.
Technical: Uses chrome.storage.onChanged.addListener() to monitor local and sync storage. Could be leveraged by attackers to track user behavior or extract stored credentials.
💡 Common in extensions that need to react to changes in settings, preferences, or session data — but must respect privacy boundaries.
Some JavaScript files contain what appears to be a hardcoded secret key. If this is an API token, it could allow unauthorized access to Urban VPN’s backend services.
Technical: A string resembling an API key was found in one of the JS bundles (urban-vpn.js). This may indicate improper handling or exposure of credentials during development.
💡 Sometimes seen in dev builds where keys are accidentally committed — but should never be present in production code.
The extension uses postMessage() to communicate with other origins, which can be risky if not properly validated — potentially allowing cross-site scripting or hijacking.
Technical: Code includes calls to window.postMessage() in content scripts and background workers. Without strict origin checks, this could allow malicious sites to intercept messages or inject code.
💡 Standard practice for secure inter-frame communication between extensions and web pages — but requires careful validation of message sources.
The extension injects scripts into all websites, which is expected for a VPN tool that modifies network behavior and enforces security policies.
Technical: Content script injected via matches: ['<all_urls>'] pattern. This ensures full coverage of browsing activity but increases risk if content scripts are not hardened against tampering.
💡 Standard in browser extensions providing global protection or routing — necessary for effective VPN functionality.
The extension uses the Fetch API to make network requests, which is a normal and secure way of communicating with servers.
Technical: Multiple files use fetch() for interacting with Urban VPN’s backend services. No signs of misuse or insecure practices detected in this area.
💡 Standard method for making HTTP(S) calls from browser extensions — widely accepted as safe when used correctly.
Urban VPN Proxy is a feature-rich extension that provides core functionality expected of a free VPN service, including IP masking and traffic encryption. However, several concerning behaviors were identified, such as dynamic script injection, obfuscation techniques, and access to user location data — all of which increase the risk profile despite alignment with stated features. Users should exercise caution when installing this extension due to its broad permissions and potential for misuse if not properly audited or maintained by developers.
